So I went to Switzerland a mere ten days ago, only to realize one of my passions in life: running.  It is my mission for the trip to run in each city that I visit, which so far has been a success in Budapest, Vienna, Innsbruck, Jerzens, Zurich, Interlaken, Luzern, and Basel.  For the last many months, however, I have been going running but had forgotten my passion for it, was literally just going through the motions.  That all changed in Interlaken though.  My stay in Interlaken was four days long, punctuated by snow and highlighted by trips up Jungfraujoch to ski and sled in the Swiss Alps, as well as making fun with a great bunch of blokes from Liverpool.  It was a calm afternoon that wasn`t snowing, and despite my lack of motivation, I decided to take a trip up the trail behind my hotel.  It was on this run that I fully learned the lessons of one of my best friends that have been transmitted to me now for months.  The hill was steep and snowy, but I remembered how he likes the feel of burning in his calves, thrives on a lack of oxygen, and gets pleasure out of bodily pain.  I did once too, and with those thoughts running through my head, I slowly pushed on to the top.  Interlaken is so named because it rests between two lakes, nestled between snow-capped peaks.  I wanted to see the lakes, but had given up on it earlier in the morning because of the snow and my lack of warm clothing.  When I finally reached the top of the hill, I was rewarded with a stunning view of one of the lakes, green and eversprawling, much like out of a Harry Potter movie.  My second lesson was realized: I had forgotten how satisfying it is to finally reach a sought after goal, something my friend is always relentlessly pursuing.  On the way down, I noticed another trail going around the mountain, and although I had already reached the top (my initial goal) I thought once again of my friend, who is always going the extra mile, literally.  I decided to see where it lead, after all, I wasn`t that tired.  I ran for a few more minutes to be rewarded with a superb view of the other lake, mission accomplished.  It has taken me many months, but I finally feel that because of these lessons that I had forgotten or never truly learned, that I have realized my new-found passion for running.  Even more than surfing, maybe.  Maybe.  We will see, since I am going to be surfing in Portugal here soon, so exciting!

In addition to finding my love, Switzerland was filled with great experiences including exploring Zurich, making friends with entrepreneurs, Brits, and Liberians, seeing walls and bridges from the 14th century in Luzern, and finally running without my coat in beautiful Basel.  Time really does fly when you are having fun!