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Switzerland is not real! It is too pretty to be real!

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After a long and wonderful one and a half days of exploring the metropolitan areas of Switzerland with Zurich and Bern, my husband and I are ready to see the picturesque landscapes and the snow-capped mountains that the country has to offer. We started with Interlaken.

After an hour of travel by train, Edmar and I reached Interlaken and as expected, the place was breathtaking. Everywhere we looked, we were treated to amazing sceneries. We headed straight to go to our accommodation, a charming hotel just a few minutes walk from the Interlaken West Station. The hotel was called Hotel Lötschberg. I highly recommend this hotel as not only is it easy to get to, but it's in a quiet area and surrounded by Interlaken's natural splendor. This was literally what we saw from the window of our room!

After freshening up, Edmar and I looked for a place to dine. We found a place online called Harder Kulm - dubbed as Top of Interlaken. It houses a panoramic restaurant where you can see Lake Thun and Lake Brienz and it also offers a great view of the Alps.

Naturally, I wanted to go as it sounds amazing. The place was only a few stations away from our hotel and even though we still had to commute to get there, it was so worth it. Walking around Interlaken was just a treat!

Once we reached the place, we found out that to get there, we needed to ride a funicular railway because, true to its name, Harder Kulm is really on Top of Interlaken. 1,322 meters above sea level to be exact! The funicular railway ride itself was already a very thrilling and nice experience and we were greeted with a great view of several lakes as we looked outside the window.

After reaching the top, we were welcomed with this awesome view of the Alps!

I could’ve stayed there and just admired the view if we weren’t getting hungry already. After a few more minutes of walking, we finally reached Harder Kulm’s restaurant and it was indeed beautiful.

After exploring the place thoroughly and soaking all of its beauty, Edmar and I decided to finally get a table. Fortunately for us, there was a perfect table that was available where we could see the alps. It was really a surreal experience!

We spent the rest of the day eating, admiring the alps, and talking about our plans for the following day.

Overall, our first day exploring the more nature-y side of Switzerland started off very well. We were excited to see more!

If you are looking on exploring the very picturesque sceneries of Switzerland, I recommend using Interlaken as your base as it is well connected to Grinderlwald, Isetwald, and other beautiful places that Switzerland is known for.

Here is our Switzerland travelogue! Happy watching.

The End.

Up next: Day 3: Grinderwald and Jungfraujoch

What do you want to do for your birthday? I asked Edmar.

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For Edmar's 30th birthday, he told me that he would love to travel to Switzerland! He wanted to visit some of the filming locations of one of our favorite K-drama series. Fun fact: We do love K-drama or Korean drama! They are really good! I think, half of the Filipinos will agree with me on this one.

Fortunately, in September 2021, traveling to other countries in the EU was already allowed as long as you were vaccinated against COVID, but of course, safety measures are still observed.

Edmar was so excited that he planned the entire itinerary! It was actually the first time we went on vacation together alone. So I was very surprised when he created an extremely detailed and packed itinerary.

He wanted to make the most of our trip, visit as many cities as possible, see famous sights and experience many of the local restaurants.

I, on the other hand, had a different idea of what a vacation should be. I just wanted a slow and relaxed vacation. I didn't like to rush. I wanted to wake up when I wanted, take long baths, sit in a café, sip coffee while reading or people watching. Yes, it sounds like I could do that from where I live, but it seems different when you do it from other places and you know you're on vacation.

I bet you can imagine now how much arguments happened on this trip. LOL. It was his birthday we were celebrating so I just went with it most of the time.

Don't worry, because at the time of writing this, we've already learned to compromise and have the best of both worlds! You'll see that in the next few travel blogs.

For this trip, we went to Zurich, Bern, Interlaken, Isetwald, Grinderwald, Lauterbrunen, Lucern and we squeezed all these within 5 days!

Day 1: Zurich

Altstadt - Zurich Old Town

We booked our flight with Swiss Airline and were very happy because our flight went smoothly and without any delays. Plus there was this great complimentary chocolate! We look forward to it every time we fly with them.

When we arrived in Zurich, we went straight to our hotel to drop off our luggage and then start our itinerary. The first thing we decided on was a wine at the Hotel Storchen. It was highly recommended to us because of the beautiful view of the lake.

Hotel Storchen

It was such a beautiful day to walk around the city and yes, my husband has so many places he wants to see on his list. I was so in love with Zurich. It was a very charming city. There were so many narrow streets with stores and cafes.

Grossmünster

Munsterhof Square

Bahnhofstrasse

Lindenhof

We also checked out the Confiserie Sprüngli and tried some of their chocolates. It was DIVINE!

Confiserie Sprüngli - Macarons

Confiserie Sprüngli - Pralines

After a few hours of walking, we decided to walk back to our hotel so we could rest and freshen up before meeting Edmar's friend who lives in Switzerland.

On the way back to our hotel, we passed this cute Polybahn and we were excited to see if we could ride it and where it went.

We met up with Rob, Edmar's friend, for dinner. He took us to one of the locals' favorite restaurants in the city, Banhof Wiedikon.

Bahnhof Wiedikon

Their food was really good and the price was reasonable compared to the ones we tried.
Rob got the tab so we wanted to treat him a nice dessert but almost all restaurants and cafes were already closed. Still, it was such a lovely evening we had.

It was really nice to have met with friends you have not seen for a long time so I really hoped Edmar was extra happy this day.

Here is our Switzerland travelogue! Happy watching.

The End.

Up next: Day 2.1: Bern

Our flight to Berlin was postponed by 6 months due to the pandemic because most offices were closed, which made it difficult to fulfill all the requirements. Thankfully, the job offer to my husband was not canceled!

After all the trouble and hassle that we had to go through during the process, on December 10, 2020 we flew to Germany and left the Philippines.

I was feeling excited rather than sad to leave because it was a new adventure for me and my husband. This was the first time we will live alone together.

When we arrived in Berlin, it was winter, gloomy and freezing cold! I'd never been to Europe before coming here, so I didn't know what to expect. But I certainly wasn't expecting longer nights. Coming from a tropical country, it was devastating. 4PM felt like 10PM in Manila.

To top it all, it was the height of pandemic, everything was closed except for grocery stores. It was really sad I would say. I missed the warmth and noise of Manila especially during Christmas season. It was my favorite holiday.

A week before Christmas day, we decided to buy a Christmas tree. We ordered an artificial tree, the kind you usually see in every household in the Philippines.

I was so happy when it arrived! We immediately set it up and decorated it.

We also bought some cute Christmas themed chocolates we found from the grocery store to display!

Of course they were gone in split seconds right after Christmas day!

December 24th, I was excited to celebrate Christmas! It was the first time I cooked for Noche Buena. I prepared carbonara, steak, mashed potato and vegetable salad. We also had a champagne! It was not much since it was only two of us. It was a different kind of celebration for me since I came from a big family.

I missed the kind of feast I used to, crowded, loud, messy in a good way but the celebration my husband and I had was special since it was the first time we celebrated Christmas together as a married couple, in a different country and only us. It was quiet and romantic.

Here we cuddled after dinner! Because we were too lazy to wash the dishes! HAHA!

Celebrating Christmas together with family and friends will always be our goal!

The End.

Yes, you read that right! Edmar and I got married 3 weeks after he proposed to me.

On our 2nd anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend, we had our secret wedding.

Why so fast and in secret? I'll let you in on it.

No. I was not pregnant.

Flashback to January 2020: I was lying in bed when I received a call from Edmar. He called and told me he'd been offered a job! I was so happy for him because he was looking for a new job. Until he said that the job was in Berlin, Germany.

I got a little sad because that would mean he would have to move away and we would be one of those couples who have a long distance relationship if he accepted the offer.

I supported him and told him to accept the offer because he wouldn't even get it if it wasn't meant for him. And I knew he wanted to accept it.

Little did I know, he was planning to tag me along!

He only accepted the offer after he proposed to me on my birthday, February 9, to make sure I would come with him. LOL.

After he proposed to me, we immediately planned our wedding because the job offer he got involved moving with the family.

We went to the City Hall in Kawit, Cavite and submitted all the necessary documents.

We talked to our jeweler for our wedding rings.

We also booked a small function room in one of my favorite Spanish restaurants in Pasay, Philippines, Alba Restaurante Español where the ceremony will be held.

Everything happened so fast and the next thing I remembered was our wedding day.

I woke up, had breakfast and then a bath.

I had hired a hair and makeup artist who had been recommended to me by my Ate Kaecy. I remembered her asking me what occasion I was going to and I just said “wedding”. Later she was so surprised that the wedding I meant was my own wedding!

On March 3, our 2nd anniversary, we had our very intimate wedding.

Edmar's Pants and Suit are from Zara. My dress is from Rustan's Department store

When I arrived at the venue, I wasn't expecting much as it was a last minute booking for a wedding.

Then I was surprised. The room was beautifully decorated. Edmar and I didn't know that they would be providing the decorations. We just pointed out to them that it was going to be a wedding. It kind of given me a classy rustic vibe.

Venue: Alba Restaurante Español, Pasay, Philippines. Cake, chocolate and flowers are from Naked Patisserie c/o Mama Louanne

They are the best! The service, staff and food are always outstanding! Every time we have been there they have never disappointed us.

Only our immediate family attended the ceremony.

Venue: Alba Restaurante Español, Pasay, Philippines

The ceremony was lead by Most Rev. Ericson I. Santos. He was amazing! He made us laugh all through out and made the our day extra special.

It was one of the most memorable days of my life! It was so beautiful, intimate and just perfect!

Taken by Achii Esguerra

We didn't announce our wedding because we didn't want to answer any questions about why we were getting married so soon, and because we had planned a church wedding for 2021 so we could celebrate with more people close to our hearts.

You will for sure read about the church wedding in here too!

The End.