Traveling Alone in Switzerland

Traveling Alone in Switzerland

2023/01/18 ~ 2023/01/27, 10 Days

Preface

Background

Before I took a trip to Switzerland, I’ve only been to Japan with my friends twice. And I don’t have any experience of traveling aboard alone. Since I was a child, I have always dreamed of traveling to Western countries. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I really enjoy American TV series, such as NCIS, which I’ve watched for over 13 seasons. I really want to experience Western life and interact with Western people.

Why did I decide to travel alone?

Actually, I didn’t think too much, and I just wanted to book the ticket right away without asking anyone’s opinion. I think it’s convenient for me. In hindsight, I admit it’s a little bit impulsive and bold.
If you know me well, you will see that I’ve done a lot of impulsive things before, and of course, sometimes I would regret them. However, most of the time, I really enjoy the positive consequences of my impulsive behaviors.

Why did I choose Switzerland?

It’s an easy reason too. I just watched the TV show and saw it’s really pretty in Switzerland. On the other hand, since I decided to travel by myself, I’ve researched that it’s safe to travel alone in Switzerland.

Departures

Unfortunately, I got COVID-19 at first day.

In the beginning, I just felt a little bit of a throat ache and fever before on boarding. I thought I was just too nervous because it’s been a long time not to get aboard since COVID-19 pandemic. However, when I got on the first flight, all of my symptoms came out gradually. I started to have a headache, runny nose, a serious fever with whole body aches, and my throat was getting very painful during that time.

I took the medicine that I had only prepared in my backpack, because I had packed all the other medicine into the suitcase, which is a wrong example. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. No matter how much medicine I took, I still felt uncomfortable. During that time, I felt really depressed and alone when I thought that there was no one who could help me. I did’t want to ask flight attendants for help in case that I cannot get into Switzerland. At that moment, my tears started to fall down a little bit, because I felt really fragile, sick, and alone. It was just a kind of silence with pain around you.

After leaving the first plane, I was worried about how to get to the boarding gate in Bangkok airport to transfer. Luckily, there were flight attendants who took a board writing BKK to ZRH, so they would take us to the boarding gate. However, due to the first airplane delay, I deeply remembered that the flight attendant asking us to run to the boarding gate. It was really nervous and funny. I kept running, and I even didn’t have enough time to use the toilet before getting on the second flight.

I used the self-test after arriving at Zurich.

Flight ticket to BKK for transfer.

A nice guy from America save me on the second flight.

After I got into the second flight to Zurich, I saw there were a lot of foreigner in the airplane, and it made me feel a little bit unfamiliar and fear.

Luckily, I met an American guy, Kim, who sat next to me. He is really kind and good at chatting. He shared a lot of experiences with me, such as his family, the countries he had traveled to before, and how he adopted a little girl in Africa. This really helped me to ease and forget about how painful my symptoms were. He also taught me some knowledge about the airplane because it was my first time taking the long flight. When I asked him, “Do you have any suggestions for me about traveling alone?” he said, “Just don’t be afraid.“

By the time passed, I started feeling sick and experiencing pain again. What’s worse, I even couldn’t sleep well during the 12-hour flight, which was a struggle for me. At the end of the flight, I mustered up my courage to tell Kim about my symptoms. Kim gave me his aspirin. After taking his medicine, I felt much better. I appreciate his help.

After leaving the second plane, I also asked him how to get to the luggage lobby and how to take the train. He was so nice that he would be willing to help me get familiar with those things. After we said goodbye to each other, I started to feel that I am really traveling alone now.

Thank you, Kim!

The view on the first flight.

Kim and I were on the airplane.

The second flight to Zurich

The flight attendants would give every passenger Swiss chocolates.

01. Hotel Marta

A cozy and nice hotel in Zurich city.

I enjoyed when I woke up at the hotel in the morning, I can see the beautiful scene outside my window. I also like the house which covered with the snow, and the mountain in the far side surround with the city.

I love their bread which is very tasty. And I also like their hot chocolate mike, because it was very cold there, it was nice to have a it to star the morning.

The outlook of Hotel Marta.

I found their eggs is colorful, but inside is still white as usual, which is very interesting.

02. Rheinfall

Rheinfall, like heaven on earth.

When I arrived at Rheinfall, I couldn't believe my eyes that there was such a beautiful scene on earth. It's not an exaggeration to describe it as a paradise.

View the waterfall from the far side.

View the waterfall from the upside.

When I saw the waterfall from the closed side, it was really breathtaking. I can stand here for a period of time and didn’t think anything but just watching.

Taking a lunch in Schaffhausen.

After finishing the schedule at Rheinfall, I took the train to Schaffhausen for lunch. I vividly remember the waitress who spoke German and tried her best to help me to use the self-service way to order my meal. The chef was also very kind and patiently introduced each dish to me by taking them out of the refrigerator one by one."

03. Luzern

I like the frozen river outside the window.

When I took a train to Lucerne, I liked the scenery outside the window. It looked like we were traveling to a fairy tale town because I had never seen a glacier river before.

I met a kind elderly lady in a restaurant.

When I saw the elderly lady sitting across from me put chocolate into her coffee, I asked, 'What's that?' She replied, 'It's chocolate,' which surprised me. Despite some language barriers—she used mainly German and mixed with English, she would use her body language try to let me understand. It was a interesting experience.

She introduced what she put into her coffee for me.

And then she gave her chocolate from her bag. I was so happy at that moment.

I found that I prefer interacting with animals more than visiting historical landmarks.

While visiting historical landmarks like the Löwendenkmal, I encountered a street cat, and I played with him for almost an hour. This street cat appeared very clean and handsome. As he strolled through the snow, it felt like I was watching an episode of the Animal Planet Channel.

04. Jungfrau

I met a nice Taiwanese girl who work from UK.

I booked the Jungfrau one-day tour through Klook. A girl sat next to me on the bus, and I gathered the courage to start a conversation with her. It turned out that we were both from the same country. Therefore, we decided to accompany each other and had a great time that day.