Let's Go, Jane!

My travels have taken a turn this week, with the addition of my 18-year-old son Charley. I arrived in Zurich two days before him, which gave me one full day to explore on my own. The thing is, I didn’t feel like exploring. As ungrateful as this may sound, I was only in Switzerland because that’s where Charley wanted to go for the week between when his college semester in Greece ended and his brother joined us for Christmas. I contemplated a day trip but I wasn’t enthusiastic enough to make it happen. Chad coined the term “tired-bored” when I complained to him that I didn’t have the energy to do anything, but I was also too restless to do nothing. 

I know, you’re thinking, poor Jane has to spend a whole day in Zurich. But really, I think it’s just long-term travel fatigue. I’m ready to go home. The problem is that right now my backpack is my home. When I sold all my furniture and hit the road, I left any permanent location behind. I know this is only temporary, but I’m ready to stay put in one place and not have to constantly make decisions about how to get somewhere or where to stay or what to do while I’m there. I just want to BE. To that end, I have rented a furnished apartment in Boston for the month of January. I’m really looking forward to getting my feet back under me in a familiar setting.

Chad came up with a good low-effort suggestion for how to spend my free day in Zurich. I bought a day pass for the tram and treated it like a hop-on-hop-off bus. Zurich doesn’t have an underground metro but it has an extensive above-ground tram system with trains that run every few minutes like clockwork. I spent a couple hours riding around the city, stopping once for a delicious cup of goulash from a grocery store. One thing I learned very quickly is that food prices in Switzerland are astronomical. After two months in Asia, it was a sharp reminder that the remainder of my trip will be very different.

I met Charley at the airport on the afternoon of my second day in Zurich. We got him settled at the hostel (his first!) and went out for a delicious and expensive fondue dinner. It was nice to have company for a change, and I was looking forward to being a passenger for the rest of the trip. Charley had done extensive research and booked accommodations, trains, and activities for us for the next several days.

I had no idea he was such a train guy. Or maybe Switzerland is just a train country? Either way, in the four days from when we left Zurich to when we arrived in Italy, we ended up taking a whopping 22 trains and 3 cable cars. We were also treated to the most incredible views of the Swiss Alps. The first couple days we explored the Jungfrau region, staying in an adorable town called Wengen. Charley had booked a hotel room with a balcony, and the view was stunning. Like waking up in a postcard. At the included breakfast, they even had a boil-your-own-egg station, something I’ve never encountered before. I am always tickled to come across something for the first time at age 53. This world is so vast and interesting!

One morning we rode three trains up to Jungfraujoch, also known as the “Top of Europe.” Located at 11,360 feet above sea level, it is the highest railway station in Europe. The scenery from the trains on the way up was beautiful enough, but once we reached the top we were greeted with panoramic views of the Aletsch Glacier and surrounding peaks, pictured in the featured image above. Charley had timed our visit to coincide with the sunniest weather of the week, so we could see for miles. It was absolutely breathtaking.

We made our way to Chur for one night, so we would be prepared for an early morning boarding of the Bernina Express. Considered one of the top five most scenic train routes in the world, this 4.5 hour ride took us all the way to Italy. The train has glass sides that go up to the roof, giving us an unobstructed view of the alpine landscape, including lakes, viaducts, and snow-capped mountains. It was raining on the day we went, so many of the views were obscured by clouds, but it was beautiful nonetheless. The train ride ended in Tirano, Italy, just across the border, where we ate a delicious meal of pasta and salmon before hopping on another train (our 23rd!) to Milan.

As enjoyable as our time in Switzerland has been, I can’t help but think about my return to the states in two weeks. I realized that all these thoughts of home are also making me want to move my van schedule up. The original plan was to travel in Europe and Asia from September to December, and then head down to South America in January and finish with Australia in March. To be honest, I’m more excited about building a place of my own than I am about three more months on the road. I’m not so sure about the timing (March sounded like a much better time to sleep in a partially finished van!) but I still think I can make this work. Switzerland didn’t cure my travel fatigue, but it gave me clarity: I’m ready to build something that stays. For now, I’ll keep moving, but with one eye already on home.