Living in a model train set...it needs to be at least...three times bigger than this!

Before going abroad, or any new place for that matter, I leave home with a stereotype in mind of the place that I am going to visit, which inevitably doesn’t prove to be entirely true; it’s just a stereotype after all. For example, before going to Scotland, most of what I knew I had drawn from Babe. Though I did see green countryside and border collies, the hills were less well-lit and the border collies didn’t talk (most disappointing!). There were also plenty of Burger Kings and Britney Spears tabloid headlines to mar what I had thought of as quintessential Scotland. Another example: Quebec does indeed have the lush woods that it purports, but no, Canadians’ jaws don’t entirely unhinge when they speak. My idealized and stereotyped ideas of places don’t often bear much truth (meaning my ideal world resembles Southpark?). Switzerland however seems to be the exception. The mountains, valleys, villages, people, and animals are all straight out of one of those elaborate mossy train sets. The cows even have giant bells and the old men really do wear long wool socks and sturdy leather hiking boots. I’ve yet to see one of those giant Ricola horns, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. I’m not so naïve as to think that Switzerland is exempt from the problems of the rest of the world, but at least in terms of postcardableness, I’ve yet to see any evidence to the contrary. Like seriously, even the water in Lake Geneva is as clear as the pools of glue in train displays.
Because of this, I fear that every post from now till July will read “today I went riding and here are some pictures of the pretty things I saw.” For now at least, why fight it?