This post took longer than I could have imagine. Mostly some struggle with how I want to word things and procrastination. Some things you have to finish to see the end.
You might want to read part I first

After the exam period was over, friends were visiting, so we planned several activities. One of them was the Muddy Angel Run, a fun run for women where the goal is to get dirty for charity. Spectating was fun and luckily the weather cooperated.

Another activity was going up Mount Pilatus. Here you can do a round trip where you use the aerial lift to go up the mountain and the cog railway to go back down. During our trip up, we went bobsledding on the summer toboggan.

The weather was great and of course the view is amazing. You can walk around the mountain station and nearby peaks and have a snack in the restaurants. Still, the trip is expensive, but my Half Fair card was accepted.

On the last day of my friend visiting we went to create our own chocolate at a local chocolate factory. The “museum” was not that big and expensive for the price but you could try different kinds of chocolate and with one surcharge create your own. In combination as a souvenir this was a great trip. Afterwards my friend drove back to Germany and we decided to make one more stop in Basel. Here we did explore the riverside and had some drinks at the water. After our walk we separated and I used the trains to go back to Rotkreuz.

After these visits I wanted to do some hiking and I had my sights set on Andermatt. After checking out the possibilities I realized that I would have to pass through Göschenen to get there and that there was a good and not too difficult hiking trail from Göschenen connecting the two places. So long story short, I packed my bags and took the train to Göschenen. From there you can walk around and get some information about the construction of the Gotthard train tunnel. On my way up the valley I passed several bridges over the Reuss river. One famous bridge I wanted to visit is the Devil’s Bridge. The legend attributes the construction to the Devil because it was so difficult to build.

The following weekend it was time to pack up some of my stuff and make the trip to Germany. We had tickets for a concert and I took the opportunity to move most of my stuff back to my apartment in Stuttgart. This would allow me to bring the rest back by train. I decided to stay in Stuttgart for a few nights and make good use of my time. I managed to catch up with work colleagues and friends I had not seen in months. On Friday I planned to go back home as I had friends coming to visit me over the weekend.

The weekend with my friends was great as we spent some time at the Badi at Lake Zug and did some hiking in the Sattel mountain area. First we went to Moorgarten, a famous Swiss region where an important historical battle took place, but the details have been lost to time. However, there is a monument and a trail with several stops where you can listen to an audio reenactment of the events.

Afterwards we took the areal lift to the top of the mountain. Up there is a family resort for children where families can combine nature, exercise and activities. One of the attractions is a steel wire bridge that spans the nearby valley. Going over the bridge was quite the adventure as it was swaying a lot from all the people on the bridge.

After crossing we decided to follow one of the suggested routes and went up the mountain. Our efforts were rewarded with a great view of the town of Schwyz and Brunnen in the distance. Next to our spot some paragliders were about to take off. After this break we continued our journey and went back down the mountain to the station.

For Sunday we decided to go to the Technorama, a big Swiss science museum with lots and lots of experiments you can try hands on. This museum is so big that we were not able to experience everything, especially since my guests had to make their way back to Germany. Still, it was a great day with lots of playing around and some great live science experiments performed by the museum staff.

The next week was filled with more traveling as I still had my GA to roam around Switzerland. So on Monday I went on a boat trip on Lake Lucerne while I had a mandatory school meeting from my university in Stuttgart.

On Tuesday I went for a last ride on my bicycle and rode through the countryside. Here I managed to meet two military helicopters doing some take-off and landing exercises and flying in formation.

On Wednesday my plan was to go to Belinzona, a town I passed through on my last trip to Ticino. Here my plan was to visit the castle, but I soon found out that I had set my route to one castle, but there are actually three major ones, and I had picked the one far up the mountain. So of course I visited all three, but only briefly. Afterwards I went to the town of Lorcano, since I was already in the area.

On Thursday, a classmate I met during my exchange semester asked me if I wanted to go on a train trip with him. His quest is to visit all the railroads in Switzerland that are included in the GA. So we set off to Montreux, a coastal town on Lake Geneva. From there we took a cogwheel train up the mountain which was a beautiful ride. We got some great views down and into the mountains.

After a short hike we decided to go back down to the village and have a swim in the lake. The weather was warm and we quickly found a place to cool off. After our swim it was time to plan how to get back, especially since the trip would take some time. Our options were a direct train or a ferry. We decided to take the ferry, which turned out to be the right decision as it was a wonderful ride.

The boat was an old but restored canoe, and from the main area you could look down into the engine room and marvel at the pistons as they moved. Like little children, we peered down at the moving hunks of metal. But not only the engine was in action, you could also see the paddle blades in action through a small window. In motion, it looked like a dishwasher in action. The tour took about 1.5 hours and during that time we were overtaken by several trains along the lake shore.

The next weekend I had to return my bike. The weather was great, so my cousin and I decided to make the trip to my parents‘ house in two days. Unfortunately, he could only join me on the first day because he had other commitments. Still, it was a great ride. The hotel I chose to stay in was great. The host was very accommodating and gave me lots of options for the evening, but I decided to relax and recharge by spending the afternoon in the spa area. After a great breakfast I hit the road for the next leg of my tour.

On the next day I already went back to Switzerland, this time for the last time. Now it was time to say goodbye to the friends I made during my stay and pack my stuff in the flat. The final handover was due on Tuesday and in the afternoon I went for one final trip with a stand up paddel on the Vierwaldstättersee.

On Wednesday I had one last free travel day and after some consideration I decided to go back to the French part of Switzerland. Neuenburg (or Neuchâtel) is right next to the largest lake entirely in Switzerland (Lake Neuenburg) with an old castle and old town center.

After some walking around, I decided to head back with a stop in Solothurn, where I had a walk in the city center and some lunch. In Solothurn you can walk along the river Aare and visit the city wall with its old defense towers.

With this last trip completed, the Swiss national holiday was the final event planned to conclude my stay abroad in Switzerland. For this day we decided to have a BBQ in a nearby forest. At first the weather did not look so good and we had some short periods of rain. But luckily my cousin bought a festival tent to keep us dry and protected from the sun.

In conclusion, the semester abroad was well worth it. I had a lot of new experiences, managed to do some activities that were on my bucket list, and learned new things that I can hopefully use in the coming years.