Trip Through Europe Part I (Austria and Switzerland)

    Since I was six months old, I have spent every summer in Europe. This means I crossed the Atlantic Ocean back and forth 17 times so far. Most of the time, I stay in Romania, which I visit extensively, but my family also takes me through other European countries. For example, we visited Prague by car once, and in the last several years, we have flown to southern France every July for about a week.

    This summer we've decided to do something different. Taking advantage of the comfortable Volkswagen Touareg we just purchased for our summers in Europe, we drove a long way from Romania, through Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and France. I have hundreds of photos, so selecting just a few for these articles was quite difficult.

    

We started very early on a July morning from our country home in Remetea Chioarului. As you can imagine, I was eager to go and didn't complain about getting up while it was still dark

outside. The drive through Romania and the Hungarian Puszta took about nine hours and was mostly uneventful. Once we crossed into Austria the terrain gradually became mountainous.

    By the time we reached Vienna and settled into our hotel in the city center, it was already 3:00 in the afternoon. The weather was wonderful: sunny and not too hot. So, we spent the rest of the day and the evening visiting several landmarks, such as Maria-Theresien-Platz and St. Stephen's Cathedral. Vienna is vibrant and offers an interesting mix of history and modernism. The food is great too!

    The next day we started early too. The landscape was simply breathtaking. I took many photos just from the car. The rain started just as we briefly crossed into Germany - the only time it rained during this entire trip and even that lasted about an hour only. That was a good moment to test the Touareg, since some highways in Germany have no speed limit!  Once in

Switzerland, we left the main highway and drove through the countryside, admiring the sharp peaks and colorful Swiss villages. Switzerland has over 2000 tunnels and galleries, with a combined length exceeding 2,500 km. The mountains themselves are like Swiss cheese! Every time we were in a tunnel, I couldn't wait to get out and be surprised by another jaded green lake or white summit on the horizon. This is definitely one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

    We reached Zurich in the afternoon, where we visited the school my father studied at (ETHZ) and the dorm where he stayed in the '90s. Then we parked downtown and walked

through the Bellevue area, including the Quaibrücke (Quai Bridge), and a bit around Lake Zurich. I must say, Zurich is by far my favorite city I've seen. The atmosphere is friendly, filled with young people, and everything is clean and fresh, even though the city is laden with history. I most definitely want to visit it again!

    We arrived at our apartment on the outskirts of Zurich very late that evening - and nearly missed check-in! I slept deeply and then we were on the road again early in the morning, heading south. After passing through the Lucerne area, we drove by a couple of lakes with surreal, clean green water. We stopped for a couple of hours at Lake Lungern to admire the white peaks far ahead and the incredible landscape around the water. We weren't sure if swimming was allowed, but since there were no signs forbidding it - and believe me, Switzerland has strict rules - we bit the bullet and dipped into the water. This was a memorable experience! I could see meters down into the water—which wasn't as cold as I expected—yet far ahead, snow-covered mountains were towering over us. After a long swim, I couldn't resist using my telephoto lens to take a shot of the Bernese Alps. Feeling refreshed, we took a short drive to Lauterbrunnen, a village in a wonderful valley packed with tourists admiring the local waterfall and the stunning view. Finally, we reached Engelberg, an alpine town at the base of Mount Titlis. Sadly, we didn't have time to take the gondola up because we had to rush on our way to Italy. 

    Overall, I was very impressed with Switzerland, and I recommend you all to visit it when you have a chance.