Bern and Lucerne

Today, we bid farewell to the city of Geneva and headed for the hills, literally. After a quick bus ride featuring some amazing views of the mountains, we landed in the German-speaking city of Bern. While we were only able to spend an hour and a half here, we were able to see some gorgeous sights such as the Schutzenbrunnen fountain and got to eat a fresh soft pretzel from a German bakery. We hated to say goodbye to the beautiful city, but our hearts were quickly recaptured as we entered the breathtaking Lucerne. With close-up views of the snowy mountains surrounded by the water, there was little we didn’t love about this place. Of course we had to check out the famous Lion of Lucerne monument: a beautiful sculpture of a dying lion carved into a stone wall to honor the fallen soldiers of Lucerne as they protected the French King many years ago.
As we traveled from one side of Switzerland to the other, the dominant language changed from French to German. While it has been beautiful listening to these languages be spoken, it posed a problem that I had never encountered before: I was the one speaking a foreign language. For the first time in my life, I couldn’t simply get clear directions to the restroom, I had to make assumptions based upon vague pointing and hand gestures. I had to figure out how to ask the waitress for a to-go box for my food. And while this is of course very frustrating, it allowed me to see things from another perspective. I am not universally understood. I do not universally understand. But isn’t that diversity what makes life beautiful?