The Value of a Swiss Franc

Living in Switzerland on a student budget definitely has its ups and downs. In a country where the cities are dominated by international organizations and banks and populated by wealthy businessmen and women, we have had to get creative to avoid shelling out 7 dollars for coffee or 12 dollars for a basic chicken sandwich. During the week we can do this pretty easily by heading to the Migros (local grocery store) and investing in a loaf of bread, some cheese, tomatoes, maybe some lunch meat, and obviously a bar of chocolate, giving us a solid meal for under 2.50 each. When the weekend comes finding activities and food on a budget can definitely be a little trickier. Luckily, one thing that comes (almost) free of cost is the scenery.

This weekend gave us our first chance to really get outside of the city and explore Switzerland. I live on a train line that heads up and into the mountains, and if you take it far enough you end up pretty close to the French border in a town called La Cure. Today, three of us decided to ride the train up to St-Cergue an area known for its scenery. Normally during this time of year if we went there we would be in the midst of cross-country skiers, but with the 50 degree weather we figured snow wouldn't be a problem. I hopped on the train outside my house, and met up with Lindsay who had bonded with a fellow foreigner (relatively easy to find in Switzerland) over ticket confusion. Once we hopped off the train we found Ali and we were on our way. We ended up using our newfound friend's knowledge of the area (He has lived in Geneva since September), and we joined him for a day of hiking. Throughout the day we discovered that he used to be a Foreign Correspondent in Sub-Saharan Africa for Times Magazine, so he definitely had some good stories to share. We spent the afternoon exploring the area, and repeatedly asking ourselves whether the scenery was real. The mountain was filled with people taking advantage of the incredible weather, and the 70 year olds trekking along beside us definitely made me embarrassed about my undeniably heavy breathing. We had a leisurely late lunch at the top, and our newfound friend provided us with Swiss chocolate, because as we are slowly learning, you can never go anywhere without a chocolate bar. Our day ended with us sprinting to the train, because heading away from the city and into the mountains had made us forget the punctuality of the Swiss. Luckily we made it to the train station just in time, and we were able to enjoy a relaxing and scenic ride down the mountain. 

With the Alps as well as Lac Léman (lake Geneva) in the distance, hiking in Switzerland is definitely an unforgettable experience. It also only put me back $5.00.......not bad for a day en Suisse!