About 6-7 weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to do something crazy & incredible at the same time. Seriously. I was asked to travel abroad to Switzerland for work. I was like "What? Wait, where am I going again?" Had to ask a few times so it registered, haha.

When I was asked to go, I had a day or so to sit on it but I accepted within 10 minutes. Didn't really think about it that much. I had nothing major going on. What I mean by that is that I had no commitments, no travel booked, and was planning on enjoying the summer here in Chicago.

I never been to Europe. I never been to Switzerland. I was ambitious about doing more work. This opportunity just landed in front of my face out nowhere and I'm glad it did. Once in a lifetime thing for sure.

I came in thinking I was ready and I was totally wrong. Thankfully there was someone constantly by my side and I'm really happy about her being there. Her name is Maria and she's...

Just kidding, haha. She's honestly really super sweet.

I didn't really know her prior to the trip but those 4 weeks, we really got to know each other, how we worked, etc. She's a very "Type A" person and I'm a mixture of "A/B" but more B driven. It was a good balance of both worlds and on certain scenarios, we would help each other out. I would always come at a different angle on anything and everything. It just worked out. But for real though, damn I learned a lot from her.

On the flipside of things, she had to deal with my wild personality, haha. Whenever we had long days, I would always tell her my shitty jokes and just say or send her the most random things at any given time. She probably hates me for sure, haha.

Anyways, we got to travel to so many places like Geneva, Bern, Zurich, Kandersteg, Interlaken, and more. Every weekend was booked with travel and train rides.

Would I do it again? Hell yeah, I would. By far the most challenging learning experience and best thing that happened to me this year.

Here are some highlights of the trip and misc thoughts:

The "Coop" closes at 7pm almost everyday and it was crazy difficult to go grocery shopping.
Trains (SSB) are hella better than Amtrak. Costs more and way more efficient.
Sunday Funday exists. Retail stores and restaurants are opened so everyone is out and about enjoying themselves.
Everything is ridiculously expensive. The prices for food, clothes, etc were insane.
Hiked "Harder Kulm" (1,321m) in skinny jeans and converses. Definitely a dumb idea but I had intentions of taking the cable car up but nope, did it under 2hr's when they said it usually takes 2.5hr. TAKE THAT INTERLAKEN.
Beer is so much lighter. No wonder why Europeans can drink more. I still prefer American IPA's though, the best.
Maria and I would get a new chocolate bar and then get dinner together everyday after work. Pizza was our default go-to if there wasn't anything interesting to eat.
Out of all the places we visited, Montreaux was my favorite. The whole vibe, people, food, and lake front style of living was amazing.
Finding bars that was to our aesthetic was extremely hard. We did find one near my apt called "Scandale" and it felt like home/Chicago. Thank god.
Maria, if you're reading this. Your gift is coming in the mail right now. Thank you for everything and dealing with my nonsense.

All of the photo's I took are posted on the Travel section and you can view them here: Switzerland