My Solo Trip to Switzerland 🇨🇭 one week in the swiss alps travel vlog ⛰️

For my birthday this year, I decided to go on another solo trip to Switzerland. Switzerland was actually my first ever international solo trip. I went for my 24th birthday two years ago, and you may be wondering why I never posted that vlog. Well, it's because it was a mess. To start off, I forgot all of my battery chargers, I got sick on my first full day there, my hotel room was infested with bugs so I couldn't sleep, there was a moment where I thought I was about to get trafficked, and I kept getting lost and missed every single train transfer or bus that I had scheduled. Like I said, a mess. But that was when I was 24. This year, I'm turning 26. I learned how to use public transportation, and I've been equipped with a fully developed frontal lobe for a year now, so this time, nothing can go wrong. Our journey starts at LAX, where I'm currently journaling, and that brings us to the first mistake I wanted to correct this trip. Last time I flew to Switzerland, I had multiple connecting flights, which was a nightmare. I missed one of my connecting flights, I had to get off the airplane and recheck my bag because apparently if you're in another country for over two hours, then you have to recheck your bag. You know what, I still don't know how it works exactly, but it was just very messy, I got lost, did not want to do that again. This time, I made sure to book a non-stop flight, which the only airline that flies direct from LA to Switzerland is Swiss Airlines. My original flight was around $800, but Swiss Airlines has a feature where you can bid to upgrade. For context, a business-class flight from LA to Switzerland non-stop costs $7,000 one way, but with the bid upgrade, how it works is you bid how much you'd be willing to pay for an upgrade. If your bid gets accepted, you pay that amount and then you get to choose your business class seat, but if your bid doesn't get accepted, you don't pay anything extra and you just keep your original fare. It's risk-free and it's a really good way to get a business class seat for a more affordable price. I slept for almost the entire flight, which was great because we have a very serious mission after the plane lands, and that's to not get lost on the train. Last time I got lost, almost every single time I use the public transportation, I don't know how I got lost going from the airport to my hotel because it was almost like a direct station, but I did and I eventually had to call an Uber, so this time I was determined to get it right. I got off at the right station this time, but unfortunately I did still get lost and turned a 10-minute walk into a 30-minute walk, so baby steps, I guess. Even though I got lost and turned a 10-minute walk into a 30-minute walk, I still ended up walking the whole way instead of calling an Uber, so proud of myself for that. I look and smell like a wet dog, so I'm gonna take a shower. Yay! I feel so much better now. Bed bug check. All clear. This hotel gave me little biscuits as a gift. Look at how cute. It's a little house. I'm kind of nervous about tomorrow. It's gonna be a lot of trains and transfers. I've been up since probably like 3 a.m. I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. This is my outfit. I headed down for breakfast a little bit too early, but this hotel actually has a lot of community spaces, so it was a good time to check out the room with free beverages. Should we get water or soda? Oh, they have names! I wonder if they have my name. Let's check. I think they have a Jessica. David. Nicholas. Jessica! Yay! Jessica soda. Tastes better. After a very sweet breakfast, it's time to head to Mirin. I was so scared I'd be late for my train that I got there too early. So early, in fact, that I could take the earlier train, so that's what I ended up doing. I also got to ride in the restaurant car for the first time, but the ride was kind of rocky so my coffee kept on spilling. It made for a unique journal entry though. Last time going from Zurich to Grindelwald, I had missed all but one of my trains. Three hours, three trains, and a cable car later, we finally made it to Mirin and I didn't miss a single transfer. This was major for me. I think my hotel is right across from the train station. This is a car-free town, so there's no cars. Stairs or a ramp? We'll just take the stairs. This is my room. Let's go out to the balcony. Since we're staying here for a few nights, I'm gonna unpack. I didn't even realize how high up this place is. Literally in the clouds. Like, look outside the window. Do you see that? I'm like inside of a cloud right now. Also, what I love about the Swiss Alps is the tap water tastes so good. It's like the freshest alpine water. I think I definitely need to go to Coop to pick up some groceries and food because, guys, the food in Switzerland is crazy expensive. Personally, I think Coop tastes really good. I'm no foodie, but the buttersopf was my favorite thing that I got in Switzerland last time, so we're gonna get that today, and then I think we're gonna do the hike towards Gimmelwald. It's like an easy walk. Hiking is very nice. North Face Trail or going down to Gimmelwald. That's more an easier hike. I decided to stay in Mirren this time because it's a car-free town, so it's less crowded and has more of a small town feel. That's not to say it doesn't get crowded, though. During the day, you'll see a lot of tourists, but not many of them stay in the area, so it's much quieter in the early mornings and evenings. I was starving at this point, so I stopped by Coop, and look at how much bread and cheese they have. The options are endless. The walk to Gimmelwald was very easy and peaceful. It's all along a paved road, so there's really not much to see aside from the same mountain the whole way, but even just that is beautiful. The view is great, though. You can see a waterfall from here. To Gimmelwald! At the end, you can take the cable car back to Mirren, or you can walk back the same way you came. I made another stop at Coop for a snack, and then I stumbled upon this gift shop. Honestly, I really wish I had bought something here. The plushy keychains are so cute. Switzerland is not for the weak. God, how am I exhausted from just a walk? Bed bug check. Clear. Today's a very exciting day because we're doing the North Face Trail hike, so I woke up bright and early to get breakfast. Mornings here are very cloudy just because it's so high up, but clouds usually clear up around noon. When I stepped out, I was shocked to see this cat staring at me. It was so cute, and it started following me, which I wasn't really sure why, so I stopped to pet it, and of course, as soon as I gave it some attention, it started walking away. But it was so cute, and it reminds me of Kiki's delivery service with its red bow. After saying goodbye to the cat, it's time to head into town to refill my water and grab a Red Bull before heading to the trailhead. Now, you can see that there's nobody on this trail, and that's probably the first red flag I should have caught onto because this is supposed to be a pretty popular trail. I thought maybe it was too cloudy or early, people just didn't feel like doing it at this time. No, I was doing the alternate route, which is the harder version that starts from the opposite end, and I went on a 15-minute detour because I thought that this gate meant private property is not- is the start or end of the trail. Um, slightly alarming update, I'm lost. I took the wrong turn somewhere. What the heck? I was right about it being this road the first time. Oh, it's just no bikes. This looks more like a trail now. This trail was definitely more advanced than what I'm used to. The first two hours were all basically uphill, and there are a lot of trickier areas with slippery rocks. Also, another important thing to note is if you do this trail backwards like I did, it's going to be very empty. I think for the first two to three hours I was on this trail, I didn't see a single other person. So if you're planning on doing the trail by yourself, it's nice to get some alone time, but also a little bit scary in case anything goes wrong. There are also a decent amount of signs for directions, but they can be kind of confusing because there's so many different trails. There are shorter versions of trails that lead you to the same destination, so if you have a specific route you want to follow, I would just route it on all trails and then use that. Even though I got lost on this hike like three times already, pushing through and finding my way back, it feels even more rewarding. So I did the trail backwards. Wait, am I supposed to turn that way? Around the fourth or fifth time I got lost on this trail, I just accepted my fate not to get lost forever, but just to enjoy my surroundings instead of fixating on whether I'm on the right path or not. Like I said, there's so many signs, so it's not like you're gonna get lost on the trail forever. In worst case, I just retraced my steps and go backwards the way the trail was supposed to be done. So yeah, I'm trying to be a girl whatever girl. You said this trail was moderate on all trails? You're a liar. Oh my god, really need to check what the other hikes I planned are because like if that's moderate, like the one I did at Lake Balchow, that was easy. That's why I was like, oh I can do like a step above that, but no. If they're all like this, I can't. I can't do it. Brought this sandwich at Coop. It's an egg sandwich, so we'll see how it compares to the pan because I love the Japanese egg sandwiches. It's not terrible, but the Japanese ones are definitely better. Like they don't give you much egg, I feel like. So the plan is, eat, Red Bull, and then we're gonna head to Lauterbrunnen. This is the best Red Bull flavor by the way. If you haven't had it, it reminds me of Yakult. So good. Oh my god, I see somebody paragliding outside. Honestly, I don't think I would do that again. I did that last time when I went to Grindelwald and it was not my favorite. I also did it when it was cloudy though. Also, when you do paragliding, the way that you get off the ground, they pick like a really high hill and then you guys run off of the hill until the parachute picks up wind and it'll carry you off of the ground. So last time when I did it, the instructor that I had was 6'4", I'm 4'11". It was so frustrating to me because like when we were running off of the hill, he was like yelling at me because I wasn't able to run anymore because at a certain point, you have to think about it, if he's 6'4", I'm 4'11", and we're strapped into the same height of a seat, at some point, if his feet are on the ground, mine are not on the ground anymore because we're running off of the same incline. He was yelling at me, he was like, run, run. I was like, I can't. Anyway, the parachute did end up catching wind, but I was just so annoyed. I'm walking around Lauterbrunnen now. Look at the waterfall. This is Staubach Falls. I think I'm on the way to Trommelback Falls. It's actually a pretty long walk. It's like 45 minutes, but the walk is pretty nice. It's just like one road that you walk down for the whole time. Little baby kitty. So I didn't end up actually going to Trommelback Falls. I turned around because I was getting so overstimulated. Lauterbrunnen is beautiful, but it's so crowded and there's so many cars, and because this is just one road with people walking on both sides, you always have to check behind you for cars. Still, it was a very beautiful walk, so if I were to visit again, I'd probably try to go earlier in the morning to skip the crowds. This is bad. I can barely walk normally. Oh my god, I'm so sore. Tomorrow's plan was to go to Lake Oeschinensee, um, that hike, but that one also says moderate. I mainly wanted to swim, but I'm still on my period, so we'll see. So, change of plans. This morning has been a mess because one of the trains are down that heads to Interlaken, which is the central, like, place that connects all of the places I wanted to go to. So instead, we're gonna go to Wingen and- or Wingen, and then go to Grindelwald after. I had to change my outfit and re-wear this top because I can't wear the stuff that I was planning to wear to the Oeschinen Lake. I went to Grindelwald last time, but I haven't been to Wingen, so hopefully it's nice. Wingen's a small, quiet town. Honestly, I don't know if it's the time that I went, but there really wasn't much to do there, but from here, you can go up to Meenlaken, which is also the connect to Grindelwald, and despite not being planned, Meenlaken ended up being one of the highlights of my trip. There's two lakes and hiking trails, and I see a bunch of cows down there, so this is like- I mean, I can't say it's better than Oeschinen Lake because I've never been, but this is pretty, pretty cool. Oh my god, do you see that? First cow. Final station, Grindelwald. Grindelwald. It's gonna take the bus, but it's such a nice day. I think I'll just walk. It's a 40-minute walk to Fiersporn, which is where I stayed last time. Ah yes, I caved and went to a restaurant, and this was probably the biggest mistake I made the entire trip. First of all, I made the mistake of not asking for tap water. I just asked for water, so they charged me by the glass, and that one glass of water you just saw me drink costed three dollars. Mind you, it tastes just like tap water because the tap water here tastes phenomenal. Also, this wasn't really their fault because they can't really do anything about it. It's outdoors at summertime, but there were so many flies here. Just not the best experience, especially like I knew I was paying fifty dollars for this meal, so I just wanted it to be like a nice outdoor experience, and I was just getting attacked by flies the entire time. By the time I was done eating, I was feeling quite defeated, so I decided to just head straight back to the hotel. This is a spa and relaxation area I don't think anybody used to though. Back there is the gym. I hadn't really had time to explore this hotel, but they had recently done renovations and added this spa area, which I ended up really liking, so I spent some time here relaxing and unwinding before heading to bed. I woke up feeling a little bit sick, but today's a very exciting day because we're heading to Zermatt. Hey, we're checking out. Say bye to this view. This is nicer than I was expecting. Sitting area, and then a second little desk here, and then here are the closets. Honestly, this is a lot more spacious than I was expecting it to be. Here is where the coffee bar is and the fridge. Let's see if we have a view of the Matterhorn. And it's so clear today, so you can see it. Wow. This is a pretty large balcony. I'm excited to take pictures here. Bathroom. Should I have one of these apples or a Toblerone? You know what, I'm gonna make this the healthy decision. Also, if you stay here, make sure to ask for the free pickup service. They'll pick you up at the train station and take your luggage. Last time I stayed in Switzerland, they had that service at one of the hotels I stayed at, but I was like, it's only a 10-minute walk. I'm just gonna walk it, and it was a very difficult walk, and it's very steep up the hill once you get to the hotel. Already dealing with the consequences of carrying that suitcase all the time. So this room, I actually booked it with my Chase travel points. So if you have like a Chase travel card, the one I have is the Chase Sapphire Reserve. I'm not going to bore you with the speech about credit card points, but the reason why I mentioned it is because whenever I can, I book hotels through Chase's travel portal. Their selection of hotels is so much more curated than Google's results, so I find they're always nicer than expected. For example, here's the room I booked in Zurich last time through Chase. It was way nicer than I was expecting, especially since rooms in the city tend to be smaller. Chase also partners with some of the hotels to give you a room upgrade and or hotel credit at some of the properties, but that's only if you book through their travel portal. So this is the hotel I booked, Resort La Dinabelle, and you can pay with your card or in points. In the Swiss Alps, I always try to book a hotel with a balcony because it's so beautiful here, so having a balcony is like really worth it. But yeah, I didn't know I was getting a view of the Matterhorn. Sunscreen has been reapplied, I just touched up some of my makeup, and now we're gonna go. This one, I saw another guy got it, and apparently there's a coffee bean inside, so I'm going to try it. And then Coop is right next door. Oh, this is so cute. This is my favorite. Figure out how to use the coffee maker so I can get some boiling water. Especially since I'm sick, I think this is gonna hit the spot. Literally five stars. It's my birthday! The Matterhorn, it's even prettier in the morning. I want it to wear my FP movement. This is like the perfect hiking jacket. Actually, I'm gonna layer it with the matching long sleeve of this. And the hood is like a perfect circle. Cute, huh? This one's perfect. It's important your hand go like in 90 degrees. Yeah, like this, 90 degrees. It's important. And one backpack. One backpack. Yay, thank you! I'm walking to the station now. I think I can make the 821 my outfit. The reason why I'm rushing is because you want to get to the first lake of the Five Lakes hike in Zermatt pretty early in the morning if you want to see the reflection of the Matterhorn in the lake. Later in the day, there's just too many people, so there's people throwing rocks, dogs getting in the water, the wind picks up. You just will not be able to see the reflection, so it's best to get there as early as possible. Take a straight up to the lake where we will see the reflection, and I hope it's not too late in the day because, I mean, the first funicular leaves at 8. It's currently 8 40, but we may get there. And then perhaps once we get there, we'll go on a hike or two. I guess this is a popular trail with a lot of signs for it, which is good because I get lost easily. I realized I was on the wrong trail pretty early on this time. It was getting really steep, and like the North Face Trail, I saw online that this one was family-friendly, so I knew something was wrong. Ah, there's the first lake. I caught up with this German couple who also took the wrong route, and they were so nice. They offered to take these videos for me. Finally, after an hour, we made it to Ställesee, and yes, there is still a reflection. 11 something is when there's no more reflection. I need to recover as soon as possible. I do not want to be like this all day. Let's take some birthday photos. I know I made a big fuss about eating out in Switzerland, but it's my birthday, so I had to book a dinner. Having meals and eating out is actually one of the few things I do not enjoy doing by myself. Maybe it's because I'm not a huge foodie, so going out and trying new foods by myself isn't something I would normally enjoy doing, so I did feel the weight of being alone more in this moment. Yeah, I think this is the first time on this trip where I actually felt lonely, but it was a great meal nonetheless. I saw some souvenirs I wanted to buy. I saw these on the trail today. I think that's like $10. Oh, there's a black-nosed sheep. Thank you. Since I'm 26 now, I realized I won't be able to eat whatever I want for much longer, so I treated myself to whatever pastries I wanted to try at breakfast. It's my last day in Switzerland, so I decided to try my luck at finding the black-nosed sheep. The shepherd has been sick for the past two days, so nobody's been able to see them, but you can track them online, and I saw they were active between Rifflealp and Riffleburg, so I bought a ticket to Riffleburg. They seem to be closer to Rifflealp though, so I got off the station earlier. Got off at Rifflealp, and the hunt for the sheep begins. Honestly though, this map hasn't been updated since like an hour ago, so I hope they're still somewhere in this area. It's pretty surreal hiking seeing stuff like this. This hotel's so pretty. Perhaps I should have stopped in Riffleburg so I could hike down. I decided I'm just gonna walk straight back to the station, take it up to Riffleburg, and hike down, because since the train goes up all the way to Gornergrat, if you get off early, you have to hike up. If you get off at the next stop, you hike down, so we're gonna do the downhill hike. I also didn't realize this was an actual hike, so I do have the hiking backpack today, but my outfit is not really giving hiking, it's giving she wanted to take pictures with the sheep. Yeah, I honestly don't know how I do it, but as soon as I got off at the next station, I started going the wrong way again, but this is when I discovered a new hiking hack. You find two people who look like they know what they're doing, and then you just try your best to keep up with them. This trail's mostly made of very smooth rocks, and I learned you don't want to step on top of them, you want to step on like a corner, because they're very sandy, so they get very slippery. There they are! I did get off the station too early, but technically, I didn't get lost, so... They usually recommend you come earlier in the morning. That's usually when the sheep are the most friendly. I came in the afternoon, so they were all a little tired. Most of them were pressing their face against a rock. Even though it wasn't super sunny, they do this to cool down because they have that iconic black nose that gets really hot in the sun. Fighting! We came from all the way up there. It's getting late, and I still need to head back to Zurich, so it's time to head back to town and grab some chocolates. On the walk back, I saw another street cat, and the cats in Switzerland are so friendly. This one was so cute, I was so tempted to take her home with me. And with that, my Switzerland do-over trip has come to an end. So the main takeaway is that I am still very much directionally challenged. No, but actually, I set out on this trip to fix all of my mistakes from my last trip so that I could create the perfect version of it, and then of course, things still went wrong. But strangely, in those moments where I got lost, I got sick, the train stopped running, I really started developing more confidence and trust in myself. In my daily life, I'm not much of an adventurer or somebody who takes risks, and I get frustrated when I don't get things right the first time. But whenever I solo travel, I'm forced to deal with these situations, and I realize how capable I am. Even though I got lost so many times on this trip, I was also able to find my way back all those times. So maybe more important than always getting everything right is trusting yourself enough to know that even when things fall apart, you'll figure it out.