Switzerland Part 1

If I had to pick a favorite place I visited, it would be Interlaken, Switzerland.  Kevin's 3rd cousin, Peter Boss was extremely generous and gave us a tour of the area and took us to all the family historical sites.  The area is breathtakingly beautiful, surrounded on all sides by the Alps.  Kevin and I would like to come back to Interlaken and stay a week or two.  There are so many hikes and so many beautiful places to see.  We were only able to stay for two days.  Peter and his family were so gracious and even though we had only just met, it felt like we had been friends for a long time.  

 Bern, Switzerland LDS Temple

 Kevin's 3rd cousin, Peter Boss

Beautiful Switzerland, near Interlaken - where Kevin's great-grandpa grew up.

On the Train...

We went everywhere on the train.  You can pretty much get around Europe without a car.  It's awesome.  We took the night train from Prague to Switzerland.  It was a great way to get from point A to point B without wasting an entire day, but it's a lousy way to get some sleep.  I spent most of the night watching episodes of Castle on my iPod.  These pictures will give you an idea of how big (or small, rather) our room was.  There were SIX people per room.  Triple bunks on each side.  And the heaters were turned on to HIGH... with no way to turn it off.  I tried to open the window, but the lady in the bunk above me kept shutting it.  Needless to say, it was hot and slightly cramped!  If anyone is thinking of touring Europe any time soon, I would definitely recommend traveling by train.  And if you decide to take a night train, you might want to consider getting a private room!

Some of Prague

We went to Prague, Czech Republic from October 13th to the 15th.  It was such a neat experience. As soon as we stepped off the train we realized that Prague was unlike any other European city we had visited.  It was a third world country, reminding me to some extent of my mission to Brasil.  Poverty was commonplace and smokers were everywhere.  When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere.  We stayed in a cheaper motel... it was really the only place on our whole trip that I was unsatisfied with.  Our tour guide did a fantastic job getting us good deals, but I would have gladly pain a bit more for a better place in Prague.  Even though the motel was supposed to be smoke-free, people would sit directly outside of our rooms and smoke!  Sometimes until 2-3 in the morning.  Again, I have nothing against smokers, but as a non-smoker, it was awful to be surrounded by smoke 24-7.  We saw many teenagers, some looking only 12 or 13 smoking.  

The shopping in Prague was incredible.  I really don't enjoy shopping, but it was so much fun to go around Prague and go into all the little shops.  We came back with some marionettes and crystal.  It was great fun to watch the marionette shop owners make their marionettes come to life.  

Prague was also a neat city to visit because in World War II it suffered considerably less damage than many other large European cities.  The city center is completely intact.  The city has approximately 1.3 million people.  I loved the diversity here.  Prague is definitely a city I would visit again!