I was a bit on the lazy side this morning... I slept till 10, had my daily cup of coffee while reading a book in the sun. I justified it by it being a Saturday. But really... It just felt awesome and I wanted to do so. And bam, lazy morning happened. I did decide however, I can't just sit around all morning. So I took Beretta (Bachmann's dog) on a walk through the forest. Not only beautiful sights, but there was a nice bench for me to sit and admire the view. This was what I was looking at: 
Nice, eh? I thought so. I was listening to music and soaking in the sun. And if I'm being totally honest, got a little homesick... Yes, I know. I've only been gone for a couple days. Truly not even a week yet. Pathetic Rebecca. I don't have a reasonable explanation. Just suddenly wasn't as happy about being here as I should be. I started thinking about my parents, my brother, my dog, reasonable priced Starbucks, (ha!) and so much more and home was just pulling on my heart strings. It was kind of the airplane feeling all over again. My friends are going back to their friends for 2nd semester. What am I doing? Looking at a country where I don't speak the language let alone have a lot of friends. So I sat on my bench and threw the stick for Beretta over and over again. Wondering when my real life begins...
I started walking home feeling a bit melancholy. I realized, thanks to Miranda Lambert, that it was stupid of me to feel this way. I'm doing what I need to do, what I want to do. So let's do it! I got home and looked at a train schedule. I asked the Bachmann's for cool sites to see in Rapperswil, my plan for the afternoon. They all chipped in great ideas and suddenly Florian suggested I take the boat there. See, Zürich is at the north end of the lake while Rapperswil is at the south end. We checked times. Perfect! Right after lunch, Florian drove me down to the dock. Florian was my translator. I bought one ticket for the rest of the day. It let me do the boat ride and any train home afterwards. I was starting to feel better already. It was reminding me why I'm far from the home I love.
I waited at the dock for the boat. The mountains were glowing behind the lake. Stunning is the best word for it. And no picture I took could capture the scene. Here was my attempt: 
I talked with some ladies from London as we waited for the boat. Finally our boat arrived. It was three decks. The bottom and middle were enclosed with windows from floor to ceiling, and the top was open was open with some chairs to sit in. I quickly realized all the inside seating was at tables for a restaurant. I instead went upstairs to sit outside. Despite it being a GORGEOUS day, it was still a bit chilly with the wind and water. So I decided to risk it. Sitting inside at a table next to a window facing the mountains, I waited to be kicked out. But they let me hang out until we arrived in Rapperswil.
Getting off the boat, the sun was beginning to set, hitting the lake and the mountains perfectly. My gloomy attitude had to be forgotten. No one could have been gloomy looking at that view. 
I had been told about a castle off the water's edge. Sure enough, boom! Castle! My first one of the trip. I was pretty excited. I walked up the steps to the entrance of the castle. The views were ... Are you getting it? Everywhere I looked was beautiful. I try to stop saying that now! Here you see for yourself. 
An open courtyard area, people milled around. Some were friends just enjoying a cup of coffee, some were sight seeing like me, while some children ran around shrieking with excitement. I took in the sights till I climbed up towards the castle. You can get inside the castle, much to my chagrin. I found out by being barraged by a wedding party, it's only for events now. But you can walk around the courtyard in the walls. As I did of course. 
I left the castle and began my descent downwards. You can go all the way down to the sidewalk beneath, or take a gravel path that is next to the castle wall. As I looked down from that path, I could feel all my grumpiness fade away. I sat and watched from a bench above. Children were playing on a playground, clearly having an enormous amount of fun. (Sidebar, it was an awesome playground... The longest slide ever, and all sorts of fun contraptions were around it. I kind of wanted to play on it...) An elderly couple strolled along the sidewalk. A younger couple sat a bench facing the water. The water lapped at the brick walls. The sun glistening. I was able to take a deep breath and remember why I'm here.
I thought of the quote that is at the beginning. Sometimes life gives you moments you can't break down for people. No matter how many pictures I took, or how many descriptive words I use, I can't share that moment sitting on that bench watching the world beneath me. And I was at peace. I was at peace because I remembered why I'm here. I miss my family and my friends. But I'm here so I can have memories that won't be broken down. Memories that give you difficulty describing because you know it was an emotional connection that no one will feel. Tessa, Johann, and I used to say McCarthy has a magic to it- that everything is better there. That's when we started quoting that song. (Justin Farren's "Cassiar.") I think there's magic in moments as well. The magic is that it stays within you for you to hold. The magic is that you are in control of that memory and no one can take it from you. "All these words and life phrases no one really understands." ...Except you. You always will clutch those precious moments.
I didn't stay there forever, don't worry. I walked around Rapperswil a bit more. Loving the sunset over the lake and loving the cobblestoned town. I finally caught the train home in the dark, watching city lights whisk past. I got home. There was a warm delicious dinner waiting with even better company. Smiling now, I sit next to a fire, treasuring my moments that can't be broken down.
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