A New Friend

 

As I stated in my first post about our trip, Switzerland was a last minute stop on our itinerary, and we threw the details together literally at the last minute.  For example, while on our layover in Denver, we searched for VRBO options in Switzerland.  I couldn't find any in Interlaken, the town we thought we'd use as a base.  Jordan zoomed out on Google maps and suggested the nearby city of Thun.  I checked there and found an incredible penthouse apartment near the train station - complete with 2 levels and a rooftop deck with the prerequisite outdoor hot tub!  Here's one of the views from the 2nd floor of our rental.

We booked the apartment and headed to our gate to board the flight to Munich.  The plane was only about 1/3 full, and we were excited to think that we might not have to share our middle aisle with a stranger.  Wrong!  Just before the doors closed, a women sat right next to me.  The flight attendants let us know that we could get up and move around once we were in flight, but until then we had to stay in our assigned seats.  The woman and I started making small talk, and it turns out that she is from Switzerland.  Not only that, she is from... Thun!  We chatted more, and it turns out that she biked through Colville - right past where we used to live.  It's such a small world!  We asked her for some tourist/restaurant tips before she left for her own row of seats, and we exchanged emails.

Fast forward a week, and we received a lovely email from Karin, our new Swiss friend. She sent us some great tips, and then invited us to join her for dinner.  We met up with her after our day in Grindelwald, and we enjoyed a traditional Swiss fondue dinner.  Swiss people embrace the winter, and they often eat under the stars despite the weather.  We each had a faux sheep skin placed over the seat of our chair to keep us warm, and then we were provided with a flannel throw to cover our laps.  With the candles and heaters under the fondue pots, we were super cozy!

We spent a lovely evening getting to know Karin, who is a substitute teacher for middle school children.  She is quite remarkable and bikes around the American west during school breaks.  Karin is one of the most interesting people we've ever met, and we have plans to connect the next time that she is in America and/or we get to Switzerland!