A Letter To My Love

Dearest Switzerland,

I owe you an apology. Over the last three months, we've been spending a lot of time together, and honestly I started to take you for granted. You've been nothing but good to me since we first met in early January. That first week in Lugano was magical. I will forever cherish how special you made my 21st birthday. Our first weekend together was one for the books. Skiing Zermatt was hands down one of the best experiences of my life. You certainly inherited Mother Nature's best traits. 

Since then however, we've drawn apart. I take full blame. I started seeing other countries. First it was Italy, drawing me in with its delicious food. Then Germany with its endless supply of beer. Then England and its irresistible accent. Ireland stole my heart. I celebrated Valentine's Day with France. I went on a second date with Italy, who continued to woo me, this time with pesto. Belgium made me the world's best breakfast. Hungary was a cheap date. I gave Germany a second go. Prague and I really hit it off. Italy was determined to show me the wonders of Rome last weekend. 

I realize this isn't the best apology, but rather a list of my recent conquests. Keep reading. 

It had been over two months since our marvelous weekend together in Zermatt. Honestly, I was slightly bitter you wouldn't show me the Matterhorn, but I now realize you were simply playing hard to get. We had only just met, you weren't ready for that type of commitment. Clearly, I wasn't either. 

I realized that despite how long we've known each other now, we hadn't spent quality time together in quite a while. This weekend changed everything. Italy was practically begging me to visit Cinque Terre. Frankly, Italy was getting a little too clingy. Instead, I stayed with you. It was just the two of us and you showed me the world.

My journey to Interlaken was beautiful. You continue to teach me that it's the journey, not the destination. We were finally starting to click, and Friday you proved that. 

I woke up early Friday morning excited for my journey ahead to Jungfrau, the top of Europe. With stops in Lauterbrunnen Valley and Kleine Scheidegg, I was already blown away. Jungfraujoch took the cake. Words cannot describe your beauty, Switzerland.

Getting to Jungfraujoch required a simple train ride. Getting to it's peak at Mönchsjochhütte however, was not. You challenged me and I accepted. After an hour hike up the mountain, I made it. It's there that I fell in love with you all over again. I enjoyed a terrific lunch and one of the most beautiful views in the world.

Just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, you did this:

Thank you, Switzerland. While our time together is coming to an end in a few short weeks, I want you to know how great you are. I promise to come back and visit you, if you promise to be nicer to my wallet. 

With love,

Con amore,

Mit liebe,

Avec amour,

Bijan

Le Tour de Waffle: Brussels, Belgium

I laughed more this weekend than I ever remember laughing in a three day span. Dana, Madison, Jenny, Justine, Ashley, Trip, Kyle and I made our way to Brussels, Belgium for the weekend. The city had been hyped up by two other groups on our trip, and it exceeded expectations. After a ten hour train ride, we arrived what would quickly become one of my favorite cities in the world.

We woke up early on Saturday morning to begin the Tour de Waffle. Trip, Madison, and I wanted to eat as many waffles as possible in the 27 hours we were in Brussels. My personal goal was eight. We started with two for breakfast. One brussels waffle and one liege waffle. As a waffle connoisseur, I can tell you that both were divine. The classic brussels waffle was light and airy, far less cakey than waffles in the United States. It was loaded with strawberries and molten Belgian chocolate. The liege waffle is in a league of its own. Far more dense than any other waffle on the market, with chunks of sugar baked into the middle, the liege waffle is truly the breakfast of champions. Hidden somewhere under a mountain of chocolate, strawberries, bananas, and more chocolate hides the caramelized brilliance that is the liege waffle.

There's a vibe in Brussels that I can't quite explain. It's a strange mix between relaxed and hustling at the same time. There's so much to do but the sense of urgency isn't there. It's hard to pinpoint, but I liked it. After breakfast and second breakfast, We made our way to the Brussels Town Hall, an incredibly elaborate building. The crowded town square was surrounded by old buildings with towers invading the skyline.

The Manneken Pis Statue is one of Brussels most famous landmarks. I'm not entirely sure why, but it is. The sculpture of the naked child urinating was clothed when we visited. He dawned a bright orange jacket and a large brown hat. We later learned that the outfit is ceremoniously changed when we saw a parade headed toward the statue. The sculpture was put in place in the early 1600's and draws quite the crowd.

 

About twenty minutes from the city center by metro, we visited the Atomium. On the metro we met a cheery Irish couple from Dublin. They were headed in the same direction, and we had a chance to talk to them a bit about how much we love their country. As expected, they were incredibly kind. The Atomium was constructed for the 1958 World Fair. While we weren't able to make it to the top, the eight of us did our best to recreate what CNN calls "Europe's most bizarre building."

When we returned to the city, Kyle, Trip and I made a stop at a store that had over 250 varieties of beer. We purchased an assorted box of ten Belgian beers and did a taste test after dinner. The flavors varied from blueberry to Belgian Tripel. Belgian beer was much sweeter than what we had in Germany. I enjoyed it in both countries, but they were very different. Munich prided itself on the lack of ingredients in their beer, while Belgium seemed to add any flavor imaginable to beer.

Following our beer tasting, we made our way to Delirium Bar. On the way we stopped at two waffle shops to bring our total to five in the first twelve hours of the Tour de Waffle. The first shop had a sign out front that read "World Champion Waffles" which is the equivalent of a sign that reads "World's Best Cup of Coffee." While the waffle's were delicious, they certainly weren't deserving of a world championship. Trip however, made sure to congratulate the owner anyway, just like this:

Everyone I know that has been to Brussels, has insisted that we spend a night at Delirium. Delirium holds the Guinness World Record for most varieties of beer commercially available, with 2004. Our night there was very enjoyable. The bar was unique, with three levels as well as separate bars attached devoted solely to rhum and other varieties of alcohol.

On Sunday morning, we made our way back to the city center for waffles and some more exploring. Madison and Trip had one each, so I went for two. This brought my running count to seven, one ahead of them. We explored the city a bit and came across a vintage market. We spent a while there before heading back to catch our train home to Lugano. We stopped for one last waffle on the way to the train station. I enjoyed my final waffle of the trip, taking a solid lead with my eighth waffle in 27 hours. Trip and Madison would have tied for second, had Madison not slipped me a Euro to purchase one more waffle for her. She hid the waffle in her jacket until we got on the train. As we pulled away from the train station, this happened:

We took a ten hour train ride back, and laughed the entire time. It was another memorable weekend and I would go back to Brussels in a heartbeat. This week we are wrapping up our Marketing Research class. We will be taking our final exam on Thursday and beginning our 2nd Spring Break in the evening. Next week I'll be headed to Budapest, Berlin, and Prague. Until then, ciao!