phuket

So I know it may seem like I am on a two-year-long vacation over here, but I do in fact work a bit too. I have gotten really good at maximizing my vacation time, holidays and weekend time and managed to see so much of Europe and for that I am very happy. The last week of April included 1.5 days of public holidays, so I decided to take the entire week off - my first full week vacation since I moved here that wasn't spent back in the US or with family here in Switzerland. It was amazing. The entire week I was so relaxed and almost 100% "unplugged" from work, something that doesn't typically happen for me.

 

Besides relaxing, Phuket was amazingly beautiful. The food was delicious (albeit sometimes too spicy for me to be able to really enjoy) and the people were so nice.

 

Surin beach:

 

I read four books during the vacation :)

 

We watched several people do this jet ski thing that rockets you into the air. It was entertaining especially when the "professionals" did it and did tricks.

 

Piotr and I played some volleyball. It was really fun. I'm out of practice though and my arms got bruised from playing too much.

 

Our first excursion was to Phi Phi islands. The tour took all day and took us to 4 of the 6 islands. It is so popular because it is so beautiful.

 

Maya Bay:

 

We went to another cove and went snorkeling. It was really cool!

 

Monkey beach - can you see them?

 

"paradise island"

 

Next day we went to Patong for a few hours. I guess its something to see, but not someplace you would want to spend more time.

 

 

It rained while we were there, so we took shelter in a couple different bars :)

 

Tuk-tuk ride back to the hotel

 

 

We went back and forth about riding elephants, which is a popular thing to do in Thailand. However, many of the elephants are extremely mistreated. We inquired at the hotel about an elephant sanctuary/conservatory and they gave us the information on Siam Safari. After some research and seeing the place, I'm glad we went. Each elephant has its own trainer that takes care of it night and day. Our guy was so sweet with his elephant - singing to her and talking to her. They have been together for many many years (our elephant was 48 years old, used to work in a logging camp). They are truly amazing creatures.

Feeding her by hand after our walk: 

 

She liked it all!

 

Here is a picture of us with the "baby" elephants:

 

I was so happy to be able to go stand-up-paddling in the ocean. After doing it on lake Zurich, I wanted to see what it was like in the ocean with waves. The board I rented was different which made it easier with waves. It was so much fun. While paddling out there, you could look down and see jellyfish and other fish all around. Really fun!

 

Last day - another boat trip, this time to Coral Island.

 

Big Buddha on top of the hill: 

 

We went paragliding on coral island. It was my first time doing this. It was a little scary when they "dipped" you, but really fun!

 

It was so hot, I decided it was better to "lay out" in the water.

 

 

 

How about this for a gas station?

 

Best dinner we had was from this little family-run stand.

 

budapest

This year for the long Easter weekend (Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays in Switzerland) I went to Budapest with Jelena, Daniela and Claudia. We really enjoyed exploring the city. We had received some really great tips from Emily, a friend of my friend Alayna, who lived in Budapest to help us focus our exploration efforts and find some great non-touristy places.

 

We quickly learned that every restaurant serves fresh lemonade and it is delicious. Lemonade of all flavors became part of our daily diet ritual. We even later experimented with ordering shots of vodka to add to our lemonade...apparently this is not what the locals do, but they should because this was also delicious!

 

 

We arrived Friday afternoon and spent the day walking around the city, going to the Buda side of the river and seeing castle hill.

 

After a wonderful breakfast at a little French place on Saturday morning, we went to the labyrinth, which was a creepy underground "maze" of tunnels which go underneath the castle. We stopped on our way to see the beautiful church and views over the river to the parliament. 

 

After the labyrinth, we went to take a closer look at the parliament, which was really beautiful. Then we walked to the island, where we saw the dancing fountain, climbed a tree, and ate langos.

 



 

Seriously, this may not look like it but it was the hardest tree to climb ever! My shins were bruised for 2 weeks after, but it was worth it!

 

 

Langos is fried dough covered with sour cream, garlic, and cheese. Definitely nothing healthy about it, but it was delicious!

 

After a late night on Saturday night, we spent a lazy day Sunday - having brunch, walking around the city park, and then going to the popular baths. We enjoyed relaxing in the indoor and outdoor baths and then had massages too. Like I said, a very lazy Sunday :)

 

Monday we flew back to reality. Budapest was really great - my favorite parts were probably all the amazing food and lemonade!

st. moritz

This past weekend was my last chance to go skiing in Switzerland. After a lot of consultation, I decided to go to St. Moritz, which is one of the most famous resorts in Switzerland, and is known for being very "shee-shee-shee".

 

My friend Matt and I headed out early Saturday morning for the 3.5 hour train ride there. We didn't know that the train that took us there was the Bernina express, which you often see pictured. The rail line itself is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

 

 

 

We made it to St. Moritz and started skiing right away. The snow conditions weren't the best because it is so late in the season, but we managed to get a lot of skiing in.

 

 

Matt and I on a t-bar lift (I hate t-bar lifts!)

 

 

 

We had amazing views of the mountains, city, and lake below.

 

And...the highlight of the day for me was that I went down a black slope!!!!! (And I didn't fall at all!) We actually ended up on the black on accident. We started on a blue (easiest), which turned into a red (medium), and then made a wrong turn. When we came down the slope and realized it was black, I couldn't believe I'd done it. But then, we had to make it the rest of the way down the black, and let's just say that not knowing is better :)

 

 

bellinzona

On the day after my birthday, the weather was so amazing. Piotr and I decided to take a little trip to the southern part of Switzerland. We went to Bellinzona which is in Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. The weather was even nicer down there. We enjoyed strolling around the town, had some great Italian food and wine for lunch, toured the castles, and I even took a nap in front of one of the castles. Whenever I leave the Swiss German-speaking part of Switzerland, I feel like I'm in a different country and it was especially the case on a day like this when the weather was so amazing.

 

 

Castle #1: 

 

The view of castle #2 and #3 from #1:

 

View of the city

 

There was a small festival going on in the center of the city

 

 

 

We hiked all the way up to castle #2

 

Where we had beautiful views of the mountains and the city below

 

We layed out in this nice grassy area and I even fell asleep relaxing in the sun.

 

The view of castle #3. We didn't make it all the way up to this one. Two was enough for us for the day.