NOTE: This podcast was transcribed by an AI tool. Please forgive any typos or errors. Switzerland === [00:00:00] [00:00:00] INTRO --- [00:00:00] Cara: Welcome to this episode, it was inspired by a trip to Switzerland. I had done an episode about bringing wellness into travel, but that whole concept came from this trip. And so I want to be able to [00:00:12] Cara: walk you through on how I really created this. One of a kind trip for myself that I feel so lucky to experience. So if you're ever in the thoughts of going to Switzerland, [00:00:24] Cara: please listen in. But even if you're not, there's so many tips into making sure, like your trip is something that you're just so [00:00:33] Cara: grateful to experience. I just feel so called to share. Because honestly, like, I feel like I came back a different person. So thanks for being here and I'll see you on the other side. [00:00:44] FLODUCTIVITY --- [00:00:44] Cara: Welcome to floductivity, a place to inspire and empower beings to embrace self-love and self-development for an achievable balance of productivity. I share different ways to come back to your intuition through spirituality, self care, human design, [00:01:00] cycle planning, wellness, and everything in between. [00:01:03] Cara: Thank you so much for joining me this week. If this is your first time. Welcome. And if you've been here with me before. Thank you so much for coming back. I'm so excited to join you in this journey. As we learn together. [00:01:16] Wellness on the Go: Tips for Staying Balanced While Traveling in Switzerland --- [00:01:16] Cara: Welcome to finding wellness and travel. This trip is specifically about a trip I took to switzerland. There's so many great tips. Even if you're not planning on going to Switzerland, but it's a way that you can really. Take an opportunity when you get to take a trip, whether it's a few days, whether it's a week [00:01:35] Cara: To be completely transparent and honest. I did not think a trip like this was anywhere near and my future. I feel like a lot of the tips and tricks are going to be a little bit. Difference. It might take you out of your comfort zone, if you're going somewhere else or local of how you can build this into a trip and make it something specifically supportive for you. And that's the point of me sharing [00:02:00] this is. [00:02:00] CREATING TOOLKITS AROUND PHASES --- [00:02:00] Cara: Just encouraging you to create these toolkits, to support yourself Not getting to a point of being overwhelmed because I'm at a different place emotionally than I thought I was going to be on a trip like this. So that when you get an opportunity to experience something, you can really fully be in the moment. it's one taking an aspect of where you're at in your cycle. If you experience one. [00:02:24] Cara: But also know that that is playing into the moon energy. And so. I always suggest people using the moon as. Navigation. In just building these different procedures to make your life kind of flow. And like when you have a procedure in your life, things are easier. When you build a procedure of a product. [00:02:47] Cara: It will be efficient. even if you don't experience a cycle, It's so important to have a standard operating procedure and one, not better thing than the moon, if you don't experience a [00:03:00] menstrual cycle. It's also being open to the moon energies. In planning a trip, but guess what? This. [00:03:07] Cara: Trip isn't fully based around a cycle. So stay tuned for just the things that I suggest in the experience, because there were so many nuggets of. Just clarity and things that I experienced on this trip that I just feel so called to share with all of you. So thanks for being here. [00:03:24] LEANING INTO THE UNIVERSE --- [00:03:24] Cara: * So the biggest piece to this trip to Switzerland was never thought a trip like this was on my horizons. Things have been different in the fact of. [00:03:34] Cara: Finances because I once. Had more income because I worked [00:03:40] Cara: Now I'm trying to build a business. So any extra money that comes about is going towards the children or my business. So to be able to take. Money and be able to go on a trip like this. I just didn't think it was possible. And so there were so many aspects to it that just aligns. And that was the biggest piece. [00:03:57] Cara: Was when this opportunity [00:04:00] came up one, I didn't see it coming. Two. I kind of was like, this feels really good to me, this whole concept. So while normally in a situation like that, I would've felt restricted and making a decision like this, to be able to take money. go on an 11 day trip without my family, I honestly was like, no, there's no way that can happen. [00:04:21] Cara: I kept saying, what if, what if it can happen? I took out the need to control it. And I was saying, if this is meant to happen, [00:04:32] Cara: All the things that need to happen will work out. I stopped worrying about the outcome and just took it as is if I meant to book a flight. Make it easy and it was, I was able to use points. So I honestly didn't even have to pay for my flight to Switzerland. And if I did, it was about $600, which, I mean, a lot of the places in the U S are probably that much money now anyways, too. So to know that I could go to a place like Switzerland at that point when I had points for it. [00:04:59] Cara: [00:05:00] Okay. Check. [00:05:00] Cara: I was worried about the financial aspect, because while I knew some pieces of it points and things like that were going to be covered. I was like, How is this really going to be the case the money that I'm trying to put aside? Is it going to be enough? [00:05:14] Cara: You know, we're cutting into this into savings for something like this. few weeks prior, like we were gifted money We already decided it was okay for me to go to Switzerland. So it wasn't even like we were waiting for that to make the decision. [00:05:25] Cara: I was like, that is the only thing standing in the way of fully being able to be in the moment with this trip was worrying about it. And then. This gift came about. And I was like, okay, well I asked the universe, it showed me. And I'm grateful that it came at the right time. And so then I was able to lean into this trip a lot more. [00:05:47] Cara: that was a piece of, it was the controlling of the trip. I wanted to be able to have things planned. I wanted to enjoy Utmost experience. But sometimes when there's too much planning or too much into it, I was [00:06:00] afraid that it was going to, again, take me out of the moments of the experience. [00:06:03] Cara: This trip was the perfect amount of planning and letting the universe lead the way we ended up having a long layover and Philly. And I use that time for. These courses and workshops that I hadn't been able to get to. And so I wanted to use it as kind of this momentum into the self investment piece. [00:06:21] SUMMER/OVULATION & SELF-DISCOVERY --- [00:06:21] Cara: Because the intention I had on this trip was I was not going to work towards my business, like anything for it, but where I was at my cycle, I wanted to be very open with. courses and self investment. And so while this is investing into my business I wasn't going to be writing content. [00:06:41] Cara: I wanted to lean into knowledge and that's what felt good to me. And that's exactly where I was in my phase. I was between that spring and that summer space in my phase. Being able to focus on my self discovery. That was number one on my list. it was having these [00:07:00] resources and then using the ones that felt good to me. And so it wasn't searching for these things while I was on my trip. I knew the aspects of the things that I wanted to work on and invest in myself. [00:07:12] Cara: That was my number one intention. And so besides the self investment piece courses and whatnot, I wasn't doing any work, but I was. Absorbing information. [00:07:22] Cara: I did record content and the sense of, I love nature. I was blown away by what I was seeing. And I was like, I know being in this experience is beautiful. I also want to be able to be in this experience when I leave. And so recording stuff like that was really important because. It was the most surreal. [00:07:41] Cara: Views I've seen in my life. And that was one of the intentions I put on my vision board was I wanted to be able to go to a place where the view alone was all I needed. I have never been to a place like Switzerland's and that's exactly what it was. It was like everywhere I went had something [00:08:00] that was just a magnitude and being someone that loves taking pictures. [00:08:04] Cara: That filled my soul in so many other aspects. people kept asking me what I wanted for my 40th birthday. I think I want to do. Of retreats. Like I just want to go somewhere for a week, be able to just like fully reset and. [00:08:17] Cara: People I've what retreat, what retreat . While there was awesome retreats that I saw, there was nothing that spoke to me. And so I kept just being like, I want to have something that is an experience that is life changing. And that's when the Switzerland trip came to me. And so I didn't go searching for it. And so I think that's the biggest piece is if you're looking for something that really. [00:08:39] Cara: Transforms your soul. It also probably depends on your human design. [00:08:43] MANIFESTING GENERATOR & MANIFESTING --- [00:08:43] Cara: So I will say that. But for me being a manifesting generator with a sacral. I wanted to have this. Out of body experience and I ultimately did. That's the biggest piece of this was the intention of what I wanted. I communicated it with the universe and then it [00:09:00] came to me and I know it seems crazy, but like, [00:09:03] Cara: That's how manifesting works. I wasn't asking for the money to go on the trip. I was asking for the experience and that experience came. Guess what? How it happened. I didn't really have the money for the experience, but the experience happened without needing the money. this is a big piece to manifesting is stop asking for the money. What is it that you want to experience and try to call that in. If it's meant for you, it will find you if it's not something better is on the other side. [00:09:31] Cara: that's where the power comes, because how do you feel in that experience? If you're not feeling good in what you're trying to call in? You're not going to get more of it. So you've got to feel good. That is how I stepped into a trip that blew my mind that I didn't think was possible. [00:09:47] Cara: Get clear how you want to feel what you want to experience. [00:09:51] Cara: Be patient. No, that the timing when it's supposed to come will come. And so let's get into it. Let's get into this trip. I'll talk about some experiences. I'm just [00:10:00] more going to talk about the pieces. That. Rejuvenated my soul as I went through on this trip. It's showing you the things that lit me up so that it inspires you to find the things that are going to let you up on an experience. it's not about just going on a trip. It's like taking it to another level of what can you do for yourself as you experience it, and guess what? [00:10:21] Cara: It's not always doing things that other people are doing. So having. Kind of wiggle room. So that you can do things on your own. You can do things with yourself and being able to have the full blown experience. [00:10:33] TRAVELING TIPS --- [00:10:33] Cara: If you're traveling. Have someone pretend to be your assistant? And send emails to where you're staying and ultimately say you're their assistant. And to make sure that if there's anything extra complimentary or if there's any upgrades available. to keep you in minds. while this one was a purposeful upgrade, this was not due to this strategy. It was very helpful. And a lot of the other scenarios. [00:10:56] Cara: The other piece was I brought like goodie bags [00:11:00] on to the airplane for the flight attendants and everybody loved it. I had a few people come up to me. Did it get me special, seating? No, ironically, on the way home, we have the same flight attendants, but I'm not sure that it was that big of a deal that they remembered me, but whatever it's still made their day. And so that alone. [00:11:17] Cara: Brought the energy of me just giving to people and so I did feel like with that energy that I brought, we did get a lot of that. There was a lot of perks and it could have been the places it could have been. Just by chance, we did get our hotel upgraded, And so take that tip with you, do what you want with it. It brought that vibe with us I was there for it. [00:11:36] BRINGING YOUR OWN SNACKS FOR HEALTHY OPTIONS --- [00:11:36] Cara: So at this point, a couple of things that I did to keep that. Wellness in my routine. We both brought pretty healthy snacks with us, just so we had food on hands and that we didn't have to like go and eat every meal. And we were trying to not eat more than two meals out a day. So we were pretty strategic in that. [00:11:55] Cara: we talked about the food we were bringing That was really helpful. I brought mixed [00:12:00] nuts. I have the RX vanilla almond butter. So good. a lot of the places we stayed at included of sit-down breakfast. [00:12:08] Cara: Or, uh, like buffet breakfast and I ate so many were croissants on this trip, but I felt fine. I felt good. I felt like I can do it, Bringing food also helped us to keep costs down and then health, wise, too. I brought, my travel packs for athletic greens. That was an everyday thing. Like, no matter what I had to get used to How I drink it, when I'm at home. I use cold water with like six ice cubes. But in Europe, they don't have ice cubes. a lot of them have sparkling water, Give me like cold water. That's all I want. that's not a thing there. [00:12:43] Cara: It's usually. Mineral water and not cold. I did find that athletic greens was actually pretty good in sparkling water. I normally don't like sparkling water. So that was a fun little fact, too. Don't ever try to use athletic greens and a normal cup or a small water bottle. You'll just spill it everywhere. And it's [00:13:00] a mess. And so I did travel. I did bring one of my water bottles with me and a straw. And so every time I used it, I washed it out immediately. [00:13:08] Cara: but of course, when we were at the park Hyatt, I brought a pack it down and I tried to put it in a glass and it was messy and it's such a fancy, nice place. And it was embarrassing. bring the water bottle with your athletic greens a thousand times over. A mistake that I made. Was I have this. Collapsible water bottle it has a carabiner on it, so I can clip it to my bag. I like the concept of it, but drinking out of it, I can taste it. I don't like it. But I thought that was the best. [00:13:36] Cara: Water bottle for me to bring. And it was a terrible idea and ended up breaking. I barely drank water because it tasted so bad out of it. [00:13:42] Cara: I should have just brought one of my swell, smaller water bottles, maybe the bigger one. and just had an empty going through. The airport living there. bring a water bottle with you. If you can, If somewhere has like a big filtered water thing, you can get water. Not very common in Europe. Like you actually have to pay for water. Like you don't get [00:14:00] tap water. Not that I would drink it while traveling, I brought my travel yoga mat. [00:14:04] Cara: I brought my Oracle and tarot cards Looking back. I brought three decks with three. Books with it. One, I ended up getting a deck of cards when I got back. That have the descriptions of the tarot cards on the taro cards. that would have been helpful. I probably would have only brought two decks and not three. [00:14:21] Cara: Because of how much I did it. And honestly, a trip like that. I would have considered bringing one, but it's hard because I usually like a taro and an Oracle, but personal preference. [00:14:31] Cara: Books are a big piece of when I travel, no matter where I'm at my cycle, like it's always a must. Now I normally don't bring actual books. I have my Kindle because. This trip alone. [00:14:43] Cara: I want to say I finished. [00:14:45] Cara: Seven books. One book on tape. so eight books. I would have rethought about how I packed, but I honestly don't think I could have taken anything else out. I do think by suitcase. Could be upgraded. It would have been worth it to get a different suitcase. [00:15:00] I love my suitcase set, but they're super old and they're not lightweight. Like they are now. [00:15:04] Cara: I felt like I packed too much. But coming back, like I used everything. maybe too many snacks, but for the most part, I'm pretty sure I use the majority of everything that I brought. And going to a place that you're going to much colder weather than you're used to, and making sure you have enough warm clothes. 11 days. Those are about two pairs of shoes. Now. My shoes. I am not a sponsor for sorel I am a lover of sorel I would say the only shoes I've bought in the last three years, each year, I get a new pair because I love them. And they're the only shoes I wear for the whole year. These boots that I got were on sale. [00:15:40] Cara: And before Christmas, and I told my husband, I'm going to Switzerland. This is what I want Love them obsessed with them. I wore them 90% of the time while we're there. The only other shoes I brought were like nicer heeled boots, for when we went out. So I wanted one pair of hiking boots, one pair of boots. [00:15:58] Cara: When we went out [00:16:00] and I am very happy with my shoe choices, but. Looking back. How was my bag so bad with only two pairs of shoes? if my feet hurts, I don't enjoy a trip. And so making sure I am very strategic in my shoes, being comfortable to me So I do feel like how I packed my clothes was great, but packing for something that makes you feel good in your trip we were going to the top of mountains. And so you have to be really strategic when you're going that high, when it's that cold. I mean, like, it was so cold the one day that like I got like chin burn, like all here was like, Red and whatnot. [00:16:35] Zurich --- [00:16:35] Cara: we ended up getting into Zurich. Early in the morning. it would have been like 2:00 AM. And Raleigh time. it was like 8:00 AM there. So we decided we were going to just drop our bags off and go explore the town. so I did not sleep on the plane, but my companion did. I knew there was going to be a point where my steam was going to run out and, um, it came, but not as early as I thought. [00:16:59] Cara: so [00:17:00] ultimately we were actually staying at a pretty nice hotel. We were able to be upgraded in a sweets. There was a sauna there. And so I'll get into that in a minute, but, I've never seen it in a hotel room like this. It was beautiful. It was because of my companion. They were able to upgrade. I've just never been in a hotel room like that. So that in itself was a awesome experience. [00:17:19] Cara: We of course had to get fondue we went to, um, a really good place at the hotel suggested. The next day we ended up. Ultimately hanging arounds. Kind of rejuvenating ourselves because we never slept for a whole night. the time difference is six hours. So you have to keep that in mind as you're going. And so I really appreciated the fact that . We went to the sauna. [00:17:40] Cara: My companion. went to the steam room. There was a lounge area. [00:17:45] LUZERN | LUCERN | MT. PILATUS --- [00:17:45] Cara: And then we ended up getting on a train and we headed to Lucerne. We just went into the town of Lucerne. [00:17:52] Cara: Walked around. Um, there's like a bridge. And then we went to one of the best meals I've ever had. And so that was [00:18:00] another piece to this trip was like the food that I had, there was the best food I've had in my life. And I felt like I was so indulgent. But I had like so much energy and I know other people have talked about the food in Europe versus the us, but like, I'm here to tell you. [00:18:13] Cara: We're getting jipped over here because the quality it is more expensive but like, the amount of cheese and croissants I ate while I was gone and the energy I had, like, it didn't feel right, but it felt good. [00:18:26] Cara: So the hotel that we stayed in and Lucerne was probably the smallest room we had stayed in, but it just made sense. Like we weren't going to be spending much time there. So it was funny that we went to the most luxurious. Um, hotel room I've ever stayed in to probably the smallest hotel room I've ever stayed in. [00:18:43] Cara: But. It was like perfect for what we needed. [00:18:45] Cara: the next morning we went to Mount Pilatus and so if you're going to Switzerland's. Yes. A thousand times. Yes. Now there might be better mountains to go to, but what I experience a thousand times, [00:19:00] yes. But I'm going to tell you the experience we had. So. We took a cable car up. To a certain place of this mountain. We're going At the bottom of this mountain is lakes. So it's a beautiful site. But it was so gloomy and cloudy. I was actually like, man, this is going to be disappointing. I really want to take pictures. You can't really see anything. [00:19:21] Cara: Was a pretty snowy. Cold day. And so there wasn't that many people, but we got off, we did a little hike, took some pictures and then we continued up. At the second stop we had to get off. And then get on a gondola. And the gondola Jace is a bigger thing that a bunch of people go in a cable car is when only two people, four people maybe go in. [00:19:44] Cara: And so the gondola takes all of us up to the top and like, I get up there. I can't believe I thought I was going to be disappointed. Like we were above the clouds. Just the whole idea of it was just like, that experience kind of blew my mind of like, I've just never experienced anything like that. [00:19:59] Cara: Like I've been [00:20:00] to the grand canyon. I've seen mountains, but to be on a mountain so tall that you're like above the clouds. we were worried that this wasn't going to be like enough of a view for us. And. It was so that really fed my soul to have that visual experience, especially when I've never experienced anything like that. [00:20:17] Cara: Took pictures. came down. We ended up taking a mini boat ride. Just the timing of it. It's like all we could do. so it was just cool to see the views from the water. And we ended up eating at the same place two nights in a row. The first night it was an Italian place. [00:20:34] Cara: I honestly think it's like one of the top five meals I've ever had in my life. We went back the second night. It was good the second night, but like we got different things just cause how can we get the opportunity to eat at nice places? And we get the same thing two nights in a row. I regret that I would have enjoyed it the second night. [00:20:50] are you ready to make a real change in your life? Here are just a few benefits on working with me as a certified holistic coach. Together, we [00:21:00] gain insight into your authentic self. We explore your design with modalities like human design cycle, vitality and astrology. And you'll gain a deeper understanding of your unique strengths, challenges and your purpose in life. [00:21:15] Together. We work on improving relationships, understanding your own design helps you communicate more effectively with other people. Build stronger relationships and have more fulfilling connections around you. 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It is time for you to look within at how powerful you are and welcome your intuitive intelligence. [00:22:25] If you want to work with me, head to Caradempsey.com/offerings [00:22:30] [00:22:30] SOLOTHURN --- [00:22:30] Cara: we ultimately left there and we went to . SOLOTHURN. there was just like a lot of synchronicities on this trip that I kind of needed. there was a festival that was happening across the street from the hotel we were staying at. And just this festival loan really felt synchronistic to a certain piece of the puzzle of my life right now. [00:22:48] Cara: So in Solothurn our hotel room was a suite and I would say this was the one I was thankful for having a suite because we were going to be there four nights. we, Had a beautiful view. [00:23:00] I am so thankful for that view because the next day. I woke up and I could barely walk. I was having a really hard time walking and I had noticed it. [00:23:09] Cara: The night before. And I really thought like, I'd sleep it off. And I woke up and it was worse. trying to like Trek through with luggage and buses to trams, I knew there was going to be a lot of walking and my feet were really comfortable, but because of the city and it really flared up my hip. that was a bummer. [00:23:25] Cara: But so thankful to be able to sit on the couch, look at. Swans. Floating in the water, swans flying. I saw this like crazy surfing thing that like these guys were doing on top of the water, but they had to be in like head to toe. What suits because it was so freaking cold. I felt like I had my own show going outside of the hotel and it made me not feel guilty at all that I did not leave that day. I ended up getting a massage there. I had very little expectations. Because. I had gotten a massage on a trip in Vegas and it [00:24:00] left me not being able to move for like 48 hours. Like it. [00:24:03] Cara: Wrecked me. Like I couldn't move my head. It made me sick to my stomach. It was like the worst experience ever. So it was kind of afraid, but like, I really wanted this trip to have some of these pockets of spa and luxury in it. Without the whole trip being that way. [00:24:19] Cara: My birthday wasn't for a few months after, but having these like birthday surprises for myself through it. the guy did not speak English. But it was one of the best massages I've ever had in my life. Like, thanks to him. My hip ended up getting better a lot sooner, but I did end up doing some. Stretches and some things, my brother-in-law is a massage therapist. And so it was like help. I can't move. So he gave me some things to work on. and then after the massage, there was, a sauna that, I went to. [00:24:49] Cara: And so fun facts in Europe. Especially in a lot of places, uh, clothing is like, Very optional. I knew that going into it, and then there's something to be able to experience [00:25:00] it. I probably would have gotten into the sauna more. If I felt more comfortable, [00:25:04] Cara: but, that definitely changed. The experience of it. [00:25:08] Cara: So when we were trying to decide on, um, hotel options, the fact that there was a spa and. Sauna that obviously came with staying there. That was the one I really wanted and that it was a suite. that was perfect. [00:25:22] Cara: We went to my first Michelin star experience and yes, like it did not disappoint I am very nervous about trying weird foods, I'm open. Let's see what happens. my meal consisted of a moose Boosh, which was like this raspberry and salmon. [00:25:39] Cara: I do not. Like salmon and I like still ate this because it was so interesting and good. Again, what I got was seem basic, but it was like the best food ever. I just got the Caesar salad and the, steak, but it was like a French restaurants and it was so good. I'm going to butcher the actual name of it. So I'm not going to say it, but again, like bucket list checked, [00:26:00] enjoyed it so much. [00:26:01] Cara: There was a town right over the bridge. And the first day, like I said, I didn't leave the hotel the second day, there was a market that I looked up. And so it comes with that, like knowing what was happening in the town, but not getting too attached to my plans. [00:26:15] Cara: very much the fact in this. And so it was raining. my hip was still recovering, so I just did like a little jaunt through there. And we ended up having dinner in the hotel that night and it was actually pretty good. It was more German. there's German side of Switzerland. There's an Italian side of Switzerland. And there's a French side of Switzerland. And so you'll go to places where it's more heavily influenced in that area. [00:26:38] Cara: the next day I was actually going to go to a place where France, Switzerland, and Germany all came together, but I thought I booked a train and I booked up bus. And so I missed. The bus because I was at the train part, not the bus part. Anyways. I figured that was the universe showing me something [00:27:00] different. And so I was okay with that because the timing of the. [00:27:03] Cara: Buses, which I thought were trains. it was weird and I was really afraid to get stranded. this one, I was a bit more in control. It made me nervous a little bit because you pretty much had to walk 45 minutes to a hiking trail. It was all uphill, which. [00:27:17] Cara: It was hard, but knowing that it was downhill on the way back was a little bit easier. So I went on this hike. There was this beautiful building and some things that I like started to take pictures of and like, I was going there because of. Taking pictures. That was my goal. the signs were not in English, but it was very apparent. You couldn't take pictures. And so I was like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I walked this far. And I don't get to take pictures. [00:27:41] Cara: But as I started walking on the trail and we got away from like the memorials and the church, it was nature. And like, I could obviously take pictures of nature. And so it felt magical. It felt fairy like, and so it brought a whole different vibe than the rest of Switzerland that I was experiencing because like the waters were like blue [00:28:00] and green. [00:28:00] Cara: The mountains were so tall and snow-capped, and so this was like that lush green. Barry like, and so that was cool. Like it was different. It was nice that I got a different experience when I wasn't expecting it. [00:28:12] Cara: It was a long walk back, but I made it, . And that night, I ended up going to an Italian place by myself. I'm not sure I've ever gone to dinner by myself. I've gone to lunch. I've gone to breakfast. I've sat at places by myself. So it was different, but I actually enjoyed it. [00:28:26] Cara: I had bought some delicious desserts earlier in the day because There's pastries and dessert places all over. And so it felt very indulgent in the eating, [00:28:36] Montreux --- [00:28:36] Cara: from there. We got up the next morning. And we were taking a train to Montreux. we were only spending one night in Montreux. Our room was absolutely gorgeous. This is one of the places where we did get upgraded. we were going to get a partial lake and mountain view and we had a full mountain and lake view [00:28:54] Cara: I've never had a view. Like that in my life. So, that alone felt luxurious, but the hotel [00:29:00] itself was a beautiful hotel. I felt. like I was living in a different realm. It was so great. [00:29:04] Cara: We strolled along the water. A lot of just cool things along the walkway. One of them was the Freddie mercury, um, statue, we just kinda went shopping and checked out the area. And then we headed up on the cog train. And so what that's like is very different than the train we were taking. So all of our transportation. [00:29:24] Cara: In Switzerland. Was via train or bus. there is an app that really helps with this process. Highly recommend getting it. I can put it in the show notes, but like if you're traveling and you're not driving. [00:29:37] Cara: You need this, A thousand percent. just make sure you have certain things checked off, right? So you're not walking two miles unexpectedly So the regular trains are newer. They're like going through that soft it's smooth, it's like that brand new rollercoaster that it's just like, the Cog Train is like that old wood and train where you're like ch. [00:29:57] Cara: And you're on cliffs. And so it's [00:30:00] definitely a different experience. It took me out of my comfort zone. I can be not afraid of Heights at all, or that I can be very afraid of Heights. And it just definitely put me on that other end. but the views we saw, we didn't see the other mountain. We went up because it was so foggy and this one had Like more open, you saw a lot more of the experience. While we were on top of a mountain, it was a different mountain. It was a different experience. Again, it felt very surreal, so I'm happy we did it. And just even the experience going up, it. While scary was worth it. [00:30:31] Cara: When we got down from the cog train we had. An afternoon, dessert and coffee, this simple experience, like that is something that just like really brings me joy. And so I'm happy that we had like a moment of that . It felt like such a luxury experience. I've never seen like a dessert and coffee shop, so busy. So just that's what people do in Europe. And it felt very European and I loved it. [00:30:55] Cara: from there, we walked to the. Chillon on castle. I'm not [00:31:00] sure if I'm saying that right. everybody talked about the sunset views. We thought we had to be inside the castle for these views. But when people say that, like you can be on the grounds, there's places around it for you to experience. [00:31:13] Cara: The views. we got there. The castle, like was pretty much closed. It was cool to kind of do a quick around of what this castle looked like. And then we quickly realized just being around the castle and I got beautiful pictures and videos. So that was a really cool experience. [00:31:28] Cara: it was a little rushed to get there. We thought we were going to miss it, so if you're trying to go the. Castle just know that. You don't have to be there inside the castle for the sunset. It's just being around it for the views because that's, that's the whole point. [00:31:44] Cara: and also I did check online and the castle said that it was open an hour later, then. What they actually closed at. highly recommend that if you are in Montreux, we ended up eating inside the hotel. It was actually one of the top rated restaurants in the area [00:32:00] and the other ones were farther away and the sleep was catching up with us at this time. And so we decided how about we eat in the hotel and then we were going to go to The sauna and the steam room when we were done with dinner. that's another piece to this was having these sauna and steam rooms. Like it's a standard practice in Europe for people to kind of like. Let the day unwind on them in places where you can't have your phones and you're always stimulated. And so that also is something to be said where. [00:32:27] Cara: I think electronics and all that, like. They are addictive everywhere. I saw a different balance. In Europe than in the U S and I feel like sauna and steam rooms as simple. As they sound. Or a beautiful practice. It's just hard because we don't have them at our house. You know, if you're lucky enough to have them in your gym That's a great thing. I know there's some places around here that kind of have that, all those little things that you can do an infrared sauna. that was my favorite part about Europe is having access to these places. Every step we took, I want to say one of our [00:33:00] hotels didn't have it. [00:33:00] PANORAMIC EXPRESS --- [00:33:00] Cara: So from there the next day we had breakfast in the hotel. we had a planned train. And so a lot of the other times we were leaving room. To be able to pick them train. That was best for us. our whole trip revolved around this train. [00:33:15] Cara: It was the new panoramic express. You can see totally at the windows. And we upgraded to first class, there's actually a class above that, that we would have probably done, but we wouldn't have been sitting together. So we didn't do that. One of my favorite experiences. It was beautiful to just sit there and like these comfortable seats. [00:33:34] Cara: No, that we weren't like lugging our luggage from train to train and just sit and enjoy ourselves. Look at the views. And I was listening to the secret on audio book it was probably one of the most moments that I just really felt interconnected with the universe around me and the most luxury that I've ever experienced in my life. And I just felt like everything that was happening was just specifically for me it just felt so good. [00:33:59] Cara: And I loved [00:34:00] it. we knew that going in that that was going to be our favorite part. [00:34:02] Cara: we ended up. Getting some fancy cheese before we got on while we were in Montreux before. And then we ordered the pastry basket and a veggie plate. And so just felt like we were having food and I had a glass of wine and, felt indulgent and it. Really filled my soul. if I were to say luxury, that was it. And it was amazing and beautiful that I got that experience. [00:34:25] Cara: we even passed a place called the manifestation. And so that was really cool that I was just like sitting there feeling like I'm in it. And that this manifestation train station came up. So of course I had to take a picture of that. [00:34:39] INTERLAKEN --- [00:34:39] Cara: From there we were going to Interlaken. And so the first thing we noticed was like, all these people paragliding off the mountain. And so it's very much a place where. Adventure comes. That's what interlaken felt for me. And it could have been where we were staying. And so we just walked around. And then we were going night sledging. it's ultimately a night [00:35:00] sledding. [00:35:00] Cara: got in a van, there was like 20 of us going. There was two guys who were like leading us and then there was like 20 people and it was mostly kids in college. So that was just kind of a little funny, but then there was a couple. But we didn't really meet them until dinner time. We even like rent gear to wear on this. because we knew we weren't going to bring waterproof pants and it's cold. Lower there we're in like snow. [00:35:22] Cara: When we go to this mountain, we take a. [00:35:25] Cara: cable car up. It did not feel as secure as the other ones. It's also pitch black outside because it's nighttime. Disappears in the abyss. Like you're just kinda like, well, that's high too. It's so dark out. Like what the heck are we getting ourselves into? And then we get up on the top of the Mountain And one of the girls is like having a panic attack and they're like, you can't go down the gondola is closed. [00:35:46] Cara: Another girl falls, like hurts her arm. And so ultimately that takes one of the guides and then the two girls. They have to go back down the hill. Oh wait, now we don't have someone at the back of the group. So they ended up putting this couple in charge at the [00:36:00] back of the group to make sure we don't lose anyone. So that kind of fell ad. [00:36:03] Cara: This isn't like just going down a mountain, you're like going through cliffs. there was equally as scary times is fun and exhilarating times, but like you knew if you went off the cliff, like you were done. I don't know. I just don't think we thought that one through, but, uh, it was a cool experience. [00:36:18] Cara: I don't know if it would have been scarier in the day. Cause you could see what you're doing. We couldn't see. After that you did fondue. And so that was fun. We ended up meeting a couple from New York and we had a really great time and conversation. They had just gotten engaged. And they even bought our wine that we had. [00:36:34] Cara: And we did it because. We knew we didn't have that much daytime to explore we're like, what can we do at night? We stopped in the casino on the way back, not what we expected. We were in and out in like two minutes probably. And then went to the hotel. The next day we kinda wandered around. We got on a boat and we went to some caves. Just being on green, blue water with mountains around us, it was breathtaking. everywhere we [00:37:00] went, like it was another breathtaking view. And so if you're looking for something like that, that highly recommend it. [00:37:05] Cara: we did not realize what the hike would be like when we got to the bottom of the mountain. And we had a hike up to the mountain to get to the caves. so that was a way more intense than we realized that was going to be. There was like a bus stop. [00:37:20] Cara: At the place. And so we didn't have to like hike down the mountain to take the boat. The caves were really cool. I didn't care to do them, but. [00:37:27] Cara: She suggested we do it. And I was like, okay, you know, I'm down for whatever. And I'm so happy we did it. It was really cool. Like I've never seen anything like that. the sun was out a lot more. It was a lot warmer that day. And so a lot of the ice and stuff was melting. the water through the caves was really cool. So that was a cool experience. [00:37:44] BACK TO ZURICH --- [00:37:44] Cara: We ended up going back, getting our stuff, and then we were taking a. Train back to Zurich. And we ended up changing our plans. I think that was a great thing about how we had like certain things we wanted to do. And then we were able to assess and book hotels, other [00:38:00] places. Just with a informed idea of what we wanted to do, because you didn't really know if you wanted to spend more time in one place versus another. [00:38:08] Cara: we decided to go straight to Zurich. Because. Go into a hotel packing up and then going to another hotel, like it was getting exhausting. And so that's where we just decided let's just do Zurich. It was sunset on this. Train back. And that was really cool to experience. I would say my only regret was, I wish I could have been able to take. [00:38:29] Cara: Pictures of what I saw. But when you're on a train, You know, the reflection of the glass really kind of ruins it. Like a lot of times you could get off a train and get back on it. But we opted for this type of training because it was nicer. And because it was a longer train that we knew we were going to be on it in a totally different experience. [00:38:47] Cara: And so knowing that that there's different versions of trains, so better train was a higher. Priority. Because it was a beautiful experience. It was also exhausting. We were on a six hour time difference and just trying to get as much [00:39:00] done on such a big. [00:39:01] Cara: Time differences kind of hard. [00:39:03] Cara: So we got to Zurich. That night exhausted. I mean, even trying to like figure out food was very exhausting. And my companion, she had to get up early in the morning. And so I just think tiredness, like we probably should have even skipped and went to bed, but. we got food, not a great experience. I actually tried to go to the sauna that night, but it closes at a certain time. And I didn't realize you have to tell the front desk. And we were in an apartment, so it's not even like you can call on the phone, like an apartment. You don't have that. So you have to like go to the front desk. [00:39:38] Cara: In your like bathing suit. To go tell him to turn it on. The last day. And I was so purposeful on how I planned it like this, the last day we were in Switzerland. I had probably my. Second favorite thing because the train was the first, second favorite thing. [00:39:52] FORTYSEVEN WELLNESS-THERME --- [00:39:52] Cara: When I was researching Switzerland's it's very important to me to have that wellness aspect into it. I looked up spas [00:40:00] and this place came up and it did not disappoint. [00:40:03] Cara: And like I wanted to experience something. I already had a massage, so I wanted something different. And this was it. So ultimately I had to get on a train and go. 20 minutes and then walk another 20 minutes. [00:40:14] Cara: Walk through this cute town. I get there. [00:40:17] Cara: And I knew about it. because I looked online, but like what you see online one, especially because it's in a different language. And I could translate it, but I was having trouble like really decipher even one thing from the next is one of those places, like you won't know until you experience it. [00:40:31] Cara: So I'm going to do my best to explain what it is. It's a place you go in. You get a rubber wristbands, you can either go for one hour or three hours. Or a whole day. And you pay obviously different prices for that. You have your. Wristband that like when you go out, you scan, so it can keep track of how long you've been in there. If you're not doing a day pass, I decided to do a day pass. Like I was like, I'm devoting a whole day to here. [00:40:54] Cara: It's called Wellness therm 47. if you go there, make sure you bring flip-flops. and a [00:41:00] towel. Or a Rob, both because it's a place you have to pay if you don't and it's not that cheap. [00:41:05] Cara: It's like a spa. Theme park, not theme park. It's like if you were to go to a gym and it's like a common area, but it's like fully spa-like. So let me walk you through it. There's this big open area and there's all these different types of pools. a cold plunge pool. There's a hot tub. There is warmer pools. There is an outdoor warmer pool. There was a Whirlpool that like, you kind of went in a circle, There was ones that you lay on these metal bars and then jets and bubbles come up. And so it was pretty large. you got to think about all these different types of pools, they had like every temperature pool. [00:41:43] Cara: And so that was like the pool section, but like, it was big, it was open. It was like everybody was walking around. You had to wear bathing suits and all the common areas. Which was everywhere. [00:41:53] Cara: My favorite thing. Was this like stone slab. It was huge. It probably could fit like 20 [00:42:00] people and you lay on it. It's heated. And then on the ceiling is this like psychedelic movie above you. People were napping on it. You just like chilled, but it was the most relaxing, soothing thing I've probably ever experienced. I was there probably the most. [00:42:15] Cara: Then there was this salt float pool. And so it's very shallow and you ultimately just float. And it's dark. But then every so often. They had like a light show in there. And so you would just float and watch this, like, you know, light show. [00:42:29] Cara: And then on the other side, There was a steam room. There was a snow room. There was a really hot sauna and then like a medium sauna. I wouldn't be a surprise if there was like somewhere in between Sana. but there was a bunch of these different types of rain rooms and whatnot. And so you can check those out. I only went in the lower sauna. [00:42:49] Cara: I would rather go somewhere with not a lot of people. I did go in the cold plunge pool. And when I say I went in the cold Pudge pool, I literally like walked in and walked out, I do think there was other, like [00:43:00] clothing, optional places upstairs, but again, Not my jam. I don't need to go check that out. there was a cafe in there so you could sit and eat. There was just like little pods that you can nap in. And so I spent the whole day there and I loved it and it was like the best way for me to kind of. [00:43:16] Cara: Wrap up my trip. I would honestly go back to Switzerland just for that experience. Or try to find someone here in the U S to help me build this here, because like, let's do it. I loved every second of it. [00:43:27] Cara: Went back to the hotel got some Italian. Cute little place, a great experience, had some dessert to kind of very well to. This indulgent eating. We had a flight in the morning. And so this was the only time we took anything, but a bus or a train. And so we took a taxi because we were really sick of like dragging our luggage everywhere. [00:43:48] Cara: I had the pleasure of trying out one of those fancy business pods. For an hour or so. And so it was just a nice way to cheers the trip with some champagne and dessert. Um, warm [00:44:00] nuts. It was only for an hour or so, it was still really awesome to experience. [00:44:04] Cara: We got to enjoy the pleasure of the Admiral's club at the airport on the way there, because we had such a long layover, but this layover was quick. Grab some stuff for the plane. And headed on home. that time difference was tougher than I expected, but like I'm. Proud. For someone who doesn't work well off asleep, I'm proud for how I handled it. That was Switzerland. I hope my tips can help you go in there. I hope it can help you just planning pockets of time to be able to. [00:44:32] Cara: Nourish yourself on trips like this, because if you're always go, go going. You know, when do you have that time to connect and have that inner wisdom? at the end of this trip, I can happily say I'm more aligned with my business vision and what I truly want. Out of this thing that I'm building. And that was my goal. And so I'm forever grateful for this opportunity and this experience and like what a better way to kind of, Celebrate myself before I turned 40 and [00:45:00] if anybody could. try something from those selves, they have an opportunity like this, like please do it. [00:45:05] Cara: Thank you so much for joining me on today's episode, if this was your first time. Welcome. And if you've joined me for previous episodes, thank you so much for coming back before you go. Could you share my show with a friend and subscribe? Those few seconds may get big impact on my show and I'd be grateful for the support. [00:45:23] Cara: Thank you so much for joining me on this episode, I love to be able to re live this magical experience and hope one day you get to do the same. If you want to learn more about the links mentioned in the show, the ads, please check out caradempsey.com/62 thank you so much for being here and we'll chat soon