After meeting up after everyone’s farm stays, we were well rested and ready for a long day of travel to Sonenberg, a quaint town an hour and a half south of Zurich. Which, by the way, is pronounced Zoorie with a gargle/hissing sound at the end. Anyways, our travels were nothing sort of what I like to call an “adventure” or “an experience”. Oh well, I got to eat and sleep today. I am happy!

We first traveled to Illanz for lunch at Hans Peter’s (our group organizer) sister’s restaurant. I was so happy that Juerg joined us for one last meal. There was this huge salad with fresh corn and a homemade dressing made with cream, chives, paprika, shrimp, and some other good stuff I couldn’t figure out. It is the house secret recipe. The main course was with homemade egg noodles with pork and cream sauce again that was light but flavorful. So filling! But the superstar of the meal came at the end, dessert. It was warmed raspberry compote with homemade vanilla bean ice cream and whip cream. So simple, yet so heavenly.

After saying our goodbyes, I think everyone was in shock and was slightly emotional about leaving their hosts. I was so happy to hear that everyone else’s hosts were as great as ours. Well, almost everyone’s! One pair of guy’s stay entailed eating cheese, bread, meat, and milk while working 10-hour days. Their work only consisted of building fence on the mountain. Sounds kinda fun right? They actually had to go out searching for the trees to cut down, trim, and pound them into the ground. The kicker in all this is that the hosts served them milk with an actual fly in it. I found this story to be gut busting and terrible all at the same time. Like I said, it was a great “experience”!

We kept on driving through the mountains on the scenic route and passed through three mountain passes, or oberalps. They were gorgeous and striking all at the same time. Also to our list of “adventures” was crossing a cable bridge over a waterfall. This was the type of bridge that was straight out an Indiana Jones movie.  Pretty neat.

We finally got near our destination and everyone was anxious to see our hostel. Before I say anything, I have never been to a hostel. I thought it was just a step down from a motel with a youthful touch. I was a bit off with that assumption.

I asked which room, I was in, they said the girl one. What? You are asking 12 girls to stay in one room together? Ok, I’ll move on. It won’t be that bad. We open the window to hear those darn bells every livestock has on and no one can take a nap! Trust me, bells are cool for about 5 minutes. One girl has allergies, one has sleep apnea, one can’t stop laughing. This is going to be a long five days!

Next is dinner at this so called hostel. It was nothing short of what I expected for this cabin-like oasis in the middle of the Alps with no people around but the owners and the sheep with those stinking bells. We had creamy polenta, awesome green beans, and rabbit. I am not joking -  actual wild rabbit. I feel all my years of planning little house on the prairie with my siblings and neighbors made me prepared for this “adventure”. It actually wasn’t so bad. I am just being dramatic.

At the end of the day, I am laughing at all that has happened and the irony of this whole trip. God most certainly has a lesson he wants me to learn during this stay. Maybe its survival, maybe its restraint from taking those bells away. Whatever it is, I am enjoying myself, this gorgeous view, and this eye-opening opportunity.


I am, however, homesick. After being with such caring and warm people like the Zendels, I missed home. I hope you all are doing well. I miss you but love you more!