Kevin's Semester at Sea: Aching legs

Lausanne Cathedral

On Monday, I flew from Iceland to Geneva where I then caught a train to Lausanne to visit
Anaëlle. Anaëlle was my 'buddy' from my last semester abroad in Switzerland. She helped me to get to my flat and show me around town when I first arrived in Lausanne in 2016. This trip, we walked and talked. A lot.
I figure we walked about 7 miles on Tuesday and then another 4-5 miles on Wednesday. We had so much to talk about and I was so glad I had the opportunity see her once again.

We went to a restaurant called 'Le Chalet Suisse' which was phenomenal. Can't go wrong with cheese fondue in Switzerland! We then hiked 151 stairs up the Sauvebelin Tower where we could oversee the entire city of Lausanne with the French alps as the backdrop. Anaëlle was incredibly gracious when it came to giving me a place to sleep. Her roommate was out of town so not only did I get the largest bedroom, but also the room with the best view of Lake Geneva and the mountains!

I left at 06:20 Thursday morning to catch my train from Lausanne to Hamburg where I would stay the next couple nights at the Radisson Blu Hotel. My plan was to arrive at the hotel by 18:00 and take it easy for the night. 4 different trains and 12 hours later, I was ready to take a break from hauling my 50lb suitcase all across Switzerland/Germany. I wasn't this lucky though. Before I arrived in Germany, I checked whether or not there was more than one Radisson Blu in Hamburg. I didn't see anything so I knew there shouldn't be any issue so long as I could get to the hotel.

After my 4 trains, I had to walk about 1.5 miles following Google Maps. After about 1 hour of walking on dirt paths through 2 different parks pushing the heavy suitcase, I decided maybe next time I should do a bit more research before I follow Google Maps again. So by now it's about 7 at night and I am ready to crash! I show up at this amazing hotel (shown in last picture) only to realize that there is in fact another Radisson Blu near the airport. Five miles away... Two trains and another 1.5 hours I finally made it to the hotel where I met my roommates for the next couple nights.

Hamburg has been quite dreary the past couple days so we haven't been out much. It's been nice to have some relaxation in the hotel before we catch our shuttle tomorrow morning to board the ship. Yesterday and today were the very first days that I have met any other SAS students. Tonight, we went out to dinner with 6 SAS students and explored the city center. Our main attraction for the night was the St. Nikolai church where we went up to the top to get a nice view of Hamburg. Can't wait for tomorrow!