Frames of Reference

It's as if I've lost all bearings.  Without a frame of reference, up becomes down. Left equals right.  Any attempt to steer simply results in unrealized intent.  All I see is sky, sky, and more sky.  I thought that the sky and the ground, in their constant uniforms, would be my friends.  Feeling betrayed I grapple with reorientation. And then, everything stops.  The world is no longer spinning, my heart is no longer racing, and control once again belongs to me.  The opening of the hatch interrupts the darkness and I exit the flight simulator.  I catch the grin of my copilot, Melody, and we burst out laughing.  It's amazing how fun and fear can unite seamlessly.

The flight simulator at the Swiss Transportation museum in Lucerne mirrors the sensations of studying abroad in an honest way.  As preparation falters, expectations are rendered irrelevant, habits are left useless and once routine actions are formidable obstacle courses.  I'm nearing the end of three weeks in St. Gallen and am finally beginning to establish familiar patterns.  The main train station, the tiny Migros down the block, Uni campus, bus line 7, Stuckelburgstrasse 5 - these are all familiar places to me now and the feeling that I'm a stranger is fading away.  One of the reasons I chose to spend my semester in St. Gallen was because the city wasn't a popular study abroad location or popular tourist destination; it's a place where I can feel comfortable, a place that I can make a home away from home.  

However in my three weeks abroad, I haven't spent the entire duration in homey St. Gallen.  I decided early on to skip the German 2 week introductory course in exchange for some unforgettable memories.  It seemed like a cut and dry choice to me! I've been to Lucerne, Geneva, and Munich - all amazingly beautiful places.  Lucerne is a small town in German speaking Switzerland not too far from St. Gallen.  Quite the opposite, Geneva is all the way across the country right by the borders of France and Italy; it's a truly international city and a symbol of peace and neutrality all around the world.  Munich is Germany at its finest with its stunning architecture and great reputation for classic beer. My trips all varied in distance, duration, and company but each was a special experience.

Lucerne

Lucerne is absolutely magical, magical in that it feels like -1 F when it's only -1 C.  Conversation is stilted because people are too busy shivering to manage polite conversation especially if English isn't their native language.  It'll be a while before any of us are warm and toasty again.  

We slowly stroll along, making our way towards Old Town.  Soon my nose is assaulted with the aromas of sharp cheeses and fresh meats.  The open-air market of Lucerne sits next to the river and though the day is cloudy and cold, the locals and tourists alike leave their warm beds to make a few delicious purchases that are sure to be worth the numb fingers and toes.  At the end of line of stalls, we cross one of the historic wooden bridges almost as old as the city itself.  We walk slowly keeping our eyes on the ceiling as to admire the lovely colorful paintings that adorn the supports of the bridges "roof".  

A St. Gallen student leads the tour and he seems to realize that his quick blurbs about the history of the city fall deaf on most our ears as we glower and glare at the gloomy sky.  He catches our attention, however, when he announces our next destination as an old church, most likely with a heated interior.  The happy bump in mood is palpable as we set off down the cobblestone streets.  To reach the church we must first conquer a large and long set of stairs.  We bound up them, two steps at a time, in anticipation.  All I'm thinking as I push open the large wooden doors is please God let there be warmth.  If there were any place He would grant this wish, it would be here in this magnificent church.  When a wall of heat hits me, I sigh in relief and gratitude.  I am consciously aware of my muscles relaxing as this is the first time in hours my shoulders aren't hunched as a shield to the frigid wind.  And then I finally notice the sacred beauty that surrounds me.  No matter how many churches I see in Europe, I don't think their splendor could ever get old.  

After lunch it's time for the museum where we will spend our entire afternoon.  Most of us have some mixed feelings about this, which isn't unexpected.  However, as soon as I walk into the Swiss Transportation Museum, I embrace my inner elated four-year-old child and I leave my surly "a museum for 3 whole hours?" attitude at the door.  From racing on rowing machines to touring a submarine to playing with toy trains to simply posing for goofy pictures, time passes quickly and just as I'm finished exploring all the museum has to offer (the flight simulator just couldn't be topped), it's time to board the bus back to St. Gallen.  Worn out by the cold and the excitement, I ward off dozing by chatting with my fellow Gamecock, Nick Cannon, about all we've seen so far, the places we want to go, and of course, how much we miss USC.  

One of many beautiful churches I've seen!

Largest collection of road signs at the Swiss Transportation Museum!
As you can see, I'm a baller!

Ready for take off!

We couldn't help goofing around!

Geneva

The train rounds a bend and there it is: the sun.  It shines above a vast and glittering lake.  I look around and see that the faces of my travel companions mirror mine.  We are all in awe of the beauty.  I think it's the first time any of us have seen the sun since arriving in Switzerland.  St. Gallen has been cursed with an omnipresent overcast haze.  We stare for a few moments before phones, GoPros, and cameras are found so that we can each preserve this beautiful image for years to come. But no matter how many pictures we take, nothing can compare to the real thing. 

It doesn't even come close!

We spend our first afternoon simply basking in the sun's rays while we explore Lake Geneva and the Cathedral de St. Pierre.  Day 2 in Geneva we do something a little unexpected - we release the inner geek inside all of us and get educational.  

We spend the morning at the Palais de Nations - which is home to the United Nations.  It's the largest UN operations site outside headquarters in NYC and also the former location of the UN's precursor the League of Nations.  By some stroke of luck, we arrive just as the office is opening and join the very first tour of the day.  When we reach the Salle Des Assemblée, one of the oldest and most famous rooms where all the member countries convene, we couldn't help but take a few pictures as if we were the representatives for our home nations, smiling behind the country placards that still sat upon the desks. 

#reppin'

That afternoon we head out of the city to CERN hoping to catch as glimpse of the Higgs Boson, sometimes referred to as the God particle.  Having recently watched the movie, The Theory of Everything, which recounts the tale of Stephen Hawking's life, I'm excited to immerse myself in the world of theoretical physics - not a typical area of interest for me.  I'm soon swept up as our tour guide recounts the history of CERN and shows us the original particle accelerator that ran for 33 years.  

the original collider

Next we get make our way across the complex (by the way, CERN is huge) to see the LHC (aka Large Hadron Collider).  Well you can't actually see it as it's underground and is a ring of superconducting magnets that's 27km in circumference (told you CERN is huge) but you get my point.   Instead our guide actually leads us to the ATLAS (one of several particle detectors) control room where teams of researchers are gearing up for an experiment that will run for three whole years.  Our guide explains that ATLAS looks for fundamental particles, especially those that make up dark matter of which most of the universe is made.  The work at CERN is crazy fascinating and science geek or no, a visit is definitely worth your time.  If you really want to know more about all this stuff, I highly recommend reading "The 4% Universe" which I downloaded to my Kindle upon my return to St. Gallen and has since continued to blow my mind. 

Our first view once we exit the train station.

Lake Geneva

As a lover of sailing, I just couldn't help myself.

 . . . such pretty boats.

Looking out at the city and its lake.

The Reformation Wall

From soaking up much needed Vitamin D to international affairs to theoretical physics, Geneva is my favorite place I've traveled so far! 

Munich

The best thing about cities in Europe is their historic town squares; when you don't have a detailed trip itinerary, it's the best place to start a visit and that's exactly what we were doing as a group of sixteen spontaneous students studying abroad.  After arriving at the bus station in Munich, we headed straight for the center of the city: Marienplatz. We wander down the main street until we reach the famous Glockenspiel where we can't resist taking a group photo with the stunning architecture as a background. One could stare at the clock tower's ornate facade for hours. 

Glorious Glockenspiel!

After we've made our way through more stores and hordes of fellow travelers and locals too, we reach the Hofbrauhaus where we dine on wieners and schnitzel and sip beer from steins as big as my face. The beer hall is loud, as it should be, and I gaze around at the crowded tables.  Laughter bounces off the colorfully painted ceiling and wraps the halls in warmth.  The waitresses weave through the tight spaces left between chairs and tables all the while carrying several steins in one hand, food in the other, and dressed in the attire of a quintessential beer maid.   Making plans for the rest of our stay. my friends and I shout at each other across the table, taking frequent breaks to toast everything under the sun.  

In the moment, I don't see how our time in Munich can get any better than this. But it does! The next day, returning from a visit to the 1972 Olympic Park and BMW World, a few of us get separated from the rest of the group on the crowded subway.  Thinking that the game plan was to head back to Marienplatz for an hour or so before catching the bus back to St. Gallen, I tell everyone in our small group to get off there. As we ride the escalator exiting the station, music drifts through the air.  I find myself singing along to "Summer Lovin'" from Grease. Well, isn't that strange? Stranger yet is when we reach the surface and are suddenly immersed in Munich's celebration of Carnival or "Fasching" as it's known in Bavaria, Germany.  For the rest of the afternoon, we join in the festivities even purchasing some colorful bowler hats and confetti from street vendors.  We sing along to accented covers of American artists from the 80s and dance until we can dance no more! What started out as a panicky accident in getting separated from a large group turned out to be the best part of the trip and before we knew it, we had to head back to St. Gallen and leave the fun behind. 

SO MUCH CONFETTI

Having fun with friends!