small trips around a big world
One thing about living in Switzerland stands out above all else, and that is the access to the outdoors. I decided to enter the winter sports scene by starting with low-adrenaline activities: cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. And after scouring the glocals website, I found all the necessary equipment for next to nothing. Now, fully prepared, it was time to hit the... Continue Reading →
The food-focused 2015 World Expo has catapulted Milan into the spotlight. But Milan takes a while to uncover, its hidden charm slowly revealed on long rambles throughout the city, surprising curious visitors with spectacular interior courtyards and delicious restaurants, tucked away behind giant closed doors. Like most travelers who pass through Milan merely to kick off or wrap up an extended Italy trip, we were... Continue Reading →
When a friend from Atlanta, Georgia comes to visit you and has never seen mountain snow, there's only one thing to do - SLEDGE DOWN A MOUNTAIN! Only two hours from Geneva, Les Diablerets makes the perfect day trip for any winter sport. They have wonderful beginner to imtermediate alpine and x country ski runs, wnter hiking, and... Continue Reading →
For a peaceful transition from 2016 to 2017, we decided to unplug for the weekend and retreat to the mountains. We had planned a relaxing New Years in a rustic wooden hut above the town of Riederalp, situated at the end of the Aletsch Glacier UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to Europe's largest and most powerful glacier,... Continue Reading →
We flew into Athens and stepped in line to board the SeaJets ferry for the three-hour journey from Piraeus Port to Milos, just a few stops short of Santorini. After a year of deliberating and planning, we were finally on our way to meet our old friends Theodoris, YuFang, Lucas, Sarah, and Allison's brother Nate for a week-long reunion in Theodoris's... Continue Reading →
It's a challenge to spend an entire weekend in Geneva when there are so many beautiful places just a short train ride away. Rochers Des Naye is one such place, recommended to us by a Swiss couple we met in a mountain hut, and makes for an easy 1.5 hour daytrip from Geneva. I caught an early train to Montreux, hoping to set... Continue Reading →
It was still early morning when I arrived in Kandersteg on the last summer hiking weekend of the season, a thick blanket of clouds masking any sign of the enormous peaks that I knew were lurking all around me. A humble hiking mecca in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland, Kandersteg lies just on the other side of the mountains from Rick Steve's beloved Gimmelwald and is reminiscent of the... Continue Reading →
Any wine lover should immediately head to the north shores of Lake Geneva where one of Europe's best-kept secrets lies waiting: the timeless Lavaux Vineyards. Just an hour from Geneva by train, Lavaux is the largest contiguous vineyard region in Switzerland, covering 800 hectares between Lausanne and Vevey, and has been protected as a UNESCO... Continue Reading →
My best friend Laura was in town, and I wanted to plan a weekend adventure befitting of nearly 20 years exploring the world together. Hiking around Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe, seemed the obvious choice. Sitting at over 15,770 feet with magnificent valleys stretching into France, Italy, and Switzerland, the Mont Blanc... Continue Reading →
Switzerland’s remarkable landscapes demand immediate action – grab your boots, jump on a train, and hit the trails. And perhaps nowhere deserves a visit more than the Swiss National Park, a relatively off-the-grid destination that bundles everything the country has to offer into a compact 170 sq km pocket of nature. With a three-day weekend ahead of us, we packed... Continue Reading →