Switzerland

I flew in to Zurich in the morning.
As soon as I saw Alex, I was back in Korea. After all this time, nothing had changed. We spoke excitedly while we planned out the day. First on the list was to see the city. She told me more about some of its history as we walked past a glistening river. Spires peaked up from a sea of red-brown tiled roofs, drawing in curious wonderers. The white buildings, too, were painted festively to give color to the otherwise bleak November streets. We walked past some statues and a gold-gilded fountain, ending up at the steps of a church. The icy wind whipped around the corner as we went inside-from the top we can see all of Zurich. She pointed out where her village was in the hills. I laughed and thought about our climb to North Seoul Tower.
At the chocolate factory, we were more childish than the actual children. First you pick a chocolate, then you add your toppings and set it. You can decorate it in a variety of ways as well. I spoke a confused mix of English and French, and Alex translated everything for me since I didn't know German. After we made out chocolate bars, we had a tour of the factory and ate chocolate all along the way. On our way back we went to Arau, a smaller town in between cities. It was quite lovely and traditional, with large pine Christmas trees at every turn.
Back at Alex's home, we rested a bit while we talked. I knew everything in her bedroom that was from Korea, and we reminisced a bit. Meanwhile, downstairs her mother was cooking an early Thanksgiving dinner. Being American herself, she understood the importance of having a feast at least once a year (and I had missed mine last year too). After a while it smelled of thanksgiving: apples and cinnamon, stuffing and butter, potatoes and meat! My mouth was watering as the familiar scents wafting through the house. We all packed in and ate, talking about a great many things. It was almost like being back in the States for the holidays.

The next morning we discussed the plan. We would go to Luzern and another city, then to the airport. We walked around, exploring the cities. Luzern was in a different Cantone, and while we had lunch on a boat we looked over the glassy lake to some famous mountains. We sat in a café later, and it was easy to forget we were in Switzerland. Her mom drove us to the airport, and we stayed to eat dinner before my 8pm flight. I hugger her one last time and went through the gate, thinking it was sadder than the first time we said goodbye because I knew what I was missing.

Special thanks to Alex for letting me stay :)