Switzerland 2014

Salam..

Finally I'd be able to click on that 'new post' button to write something. Hehe.. I'm now having my winter break before the exam starts on this 6th January. To make it short, me and my other two housemates went to Switzerland for 5 days via ryan air and easy jet. The return ticket cost us around gbp50. We had also purchased the swiss pass prior to our trip for free train and buses and to get a discount for the entry at most places of interest.

Day 1
After checking in at ibis hotel in Zurich, we directly headed to Winterthur where the Rheinfall is located at. With the pass, we only need to pay 5 franc per person for a very stunning view. Subhanallah.. Rheinfall was an absolute beauty. The view wasn't as stunning as viewed by our own eyes as compared to those captured by the gadgets. Secanggih manapun teknologi masih belum mampu menandingi kehebatan pancaindera yang Allah bagi. Bunyi air yang mengalir tu pun sangat menenangkan. Kalau kita perasan banyak ayat di dalam al-Quran yang bila mana Allah menyebut tentang syurga, digambarkan bahawa syurga itu ada sungai-sungai yang mengalir di bawahnya. Kalau sungai di atas muka bumi ini pun dah tersangat cantik, apatah lagi di syurga nanti. Masya Allah..

Top level

There's also a Malaysian restaurant in Zurich we went for our dinner. The owners were so welcoming and friendly. Siap bagi kitorang tapau for free lagi. Alhamdulillah rezeki Allah. Don't be surprised with the price because the living cost in Swiss is definitely quite high. A plate of nasi lemak cost about 24 franc, if converted will sum up to rm100 sepinggan. But as usual, the craving made it worth the money.

Satay and spring rolls. Kuah kacang serius sedap sebab manis. Ahaha..Kelantan sangat

Nasi Lemak with Lemongrass Chicken

We planned on goofing around the city after the dinner but I requested to go back to our hotel as my head started to give out its usual throbbing pain. Thanks travelmates for your concern. Hehe..


Day 2 & 3
These 2 days we stayed at Katy Mur's Lodge in Interlaken, the cheapest accommodation we could find. The service too, was great with a comfy setting and free breakfast.

The balcony

After settling down, we walked around the nearby city since it's already dark and there were not much things to do. Swiss terkenal dengan jam so sepanjang jalan ada banyak kedai yang jual jam. Not to forget the chocolates as well.

Laderach

The next day, we went up the mountain by cable car and on our way back, the snow fell down heavily.

Day 4

We took a cruise to our next destination, Geneva. It was free of charge with the pass.

As soon as we arrived then only we realized that we should have returned to Interlaken or might as well drop off at Lausenne. That won't cost any franc though, since we got the swiss pass and obviously it is a far better option instead of ended up being stranded in a very isolated part of France, which is Thonon. Not only the language became the barrier, we also did not have any euro to pay for the train ticket but luckily they received payment by debit card. I started to get distracted when my stomach asked for some food while all we had at that moment was only a boiled rice. What even worse was the toilet. I literally had to hold my breath while answering the nature's call. Hewhew..

After taking some time to sit back and reflect on our journey, Ummi asked each of us to point out what lesson have we got along the way so far. That was when our muhasabah session began.

First ibrah : Kewajipan untuk solat. Once we declared ourselves as a muslim, that means we agree to take Islam as our way of life. That includes the way we dressed, behave and performing the Islamic rules. So we shouldn't feel burdened or worried of the strange looks people might throw at us. We had actually missed our train to Annemasse while we were still praying and had to wait for another 3 hours to get there. Tapi redha aje sebab yang penting urusan dengan Allah kena diselesaikan terlebih dahulu walaupun hati dah meronta-ronta nak keluar dari tempat yang bernama Thonon ni. Huhu..

Second ibrah : Yakin dengan perancangan Allah. We had initially made a proper plan on our itinerary. Skiing should be one of our activities while in Interlaken but the service was made unavailable on that day that we only had a chance to ride on a cable car. Though skiing in Swiss might be once in a lifetime experience, when Allah says it's not gonna happened, then it will not be.

Third ibrah : Be grateful. Bila Ummi cakap, 'perasan tak kita ni terlalu berada dalam keadaan senang sampaikan bila toilet kotor dan berbau sikit dah mula merungut?'. Tiba-tiba tersentap. Sebelum ni pung pang pung pang nasihat orang lain untuk bersyukur but when it came to my turn, I failed to do so. Realize it or not, you lose the sense of grateful the moment you started to complain. In a difficult situation, it's hard to see things on a positive side so you tend to whine. But what makes a good muslim different is the way they react towards problems, that is with patience.

Ada hikmahnya juga kenapa Allah sesatkan kami di kampung Thonon ni buat sementara waktu. Rupa-rupanya Allah nak didik hati untuk bersyukur, sabar dan redha dengan perancanganNya. Walau susah sebentar, setidak-tidaknya perjalanan kami terisi dengan ibrah, bukan sekadar merasa keseronokan semata-mata. Alhamdulillah thumma alhamdulillah..

Till then, Assalamualaikum..