Subject: The last couple of weeks in Switzerland :)
Hello everyone!
The last couple of weeks have been very busy for me here in Switzerland! This week is my first week back at school after the summer holidays, which were five weeks long.
In the first week of holidays, we spent our time catching up on errands etc. that we didn't have time for during the school semester. We also went on a hike to the Morteratsch Glacier. It was a beautiful hike, and as a person who wouldn't usually think of hiking as fun, it was one of my favourite things that I did in the holidays. On the Wednesday we hiked to the top of the Glacier, where we stayed overnight and had dinner, and on the Thursday morning we hiked back down. It was also interesting to look at the pictures of the Glacier only 10 years ago, and how much smaller it now is in comparison
(at the glacier after a long and cold hike!)
(the hut that we stayed overnight in)
I also made a day trip with friends to Bern, and we went swimming in the Aare River. It is amazing! The water flows fast down the river and there are areas to float down and then climb out 5 or 10 minutes later.
In the second week of the summer holidays, I was lucky enough to be invited by my host family to travel with them for 12 days to a small town in Italy named Bolsena. Bolsena is located almost directly in between Rome and Florence, and the town is located on the Bolsena Lake, which is really large and beautiful to go swimming in- especially in the beautiful Italian summer!! We spent our time in Bolsena relaxing, swimming, reading and we made two-day trips during our stay in Italy.
(our garden and view in Bolsena)
(a church from our day trip to the Provence of Viterbo)
We arrived home from Italy at the end of the 3rd week of the summer holidays. I spent 5 days at home before I travelled to Hirschberg, Germany to visit my family friends Isabelle and Ebi. I spent 5 days in Germany, and despite a few days of rainy weather we still managed to see a lot of places, I had a great time! My favourite place that I visited was the Schwetzingen Castle Gardens. Isabelle and Ebi told me that the German locals like to call it "Kleine Versailles" which means "little Versailles", and I really thought that it was just as beautiful as the Versailles gardens!
(Isabelle, Filou the dog and I at Schwetzingen Castle Gardens)
(the beautiful multicultural architecture in the gardens)
In the final week of the summer holidays, I had to get ready to come back to school for the new school year. I also went to St Gallen for the second time this year and met with another exchange student to explore the city a little more. It is one of my favourite cities in Switzerland.
My German is really starting to improve! I sit the b1 test in less than two months and am also planning on sitting a b2 exam. My rotary German course began again on Wednesday, and we have 5 weeks left of the course. I've really enjoyed the course and I think I will miss having it each week!
I hope all is well in Perth and in the club! Thank you for everything!
Holly