Searching For Sunsets In Switzerland

2019

What would you do with a million dollars? I would move to Switzerland. My short stint here was not nearly enough to see all the treasures in this country. Much like New Zealand, this country is full of natural wonders. However, while the Kiwis might benefit from having coastlines for beaches and the ocean, Switzerland has much more history and seems like a melting pot, or fondue rather, of different cultures due to the fact that it borders Germany, Italy, and France. This country is also conveniently situated more or less in the center of Europe, making it a great place to call home as you explore the rest of the continent. As someone who loves variety and culture, there’s simply no better place to be.

There’s something I love about being acquainted with strangers I meet on my journeys abroad. That feeling is something I discovered when I was making my way around Switzerland and getting lost while looking for a place to see the sunset. And I had only arrived from Barcelona that morning. Having learned nothing from my time in Taos, I trekked up the narrow streets of this town called Montreux, where I saw the castle pictured above, until they turned to forest trails. The main idea was to see a waterfall I found on the map, but once I found it there were stairs nearby that continued to go up into the unknown. Seeing this as an open invitation, I followed the stairs and cut through the trees until I reached what seemed to be someone’s garden, which was unintended.

Seeing as I was probably trespassing, I hurried to find the nearest exit from this property in order to avoid any issues since my limited French would probably be useless. Thankfully I was near the gated entrance so I made my way out and followed the trail ahead where I came across an elderly man watching me with a toolbox. He said nothing. He smiled not. Then he looked away. I took this as a cue that I would not be murdered and continued on my way down the trail until I found a road. At this point it was getting close to an hour before sunset and I still had not found a vantage point from which to witness my first Swiss sunset. The road I followed was lined with tall trees that blocked my view which made me extremely disappointed, but that was until I found an opening.

Upon walking out into the clearing I found, my eyes started sweating. It was absolutely what I had been looking for, and while it wasn’t the most beautiful sunset I had seen, it was so rewarding to finally find a spot to see it. However, to my surprise, I heard a voice to my right coming from a tall building where a lady had opened a window to ask me “Are you lost?” I replied saying “No, I’m just looking for a place to see the sunset!” She said “Well you found it!” Now usually I would stop the conversation there and leave so as not to cause these nice people any discomfort, but for some reason I decided to ask “Is there a chance I could come up to your top balcony to see the sunset above the trees?” I fully expected to be denied such a ridiculous request, but to my continued surprise she agreed and came down to welcome me into her home.

The world is too big for any one of us, but together we can make it smaller. I just made that up, but someone can put it in a fortune cookie if they want to. Connecting with new people in different places around the world has helped me feel very welcome in the area I was visiting. The tall four story building that I entered was actually a shared home with a kitchen, dining room, and living room on the first floor. There were multiple single rooms on each floor for the 8 or 10 inhabitants, like an apartment building, and I even had the chance to see the room the lady lived in. On the top floor was a large lounge space as well as balcony which I was kindly invited to so I could take some photos.

That opportunity to see the inside of their home and meet her and her husband is one of my most fond memories, despite only being there for a few hours. I deeply regret not memorizing her name, but it was such a pleasure talking to her about many things from her work to her experiences living in that shared home. Her husband came up later to say hello and even suggested that I stay for dinner. I quickly declined that generous offer considering I was already an uninvited guest. As I was getting ready to leave, one of the tenants even offered to drive me back down into town right to the train station. The kindness and generosity shown to me by these people filled my heart with joy, but it also filled me with sadness knowing I couldn’t stay longer and get to know them better.

While the photo above of the cloudy sunset taken from their balcony might not be the best one I’ve taken, I treasure it mostly because of the sentimental value. I remember her telling me that they might all have to move out in the near future due to various reasons, but they are trying their best to stay, an effort I would fully support because the view from above is breathtaking. I can only imagine coming home on a clear night to see the sun setting across Lake Geneva (Lac Léman), with mountains and forested hills all around and buildings of various towns scattered below. One thing she also asked me was whether or not I had a website so she could see my work, but sadly I did not at that time. Maybe one day chance would have it that she would read this and I could thank her again for that experience.

That whole experience was only my first half day in Switzerland. With the remainder of my time I got to explore the city of Geneva, take a rollercoaster of a day trip to Annecy, France, and then take a train to see the city of Lucerne. You could spend a whole day going around the country of Switzerland just taking it in by train, but there’s so much more to see on foot. I envy those who have the chance to live and work in this country. There are times when I feel extremely nostalgic of the places I’ve been to, and while there are many places I long to revisit, my desire to explore new locales is even stronger because, as always, there’s a whole world out there - let’s go and see it.