The boys arrive at the Swiss greenhouse.

Text and Photos
By Shari Benyousky
Guest Columnist

Column Note: This is the third column in a series about a European trip with Antony Garza and three 18-year-old recent high school graduates Jason Benyousky, Davin Broadhurst, and Ethan Spencer.

“This is the best Airbnb in the world,” Jason proclaimed. Davin and Ethan nodded in vigorous agreement.

To be fair, we had just spent three days in Rome with a heat index over 100 degrees, so stepping off the train in the Alps of Switzerland felt like heaven. Outside Lucerne Central Station we found our Bus 21, and in 20 minutes it deposited us at the end of a long, curving driveway.

A view of Mount Pilatus from the greenhouse.

Mount Pilatus towered across the road so high that clouds obscured the cable cars which soared to the restaurant atop. All around us the slopes of the Alps rose in various shades of blue.

“Bro,” Davin stopped halfway up the gentle slope. “I just want to be a shepherd.” We walked up through orchards to the entrance of an organic farm that in Swiss is called The Biogartneri Zimmerann. If you wanted to rent the place for yourself, you might see it here.

The owner Emanuel is a horticultural engineer. This Airbnb sleeps up to six and rents for $238 per night.

The Blooming Stuff

“Walk through Greenhouse No. 1 to find your key box,” the instructions read. We walked through tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers vining to the ceiling, basil, anise, thyme, and lots of flowers we didn’t recognize. “Go ahead and harvest anything you like from the greenhouse,” the instructions continued.

Davin began picking ripe strawberries. “Oh, wow!” He swooned. “These are the best berries I’ve ever tasted.” Pretty soon there were multiple people brushing their fingers through strawberry plants.

The Inside

A view of two beds from the greenhouse.

Eventually, we managed to make our way through the greenhouse to the end where our hosts had built a lovely living space and an outdoor kitchen with marble countertops.

Ethan stopped at the entrance with the lockbox. “Is this actually real?” he inquired in awe. Each bed had green folded blankets and towels. Each window looked out at the Alps, the greenhouse flowers, or the cows romping on the mountainside. The gentle sound of cowbells tinkling filtered through the clear blue air. The guys ditched their luggage to go explore.

When I’d emailed earlier to ask our host where we could hike, Emanuel had replied, “Just go out the door and go up.” He wasn’t wrong. The boys took off to climb. Tony settled himself with a book by the outside table under an awning. We all needed a few hours of mental recovery before we went back to town.

Cooking In The Greenhouse

Once we had managed to recover and acquire a few grocery items from the store up the road, Jason and I started dinner in the outdoor greenhouse kitchen.

He harvested zucchini, peppers, several kinds of tomatoes, and herbs of all kinds. “Smell this one!” he kept saying, holding out various crushed leaves. He put together a salad of baby lettuce, some tiny dandelion leaves, and fennel along with the last of the strawberries while I made risotto with some kind of Swiss pork sausage, a soft cheese, and all the veggies.

Ethan and Davin looked suspiciously at the dinner but began eating voraciously after the first taste. “I don’t even like vegetables,” Davin exclaimed. “How can I like this so much?” Fresh air, climbing mountains, and organic produce — how could we go wrong?

The Vibe

A look at the handmade bathroom.

Once we’d recovered, we headed down to Lucerne. Switzerland felt like the opposite of Rome, our last destination. Not only is it much cooler, but the vibe is totally different. Everything is spotlessly clean even in the rural parts. Everything is precisely timed. Busses come exactly when Google says they will come. Everything is labeled. You will have zero trouble getting around or figuring out what something is or how old it is or who made it.

Also, everyone speaks English. Having trouble saying something in Swiss or German? Someone will notice and help you out.

TIP – German is prevalent so learn to say thanks — Danke (or nein, danke for no thanks) and you’re welcome “bitte!” (This word also works for excuse me or please).

Bikes

“The infrastructure here is astounding,” Davin stared out the bus window.

“This is how bike lanes should work everywhere,” agreed Jason. Ethan, who already had plans to take a bike to Purdue when he returned, nodded. Well-marked and separated from car lanes, bike lanes ran next to most roads.

Adults and kids biked everywhere up and down the mountains. Bikes even had their own covered parking areas and riders popped their bikes easily onto buses when needed.

What To See In Lucerne

A view of the mountain village Bellinzona.

While you’re downtown Lucerne (the greenhouse is technically in Horw, Switzerland), be sure to walk across the ancient wooden Chapel Bridge (Kappelbrucke) which has spanned the River Reuss since around 1360 AD.

The bridge is the oldest surviving truss bridge in the world. Inside, you’ll see paintings from the 17th century depicting the history of Lucerne. The tower on one side has been a prison, a torture chamber, and even a treasury. Now, people use the footbridge to walk across the river between shops and parks. One cool park that we stopped at featured giant chess boards, ping-pong tables with metal nets, and a café.

THE FOOD
Wanting to try everything in the short span of two days, we cobbled together a sort of Swiss meal from a bakery and a grocery store. One specialty in Lucerne is called Kasewahe, or cheese pie. It’s rather like a quiche, but the French focus on the custard, and the Swiss focus more on the cheese itself. We tried several varieties both savory and sweet, which can be purchased by the slice at local bakeries.
TIP – I used Google translate with the camera option to help translate the names of various pastries. We ended up with something nut-filled, something chocolate, and something with rhubarb. With the app, you choose your language and aim the camera at a sign or a cashier’s machine and the phone translates immediately. Miming what you need and attempting conversation in a foreign language is often hilarious and effective (you should have seen me try to explain ChapStick when the clerk wanted to give me lipstick), but sometimes you just want chocolate and not hazelnut filling, and the translator makes things so much easier.
THE MONEY
Switzerland does have its own currency – the Swiss franc. However, it is quite possible to use Euros € here too. The shopkeepers will translate the current rate with calculators near the cash register. Whatever coin you choose, expect Switzerland to feel pricey. All the clean and light and on-time transportation, not to mention excellent health care and well-kept parks and buildings, costs. In Italy, a cappuccino might cost 2.5 €. In Lucerne, expect to pay 4.5 €.

TIP – As always in Europe, standing and drinking your coffee at the counter costs less than sitting at a table, and tips are generally only rounding up to the next Euro as European waiters are already paid a livable wage. Ethan, who waits at the Boathouse Restaurant, kept shaking his head in amazement at this fact.

Too soon for all of us, we found ourselves packing again to board the train down the other side of the mountains for Paris where we needed to replace Davin’s passport at the US Embassy. Should we find ourselves in Lucerne again, we want to find the friendly retired gentleman on the bus who lived for a while in Chicago and told us about a hidden WWII bunker in the hills. We also want to catch the boat that sails around Lake Lucerne like a taxi. Until then, Gute Reise.