Youth Challenge 2023 – The Eidgniesserinnen : From metropolitan hustle and bustle to la dolce vita

Tschüss Zurich – Biendi Laax

After a short night at Züri Fäscht, we headed for Laax. Equipped with e-bikes, we boarded the boat from Zurich to Rapperswil-Jona.  On the old steamer we enjoyed the beautiful view of the surrounding countryside and treated ourselves to a small lunch. On arrival in Rapperswil, we were finally able to test our e-bikes from Rent-a-Bike – and immediately got lost in the alleys of the old town.

After the initial navigation difficulties, however, everything went smoothly and we set course for Sarganserland. The wind in our hair was a blessing on this hot day, so we made sure to pedal hard!

With a view of the turquoise-blue Lake Walen it was a very pleasant ride. Still, Google Maps was too fast for us. Or were we too slow for Google Maps? To make up for some time, we took the train from Unterterzen to Sargans and on to Bad Ragaz. We had something special planned for the evening: a trip to the Tamina Gorge. There we were enchanted by the colourful light installations and enjoyed the coolness of the gorge.

Finally, with tired legs and pizza in our stomachs, we travelled to Laax, where we were given a warm welcome at wellnessHostel3000.

Time for that special holiday feeling

After a restful night we explored the Surselva. We laced up our hiking boots and headed towards Lake Cauma and Rhine Gorge. Katrina from the Swiss Youth Hostels and Dominic from Kreate accompanied us. He captured the day with his camera as he was going to create a video of us for the public vote. We enjoyed an extensive picnic near Lake Cresta. A big thank-you to Rivella!

Back at the hostel, we took a moment to cool down in Lake Laax before our next item on the programme: a massage. This was a very welcome change after the stresses of the last few days! With our shoulders relaxed, we then did a short photoshoot for wellnessHostel3000 and treated ourselves to dinner. To round off the day, we created our own drinks as part of the «Red Bull Challenge.»

The next day we made a short detour to the wellness area – which was still waiting to be tested! We then headed for the «Senda dil Dragun» tree-top trail in Laax, where we enjoyed the view and uploaded a post for «this is sheep» before continuing on to Ticino.

Along the way, we worked hard on our reels and wrote blog texts. After a long PostBus journey we arrived in the Mediterranean climate of Locarno. At the hostel, our room with a shower was waiting for us. Thanks to the recommendations of the staff, we found the perfect restaurant in Ascona for our final dinner, Italianità with a view of the lake!

Last but not least

At the end of our trip, there was another little bit of action on the agenda. We let our Instagram community decide which water sport to try. It was close, but stand-up paddling came out on top by a few votes. So we rented SUPs and set sail. Even though none of us fell in, keeping our balance wasn’t so easy! Nevertheless, we treated ourselves to a quick dip in Lake Maggiore to cool off before heading home.

Our trip flew by. Now we’re sitting on the train admiring the passing landscape as we reflect on the events of the last few days. We saw, laughed and learned tons. The Youth Challenge was an amazing experience that we won’t be forgetting any time soon. Thank you to the Swiss Youth Hostels for this unique opportunity!
If you’d like to see more of our trip, check out the @swissyouthhostels Instagram account. Here you can learn all about our Switzerland trip.
There will be a team vote at the end of August, and it’d be awesome if you voted for us. Until then, have fun following the other teams!
We say: Au revoir, bye, adia e ciao.

Who are the Eidgeniesserinnen

Wenn du mehr über die Eidgeniesserinnen erfahren möchtest lies ihren Vorstellungsartikel. Kennen gelernt haben die drei Mädels im Studium und nun sind sie ein super Team und dürfen auf eine tolle Freundschaft schauen. Doch lies am besten selbst.