Meeting up with my friend Ilona meant I didn't get to stay overnight in Zürich - which was a good thing because I was getting the feeling it would blow my budget with as little as a wave of a hand. Ilona invited me to stay with her at her fiancé, Christian's house in a little village north of Zürich called Rafz.
Before getting there, Ilona and Christian were very modest in describing their home to me. They explained it was a small house on a farm in a small village. I had the impression that I'd be staying in a tiny log cabin in the middle of wheat fields, kilometres away from civilisation. Maybe my imagination took it too far.
Christian's home ended up being one of my favourite places I've stayed at so far! His family has lived in the area for generations, which was by no means isolated. His house was one of two traditional farmhouses, the other one occupied by his parents. Newly renovated, it was very comfortable and with his mother's green thumb, the gardens were gorgeous, bursting with colour from petunias, geraniums, roses, hydrangeas and more. I even got an education on fruit trees because they had quite a few. Th whole place felt like it was out of a magazine from Homes&Gardens.
I really enjoyed my one day in Rafz thanks to this lovely couple whom I shared so many laughs with. Ilona cooked me rosti for breakfast then took me to see Rheinfall, the biggest waterfall in Europe. When Christian came back from work, we enjoyed the rest of our day chilling out near the Rheine river before going home for a great BBQ of Swiss sausages, grilled zucchini, cheesy potatoes and caprese salad. We ended the day with a walk around the village at sunset, coming across lots of vineyards and fields, more quaint and flower-adorned cottages and friendly bell-wearing cows.
I had so much fun visiting Ilona and Christian. It was such an authentic experience of Switzerland and has me leaving with many happy memories!
