People are People

Life is pretty crazy sometimes.

So my cousin, her kids, and I went on a day trip yesterday. It was loads of fun. We were on our way to Luzern via train. It's quite the experience going on a train with three small children. I begin to feel sorry for my own mother who has five children and we were all really small together. I mean, I've always been grateful but you certainly gain a new appreciation for all she does.

In anycase, we were sitting sorta behind these group of youngish guys who had been seated since we boarded. They were playing a card game and speaking a different language. Totally not surprising. I would've been shocked to hear English.

Well. They were very blatantly checking us out. It was kinda weird. Complimentary sure. But honestly, we had three kids with us and... I don't know. It's just you don't plan these things, you know? Especially when you are in a foreign country, with your cousin, on a train, with three kids. It was odd.

After we got off, my cousin and I just laughed. She informed me that they're probably from Italy because the train we were on goes from Italy through Switzerland into Germany. Plus, they smelled a little. Meaning they've probably been on the train for a long time. But it was complimentary, still odd. Made for an experience. Italians. Who would've thought?

The reason for our day trip was to go to the Gletscher Garten also known as the Glacier Garden in English. It looks like this:

It's that awesome looking? Answer: Yes.

They have this tent thing over it so that it doesn't become more weathered down. It's been a place to go to for many many years. A glacier went through forever ago.

Those big holes? They were created by those rocks swirling around by water. Nature is pretty impressive. It really is.

This lion is carved at the beginning of the gardens. Wikipedia is very helpful in understanding the significance of it. It says, "It commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris, France. The American writer Mark Twain (1835–1910) praised the sculpture of a mortally-wounded lion as 'the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.' " It was really breathtaking. Europe is pretty amazing. Just seeing places that were built before the US was a country... It's cool.

Also at the Gardens they had a mirror maze. It was pretty intense. You think it's going to be easy, but when you are inside it you are so confused. 

Your depth perception is messed up. You stare at yourself in a mirror trying to figure out if it's a mirror or if it's the mirror just beyond it. So totally worth it. You are so so so confused. Loved it.

Then they had a tower there that we climbed and climbed and climbed up the stairs on the mountain to even reach. Then we climbed some more to get to the top of the tower. These are a few photos of Luzern I took after we finally arrived at the top:

After the gardens we went to Zurich because one of the kids had an English class. Then my cousin and the kids went on their way home after I was shown around Zurich a little bit. I hung around in Old Town wandering around, exploring, watching people, reading, writing.

Well, as I was sitting on a bench another random experience happened. A random guy sat down next to me and started talking to me in English. He was kinda interesting. After awhile of chatting about politics and the different plus and minuses of different countries and religions etc. etc., he decided to be more forthcoming and actually be blatantly forward. And guess what he asked? If I'd like to have drinks with him sometime. I cannot believe I was asked on a date while in Europe nor can I believe that I was asked to go on a date to actually drink alcohol. Poor guy. I do not understand people sometimes. It was another thing to add to my list of things that happened to me while in Europe. It's quite the adventure.

At 7, I began to make my way towards the stake center. I was going to institute. In Europe. It was lovely. I'm so grateful to returned missionaries. I really am. Especially ones that speak English and can help me translate. So I had a translater. I was given more Swiss Chocolate as well. I love church activities in Switzerland. I really do. After institute they provided dinner. See, in Switzerland there is not YSA branch or ward. Only family wards. So institute is really the only place where people meet each other. People go straight to institute from work or school so they're hungry and need more time to socialize. I met this really nice girl who just moved into the city. She's from Austria originally but she went to Arizona, US for high school for the exchange program. She stayed in a town called Joseph City. It was settled by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. More than half the population are members and that's how she was introduced to the church and where she joined. It was really awesome to get to know her. It was even better that she knew English so well. She knew English and Swiss German, sorta. So it was fun. New friend. I'll see her next week. I'm excited. I love the gospel. It works miracles for people. I really and truly love it.

Coming home was a bit of a problem. I had a difficult time pronouncing the name of the girl who was to give me a ride and then I couldn't speak German at all. However, when we were on our way home it was a lot of fun. We had this problem speaking to each other, but with some basic English and big gestures and mind communications girls can still talk about all things girls can talk about.

So basically at the end of this post I suppose I can announce that people are people everywhere. I love it.