Belgium & Switzerland

December 3-15, 2016

The trip that started it all. We have always enjoyed traveling, but our first trip to Europe sparked our desire for traveling the world!

In the fall of 2016, Chad was asked to go to Belgium for work. Belgium was the one place I did not want him to go due to a recent bombing at the Brussels airport. He ended up convincing me that it should be safer to go there now and that I could go with him. His coworker and good friend Kenny, who is quite the adventurer, was also going. We decided to make the most of this first trip to Europe and visit another country as well. We discussed many places such as Italy and Germany, but we landed on Switzerland. I wasn't completely sold on this, especially with it being so cold, but the guys were excited, and in the end, it has been our favorite trip to date!

We flew out of RDU on December 3rd and landed in Brussels on the morning of December 4th. Knowing we needed to try to stay awake, we headed to the main square, also known as Grand-Place. The square was lively with people and Christmas markets lining the streets. We walked around for several hours, exploring and taking in all the sights. Our first purchase was a Nutella banana crepe, which was delicious! While in Belgium you have to try their waffles. They did not disappoint! We probably had waffles four times that week, the banana Nutella being our favorite.

Chad and Kenny worked for the next five days. After work each evening, the three of us would go to the main square for dinner. We found the best little Italian place, Pasta Divina, for dinner one evening that serves fresh-made pasta. Reservations are recommended to get in, as it is a small restaurant. We may have gotten in a little tiff over whether it was worth the wait since the only opening they had would make for a later than planned dinner, but it was 100% worth it!

Saturday, December 10th, we flew from Belgium to Switzerland.  Our first day in Switzerland included Christmas markets, petting a reindeer, and exploring Chillon Castle.  That evening we traveled, by train, to Zermatt where we had a hotel booked. (It turned out that our room was no longer available due to the previous guests flooding it according to the front desk attendant. Luckily, there was a partner hotel down the road where we were able to stay.)  Even though it was after dark when we got there, we could see the outline of the towering mountains surrounding us. And being from North Carolina, this was vastly different from what we were use to calling mountains.

The next day we took a gondola ride to the top of the Klein Matterhorn, which was probably the highlight of the whole trip! The Klein Matterhorn stands at 3,883 meters and is the highest peak in Europe that can be reached by cable car.  It was cold, but we were prepared, having spent countless evenings before our trip shopping for cold-weather clothing. The views from the observation deck of the snow-covered mountains were breathtaking!  After getting our fill of the view, Chad had to sit down due to the elevation.  Meanwhile, Kenny convinced me to go out on the ski slopes past the taped off area to venture out onto the mountain a little way.  I was hesitant, crossing yellow tape isn't on the top of my list of things to do as it's usually there for a reason, but I was so glad I went!  The views here were so grand and not limited to a small and crowded observation deck.

We took a gondola back down the mountain and caught a cog train to Gornegrat, where we had more spectacular panoramic mountain views and a great view of the Matterhorn.  That evening we took a train from Zermatt to Interlaken, where we would spend the next two nights.  The town seemed pretty deserted, but we eventually found an Italian place for dinner and then attempted to plan the next day's hike.  Tiredness had hit, being nine days into our trip, and there was likely more laughter than planning occurring.

The next morning, after breakfast and a quick stop at the grocery store for lunch items, we headed to Murren for our first hike with Kenny. I'm not sure we had a well-defined plan for this hike.  We started on a trail, but there were times where there was no defined path, and we never passed another person during our time out there. As we hiked, we walked through dry grassy paths into snowy and icy ones in which I managed to slip once or twice.  (Nearly three years later, we have learned it's not a real hike unless I have slipped or fallen at least once.)  After what felt like the longest hike, we eventually found our way to a train stop that would take us back into town. (This would not be our longest hike with Kenny,  Samaria Gorge, in 2017, took first place.)

That same day we had time to go to Shilthorn, which overlooks Jungfrau and is known for being a filming location for one of the James Bond movies.  We took a cable car to the top, walked through the revolving restaurant, and walked out on the observation deck that has a portion made of glass so you can see down far below. 

The following morning, December 13th, we headed to Lucern, where we would take a gondola to the top of Titlis. At 3,041 meters above sea level, we got to take in more snow-covered mountains, walk across Europe's highest suspension bridge, and walk through a glacier cave.

Although there was so much more to see and do, our trip was nearing an end. We flew back to Brussels, where we were able to enjoy one more evening walking through the square, and of course, if you know me, I had to get one last banana Nutella waffle.

Our flight left early the morning of the 15th, and we arrived back in North Carolina around midnight.  The drive home was a struggle, but when we got there, we found a box of Krispy Kreme donuts, milk in the fridge, and the lights turned on by Chad's sweet sister Brooke.  We made it back just in time for me to second shoot a wedding that weekend and to start enjoying all the Christmas festivities with family!

Itinerary:

Day 1 - Flew from RDU to Brussels 

Day 2 - Arrived in Brussels / Explored Grand Place

Days 3-7 - Chad and Kenny Worked

Day 8- Flew to Geneva / Train to Montreux / Chillon Castle / Train to Zermatt

Day 9- Kline Matterhorn / Gornergrat / Train to Interlaken

Day 10- Hike in Murren / Schilthorn

Day 11- Train to Lucerne / Titlis / Train to Geneva

Day 12- Explored Geneva / Flew to Brussels

Day 13- Flight home

Food Recommendations (Belgium):

Pasta Divina

Los Churros & Waffle

Accommodations (Switzerland):

Best Westeren Plus Alpen Resort Hotel (Zermatt)

Hotel Central (Interlaken)

Hotel Residence Cityzen (Geneva)

Important things we learned on our first trip to Europe:

- Power adapters are needed to use outlets.

- Water is not free at most restaurants.

- Bathrooms often are not free, or you must be a paying customer to use them.

- You have to let your waiter know you are done and ready for the bill.

- Tipping at restaurants is often not required. Some restaurants include a service charge on the bill.

- Have a credit card that can be used at an ATM to get cash out. Not all places accept cards. (Amex is not as widely accepted as Visa and Mastercard.)

- Public transportation is excellent, so do not be afraid to use it instead of renting a car!  We used the train in Belgium and Switzerland.  We purchased the Swiss Travel Pass for traveling in Switzerland.