My love affair with Switzerland

There is always that one place in the world you dream of visiting. Whether it be the stories you've heard, the photos you've seen or a movie you've watched. For me that place was London!

You read that right. I'd always had this fascination with visiting London since I was a little girl. It might have been all the British comedy I grew up watching like Faulty Towers, Mr Bean and Monty Python. Or perhaps it was the beautiful country side from the films I've watched. Either way that was the first place on the list when my husband and I were planning our Honeymoon trip. As we were buying 'around the world' tickets we had a stop over scheduled via Zurich, Switzerland. We thought if we were going there anyway, why not stay 3 nights. Little did we know what was about to happen... Switzerland happened.

(Lake Zurich, Switzerland)

As soon as we hit our descent in the plane and I could see the perfect gingerbread houses on the hills, I was in love. Once we had arrived we headed down the river towards Lake Zurich. The buildings had a beautiful old charm, the streets were clean as if no one lived there and the local Swiss people were friendly and welcoming. We stumbled upon a small riverside bar and sat down for a quiet drink. After a few cocktails (My fave: The Hugo) we wondered down through the historic landscape, past bustling cafes buzzing with chatter and jovial laughter and walked over to a picturesque pool by the lake. The water was halfway between emerald green and sapphire blue and it was crystal clear. One of the locals told us how the lake is filled with water that filters down from the Alps.

The remainder of our time in Switzerland was filled with sight seeing, relaxing and planning to move to this beautiful country. We'd even gone as far as looking into schooling, average income, health care and if we could bring our dog over to live with us... turns out we can.

There is just something so wonderfully romantic about Switzerland. It's not the history, nor the old buildings. It's not delicious fondu or the fabulous cocktails and it's not even the kind natured and delightful Swiss folk. It was that despite being in a completely foreign country, not knowing the language, not having any plans and not knowing the first thing about Switzerland... We have never felt more at home. Sometimes you just know something with absolute certainty when it happens.

Switzerland happened to us.