As the last week of our African adventure slowly came to an end, I had never experienced so much anticipation and excitement in my life to start my European journey. Not only had I missed my mum more than I thought was humanly possible, but the awareness of not having to pee in holes in the ground, and sit in overcrowded minivans on endless bumpy dirt roads, and watch goats being tortured on the side of the road by children, was all but reassuring that Europe was going to be a total change of scenery. Don't get me wrong - I loved my African adventure - but I knew Europe had safety and sanitary standards much more similar to the ones at home and these are the things that I sorely missed.

The plane landed in Zurich, Switzerland just half an hour after my mum's plane had landed in from Singapore and just knowing that mum was in the same airport waiting eagerly to see me, was just the best feeling. I couldn't explain the happiness I had when I saw her, but know that I didn't care that we were in an airport in front of at least a hundred people when I ran up to her and couldn't help but let out a little excited scream.

Zurich was the first European city I had ever been to and it definitely did not disappoint. It was probably as far away and different from any city, town or country in Africa as you could get. Just the cleanliness of the city was amazing, with trams running on freshly mown lawns, and really wide footpaths that led to some of the most beautiful architecture I've ever seen. It was the exact stereotype image of Europe I had in my mind, with decadent churches with huge clocks and bells, tall apartment buildings in pretty colours and painted window shutters (with the Swiss flag hanging off the side), tourists riding bikes everywhere on the smooth, flat tar roads, chocolatier shops with more sweets than you can imagine and the most well-dressed people I'd ever seen (wearing Chanel sunglasses, Prada high heels and carrying around Louis Vuittons like it was no big deal.) We walked from the train station to a lake that just defined serenity, complete with white swans and a backdrop of the snow-covered Swiss Alps. Me, still in the last remaining items I decided to keep of my African attire, could not wait to remove my trekking boots, put on a pair of jeans, wash my hair, maybe even put on some perfume and pretend to fit in. I instantly understood why people paid the insane airfare, accommodation and cost of living/travelling prices, just to escape for a couple of weeks to Europe.

Despite my time in Switzerland being short (possibly the shortest time I've ever spent in a country) I definitely managed to show off my entirely limited knowledge on the Swiss culture and heritage, telling the waitress who served me a deliciously rich hot chocolate that I do not in fact speak "Swiss." Her confused facial expression after I said this, was later explained to me by mum who pointed out that "Swiss" is not actually a language as they speak either German, Italian or French. Good one Kathryn - you might be a pro at recognising different African languages but you're in a totally different ballpark right now!

So here I was thinking that African transport was the most painstakingly annoying, unreliable and not to mention risky thing, and on our first day in Europe we were lucky enough to be told that the train we had booked from Zurich to Paris was not running due to strikes. When the train guard told mum this she actually laughed in his face and acted like he was joking as we were all standing on the platform with suitcases, in disbelief. We needed to catch a train for a couple hours to the another town much closer to the border of France called Basel and hang out there for a few more hours before trying to squeeze on to a probably over-booked late afternoon train to Paris. This was a nightmare as we were all so exhausted, however mum later told me that I handled the day much better than she expected, so maybe unreliable African transportation has taught me a thing or two about patience.

Basel was quite a nice town. We mainly spent the day just lying in the park as it seemed to be quite a popular thing to do. Much like Hyde Park in the city really, but perfect for killing time, trying to uphold some sort of tan, and really just relaxing after a tiring, and bit overwhelming, day of travelling.

Later that night we made it safely to Paris and my 3 and a half month European leg of the year, finally set in.

Catch you on the flip side!