We took the train from Milan, Italy to Zurich with few expectations. I had never been to Switzerland and for this trip, we only had a brief 36 hours and one thing on our agenda: catchup with friends.
Several years ago, my husband's family hosted an international exchange student (this was long before I met them so sadly I wasn't apart of the fun). For a year Killian, a high school student from the German countryside, moved all the way to the outskirts of central Ohio to live with a family he had never met before.
Normal, right??
Needless to say, my husband Ian became fast friends with him—so over a decade later when he announced he had a fiancé and they lived in Zurich we knew a visit was long overdue.
Killian and Kyra picked us up at the train station and welcomed us into their chic apartment for a cozy evening of wine and cheese as we got to catch up (or in my case, meet for the very first time). The warm conversation made us lose track of time, and by the end of the night we were beaming with excitement for day two.
When morning came, it was cheese, apricot jam, espresso and pastries for breakfast before they escorted us to a winter wonderland.
We visited late November—and had pure luck in our timing—as the streets and mountains were freshly blanketed in thick snow.
We rode the train up into the mountains, and the sight was heavenly.
Snow-capped peaked towered over tiny villages, homes cascading into the mountains themselves laying out a dream-like imprint before my eyes.
Several times I had to blink twice just to make sure I wasn't sleeping.
Once we arrived at (?? some mountain village??) we exited the train and hopped on a bus which took us close-ish to the snowy-covered trail head we wanted.
From then it was a windy walk on the wintery streets to find the most insane view of the alps, along with the famous Matterhorn peering down at us.
After snowball-fights, and endless laughter we made out way back down in desperate search of swiss hot chocolate. After boarding the train back into the city, we warmed up with a visit to a traditional Swiss Christmas market, muled wine and a fondue dinner (sooo insanely unique and easily the most expensive bill I've ever seen for cheese and veg!).
The evening wrapped with an unforgettable nighttime walk through Zurich, the air crisp and my head warm with wine and good company, reminding me that moments like this are irreplaceable.
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