greetings from switzerland!

After a solid day of flying, I made it to the land of chocolate and cheese Friday evening.  Since Stefan had to be in New York for work last week (and it didn’t make sense for him to fly back to SF and then back to Europe), we flew over separately – him arriving in the morning and then coming to pick me up at the airport that night.  While I’ve flown alone overseas countless times to places much more exotic than Europe, this trip felt unusually fresh, exciting, and full of anticipation, much like my first trip over.

Before I met Stefan, I had never been to Switzerland before.  We’d been dating for a little more than two weeks when we decided we’d spend the summer (both of us in between jobs) traveling together: first to Venezuela to take Spanish lessons and learn how to kite surf, and then to Switzerland to meet Stefan’s family, help him find and move into a new apartment in Geneva and start his new job.

Your everyday hike in die Schweiz

You’d think that we would have flown together on that trip, but alas not.  Stefan has a strong affinity for flying Swiss Air (direct of course) while I prefer to penny-pinch whenever possible even if it means two extra-long layovers and a middle seat.  The entire flight was filled with eagerness and excitement and a whole lot of nervousness – to see Stefan again, to meet his family, to see where he grew up, to understand his culture – the whole shi-bang. 

A typical Swiss dinner with his mom on Trip #1

When Stefan and I did the San Francisco-Geneva long distance thing for a good 10 months, my trips over held a similar charge.  It had always been a few weeks since we’d seen each other last, the time change and flight time always gave a sense of timeliness – being totally present yet completely lost at the exact same time, and Switzerland casts its own magical spell with its spectacularly scenic and pristine countryside and impeccably dressed and polite citizens.  My flights over were an event in and of themselves, always giving me that same spell-binding feeling I got on my first trip over.

I know that with enough of these trips, however, much like playing a favorite song over and over, their thrilling dreamlike nature will weaken.  But again like that song, they will always hold a special place for me – full of memories of some of my happiest times.