After our escapades in London, we hopped on a short plane ride to Zurich, Switzerland. We then took a long bus ride up through the Swiss Alps to our ski lodge hotel in the small town of Adelboden. Unfortunately, we were there in the middle of summer so we didn’t get to do the well-known winter activities like skiing or snowboarding but the beauty of the country has definitely inspired me to go back at some point in the future to have that experience. Even though we couldn’t do the typical outdoor activities that Switzerland is known for, we did do a lot of hiking while on the mountain.

Everywhere you turned in Switzerland it was a picturesque view of mountains and valleys. I am from Delaware, where I spend everyday below sea level and the biggest hill I encounter is my driveway, so the Swiss Alps were an adjustment to say the least.

Our second day in Switzerland was spent at a Girl Scout World Center. If you did not know Girl Scouts was founded in America by Juliet Gordon Low. She modeled the program off of the Boy Scouts because she wanted to create a program that gave opportunities to American girls. Boys Scouts were created by Lord Baden-Powel in London, England. His wife, Lady Baden-Powell created the Girl Guides as a branch. Juliette Gordon Low became inspired while visiting the Baden-Powell family and brought their ideas back to America in the form of Girls Scouts. The World Centers were created in order to establish a place where Girl Scouts and Girl Guides from across the world can come together in one place in order to collaborate and make friends. My troop and I visited and was able to participate in a flag ceremony while at the Center.

The next day we traveled back down the mountain to Lucerne, Switzerland. There we visited the Lion of Lucerne. This carved monument was created in 1821 in order to commemorate the Swiss Guards massacred during the French Revolution. A regiment had served the French royal family as guards since the 17th century. During an uprising on August 10, revolutionaries attacked the palace where the King and his family were, killing almost the entire regiment. One loan soldier who was on leave in Lucerne, survived and issued the creation of the Lion. It is truly one of the prettiest and serene monuments I have ever seen.

We also traveled to the center of Lucerne to see the oldest covered bridge in Europe. The Kapellbrücke is a wooden covered foot bridge that dates back to 1365. There are a lot of 17th century art throughout the bridge as well, but most of the art was destroyed during a fire in 1993. Of the 158 paintings that were originally painted, only 30 have been fully restored from the damage the fire caused.

Our next and final stop in Switzerland was we traveled up Mount Pilatus. Pilatus is a mountain that looks over Lucerne. We took a 40-minute vertical cog train up the mountain to reach the peak. Unfortunately, that day the mountain was covered in fog so we didn’t get to see the amazing view from the top of the mountain. However, on our way down we saw some amazing views. I would highly suggest this if you ever go to Switzerland.

That’s all I have for today! Join me next time as we road trip through Italy

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