One of my best friends from school was leaving. Her parents decided to go back to Switzerland, looking out for a better life.
At the time (before big Internet and big Social Media), we exchanged a few letters at the beginning. She hated Switzerland. How cold it was. How inhospitable. She used to call it the refrigerator. She always said she would be back in Portugal when older and independent… but, she’s still there. And, thanks to that, I have visited the country twice now. Once in 2013, in June, the flights were a birthday present from my parents. I was so young then! And again I visited her in 2017. I was already living in London and she in her own home. That was in November – a completely different time of the year. I was in desperate need of a break from work, from London. I didn’t even take my camera with me. Only my phone at the time, an iPhone 6s and my Fujifilm – so the quality of the photos weren’t great.
When I landed in Geneva I felt immediately out of place. For that first day, we explored the city. Everything was so clean…and weirdly silent. It seemed so (and was/is) expensive. I don’t know anything about cars, but the ones I was seeing parked on the streets seemed luxurious. A world I did not belong in for sure. It all stank of new and old money. Of hedge funds, tax evasion. Of oil traders. The city didn’t seem to have any personality. The lake of Geneva felt like a mirror for the wealthy to stare at.
I had taken a very early flight and had barely slept. After the visit to Geneva, my friend drove us back to Sion, where she lives. I felt so tired, sure I was going to fall asleep. What I had visited had been a disappointment, but I glad I had a reason to visit that was beyond pure touristic interest. My friend.
It was then that I saw, really SAW, Switzerland. Those majestic mountains tops still covered in snow. Probably with snow all year round. It was so beautiful. And having seen little of the world at that time, I was a lot more impressionable than I am now. I looked at my friend. Somehow I had been judging Switzerland from her perspective. From the perspective of a daughter of immigrants, who was forced to leave warm Portugal. I completely understood her point. I missed her as well. And still, in the face of that landscape, I felt my whole belief system in Switzerland shaking tremendously. It was stunning, humbling even. And, while everything seemed to be for the wealthy, I realised that Switzerland offers what it has best for free.
That last time I visited, it was mid-November and, unexpectedly, it started to snow. Heavy snow. I had never seen snow like that. I was enchanted. Christmas bells started ringing in my ears even though we had more of a month to it. I never drank so much hot chocolate in my life, like I did those days. I’m so grateful to my friend to have driven me to the mountain tops so I could see what for her was a reason to dislike Switzerland – the magnificent sights of whiteness, covering nature, once green, once golden, but now simply white.
It was hard to select which photos to show you – I really have a lot of them, especially from my first trip, when I was so impressionable and new to travelling. So I did my best to select the ones I like the most.











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Love, Nic
Nothing better than visiting friends and getting a chance to see a different country from a locals perspective. I would love to go back to Switzerland one day and visit Geneva where over 190 nationalities live and work in the city, making it a real melting pot of cultures. Thanks for sharing and have a good day. Aiva 🙂 xxx
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Thanks for passing by Aiva! Have a good day☺️
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Such dreamy photos!!!
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thank you!
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The landscape is just wow! Every corner is so picturesque. The only thing that I can complain is the steep price 🙂
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I know right? So pricey… I lucky I can at least save in accomodation when I stay at my friend’s 🙂
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Well, you’ve just convinced me with your beautiful pictures to visit Switzerland some day!
I’m not very fond of cold and snowy weather (probably only because I did not grow up with these conditions), but for a week or two it should be ok … but I think I would rather like to visit in summer time 🌞.
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The first time I visited it was June and I had temperatures of 30 degrees celsius! So if you’re not a fan of cold weather, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it in Summer… and it may not be as expensive, as I believe tourism really peaks in winter for winter sports 🙂 Thank you for stopping by!
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