"Our lives are made in these small hours... these twists and turns of fate"

This was it. My last full weekend travelling before finals and before the month of travel. Next weekend is going to consist of writing an 8 and 15 page paper, and studying for finals before leaving. I'll probably take a day trip to Amsterdam, but other than that, it is going to be hard labor.  Thus, we decided this weekend was going to be one of relaxation in the Swiss Alps.  I had been to the Swiss Alps before, but I had forgotten how truly moving these mountains really are.

Marley, Hannah, Kristen, Katherine, and I took a night train to Basel, Switzerland. I was so stoked about going this weekend, that I agreed to write a 1,400 word essay on the International Criminal Court (side note: super interesting by the way... potential job one day working for them?) instead of miss out on a day of this... (the class took a field trip to see the court on Friday in De Hague).  Anyway, we arrived in Basel that morning looking swell...




What troopers!

So we hopped off this baby at 6:40 in the morning and struggled to make it on 2 more trains for another 3 hours or so until we reached the town of Bex. This is how you know you are in a solid town in Europe: no one understands or speaks English. Once again, my 2 words of French came in handy to order some food and figure out where the little tram was to take us up to our hostel in the itty bitty town of Gryon... just straight up in the alps. No big deal. We finally got on, and were glad we did when we realized the uphill hike would have probably killed at least one of us had we tried to walk with our 30 lbs. backpacks on. 

Anyway, we reached the top and this was the view before us...


Bam. I know you are jealous :) MAGNIFICENT!

But in all seriousness,  everytime I looked around me the entire weekend, my breath caught in my chest and I had to remind myself that this was not a dream. Life really is this beautiful. 












We arrived at our hostel: the Chalet Martin. If you ever have a desire (which you should or you're probably not wasting your time reading this) to go retreat in the Alps, stay here! It was the most amazing hostel/hotel I have ever been to. The log cabin is nestled into the side of a mountain.  I felt like I was staying in someone's home the whole weekend. All the guests are required to leave their shoes at the front before they come in. Most of the employees are college age Australians, who love to ski and lounge in their pajamas all day. It was so clean and the staff immediately treated us like family. My window next to my bed overlooked a beautiful view of the mountains, so I opened my eyes to this in the morning...





After dropping off our stuff, we took the tram up to the nearest mountain/ski town, Villars. From there we walked around and shopped.  The town reminded me of Breckenridge... except 1,000,000,000 times cooler because it was in the alps (duh).  It was beautiful. Just a sweet city surrounded by beauty. 









Not a bad view, eh?


Cute flower shop in Villars.

After exploring, we were all starving. Everything about Switzerland seemed perfect to us at this point... well almost. Prices in Switzerland are off the charts expensive, but when you're hungry you are hungry and it just doesn't matter.  We finally decided to eat at a cute little restaurant because they sold a tradtional Swiss-French dish, Raclette. My friend, Alexandra, had been telling me for years that I needed to try this because it's so amazing.  Well for 12.50 francs, we got some good ol' smelly melted cheese... not gonna lie, it was pretty good, but I expected more than this for lunch:


yup. 12.50... we try to have positive attitudes. I don't think this is what Alexandra was talking about though, haha. C'est la vie. Nothing is ever what you expect it to be when you order food in Europe... but seriously, nothing.

After lunch, we all knew we were going to take full advantage of the spacious and homey kitchen back at the Chalet.  We had been told that everyone cooks dinner together and you all eat at a big family style table. After exploring some more and snapping some pictures, we found the COOP!  This was the town's local grocery store.  After months of eating out and not having a home cooked meal, we all knew what we wanted that night: a warm homemade dinner consisting of pasta, wine, fresh vegetables, and chocolate. Following our purchases, we sat outside and extensively discussed who was making what food that night.



Groceries! Confession: grocery shopping is a stress reliever for me... No, I am not getting my M.R.S. degree at Baylor, but this shopping trip was a treat for me.

So here comes the best part...

After making our way back to the hostel with our goodies, I took my shoes off and went upstairs to the kitchen area.  As I began putting my food away, I looked up and in the front room sitting on an old leather chair was a young guy in flannel with a beard. I turned away to put my bag down and looked up again... There sat my friend from Kansas City, Kurt Nichols. We have been friends since high school, and before leaving had talked about meeting up in Europe together this semester. He is studying in Switzerland with a program called L'abri. I had told him I was travelling to Gryon that weekend to stay at the Chalet Martin.  However, I had no idea if it was at all close to where he lives and I probably wouldn't have internet or a phone to get in contact with him.  Needless to say, I was shocked when I walked in the door to see my friend waiting for me. 



Here we are at Chi O's formal the year before in Texas with friends, Jordan Willis and Leigh Sunderland (all KC kids)...




And this is the bearded mountain man waiting for me in the living room... He's the best.


Clearly pleased with the reaction of shock he got out of me, he welcomed me with a huge hug. I introduced him to all my friends and insisted that he stay for dinner.  We all took on jobs for the meal and ended up having the best time cooking, laughing, and catching up.





After travelling so far to come see me, he gets such a warm welcome...


Good food and good company



Dinner is served! Tortellini in a white wine sauce and roasted vegetables with dried herbs. Not a bad meal.





The following day, Kristen woke up sick so I ended up taking her to the doctor in Villars. They diagnosed her with some nasty pharnyx sickness and prescribed her 4 different medications, lots of rest, and a Swiss pastry of course... maybe that last one wasn't part of the deal... oops!


Kristen and I the day before...

After picking up her meds, we spent the morning in Villars. I didn't get to go skiing like I had planned, which was a bummer, but the weather was pretty nasty anyway... rainy, foggy, and too warm. Oh well... I guess I'll just have to come back to do that one day :)

After more grocery shopping for our meal, wandering the town, and enjoying a coffee and pastry with a beautiful window view, we headed back home in the pouring rain.  I woke up early that morning, but was unaware of the time her appointment was at. I shamefully left the house in the same outfit I had worn to bed--sweat pants, my fleece, glasses, and MOCCASIN slippers!! I looked like a piece of work, and by time we made it back in the rain... I was ready for a hot shower and a nap (Sorry friends, no documentation of this pathetic look). It was a perfect time to lounge in the hostel's cozy front room with a nice view of the mountains. We read, talked, slept, and enjoyed just "being" and not "doing."  That is how I would describe this weekend: a sabbath. It was perfect. What a blessing to be in the most beautiful place in the world with such good friends.



This is the front desk area of the hostel... cozy and inviting.

After a day of enjoying (kinda) the town in the rain, and a nice leisurely afternoon, we decided that the only thing we really wanted at this point was a good Mexican meal. The day before we had seen a "fajita making kit" at the store, and grabbed it. Although none of the ingredients are quite the same, we were content with our purchase. The menu for the evening: Chicken Tacos and refriend beans with salsa!  That might sound so simple for everyone back home, but when you haven't had Mexican in two months and you live in Texas... there is nothing better.





Tasting our salsa... yummyyyyy





While eating dinner, the owner of the hostel and his wife came and talked to us for awhile.  They had met and fallen in love at the Chalet several years ago. She's an American and he's from Australia. We felt so welcomed and at ease with them. It was such a treat to meet new people on this trip. We made friends with students from all over the world... Australia, the USA (yipee...), France, Spain, Switzerland... they have such a great community at the Chalet.

Full and satisfied, we all gathered in the hearth room and relaxed after dinner. We drank wine, played games, read, and talked.   A French man and his two little kids were staying at the Chalet for the weekend as well.  Although they did not speak English at all, we were serenaded much of the night by their laughter and the father's guitar playing. It was lovely.





Kurt met up with us again that night.  We went on a walk through Gryon and up to Barbaleuse.



Buddled up for the cold. I found out that night that he had to walk 2 hours uphill in the cold because he had (knowingly) missed his train back home just so he could hang out longer. Seriously, who has friends like this? Hannah does.

We got up the next morning and headed to the train station, but we did not miss the beautiful view on the way out...



Let me just say, that if you have never been to the Swiss Alps, and have only seen pictures... what you see does not capture at all what is really there. The Alps make the Rocky Mountains look like babies comparatively. They bring a sense of might and greatness that makes you feel the reality of your insignificance. You realize that in reality, you are helpless and fragile. Your life is a pine needle on one of these many trees that rest in the vastness of eternity.  All the dreams and goals I have for my life... what are they really? Have I tricked myself into thinking that these ideas of self worth are real? 

"God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few...Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore, stand in awe of God." Ecclesiastes 5:2, 7




"Though I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me..." Ps. 40:17