What did I know about Switzerland? Chocolate, cheese, mountains, air, variety of languages and tranquility are a set of stereotypes that in my head turned into a desire to check them. However, it seemed impossible, because besides all the advantages, this country is one of the most expensive in the world. It is quite closed, so even with a biometric passport), I did not think about traveling. Everything, as always, decided by chance.
Our colors - all over the world, at least so with my friends, who are even in the city of Friborg. It is known only in Switzerland by the university, where they teach in German and French. "Cool, half a year in Switzerland," I thought of my friend, and then corrected myself: "Two heavy foreign languages, a foreign mentality, coffee in McDonald's for about $ 6, and in Lviv it's good to stay."
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Earlier I never was interested in the prices for a trip to Switzerland: it was scary. Direct and really not worth it, the better it is not to count in the amount of scholarships or lattes: such a conversion can lead to a heart attack.
If it were not for WizzAir and its seductive offers from Poland, I would not have looked. Once I looked at kiwi, I saw an airplane from Warsaw to Basel for only $ 50. The decision all the same seemed uneasy: same it is necessary to reach Warsaw, and if on border of a problem, and if flight I will be late? And even more difficult is the question of how to return, and what is there to live on? And the sound of the message informed me that the ticket was already at the post office.
Fear of congestion at the borders forced me to abandon a direct bus from Lvov to Warsaw, despite the fact that there are fewer such problems with Intercity. And indeed, on the territory of Poland, I was at 2:00. However, already on the train it turned out that the ISIC certificate does not give the right to ride a Polish train (you can buy a ticket on the site, but you can not go). This I learned in the compartment, where they explained to me that discounts on international students apply only to Polish students studying abroad. I had to save myself a surcharge to the full cost of the ticket.
I arrived in Warsaw late at night. Since my plane was in the morning, I decided to stop at someone by Couchsurfing. The caring host greeted me with coffee at the station, brought me home, and in the morning I went to the airport.
The Basel-Mühlhaus-Freiburg Airport is unusual in that it is operated by two states at once - France and Switzerland. And so, when I and my little backpack thought that we had arrived in Switzerland, "Welcome to France" from Vodafone amused us. This is the place where I faced a difficult choice: to the right - Basel, to the left - San-Louis. Mission complete, I flew.
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The Swiss transport system is considered one of the best in the world. Almost everyone here has a Swiss Pass, thanks to which they can use any land and water transport. On single trips - high, as well as fines for "travel by a hare," so the road from Basel to Friborg can cost as a ticket for the plane.
When I finally arrived in the city, it had already arrived, and only a few lights indicated the way. Small, quiet, neat and a little lowered - so it seemed to me at first glance and the same I was described to it. The next morning, I did not even take a camera: slowly I'll have time to shoot the Swiss autumn.
Everything was not so. On that day, Morat-Friborg, one of the marathon races, passed, which neither I nor my friend knew. Previously empty and calm Friborg suddenly filled with people: someone was sitting in a cafe, someone was resting after the race, who was photographed, and someone considered himself the winner.
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At this time I could see people - what they are here. The language barrier prevented me from communicating fully, because I do not speak French at all. It's not so scary: a few basic phrases in German, and then the interlocutors themselves offered to switch to English. At least for myself, I dispelled the stereotype of closed Swiss: a student at the University of Friborg, Monique told how she runs around in different countries, and Henry and Justine, a couple from Bern, shared with me the pride of their grandson, who for the first time in his life overcomes the distance of the marathon with his parents .
"It's beautiful here, and I do not feel like a stranger," I thought. Even street music is like in Lviv, as everywhere I've lived. These associations, hooks, which were formed sometimes days, and sometimes years of living in different places, allowed instant love for a new angle, make it your own.
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"Friborg is unexpected," I thought. I did not have any special expectations about the campus, and I was glad that with each of its streets there was a fan of comfort. In Switzerland, I also felt and saw that nature had no bad weather. When the sun came out - I was amazed at the number of flowers that show me the city. When it was raining, I looked at the mountains that looked even more majestic than the usual against the gray sky. So, being in the city, it is difficult to see all the beauty of nature, but what I saw was enough to completely admire Switzerland.
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The next day I decided to take a look at the university. Université de Friborg, or simply the University of Friborg. Since its founding in 1889, it has been bilingual, and this has attracted students from all over Switzerland and Europe. Ukrainian students there are rarely most of them are still closer to English, and it's not so easy to get to Friborg. I decided to look at him from the outside, without going into the details of the educational process.
The buildings on the territory of the university looked both modern and not, and I was especially struck by the huge amount of greenery. Trees, lawns, flowerbeds - all this, apparently, so that tired of studying students could at least rest morally.
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The pacification spread to other buildings. German pedantry, French romance and Swiss peace - so I would describe the central building and the fountain next to it.
There I met with Catherine, a student of the Faculty of Social Sciences. I turned to her in English and found out that she herself came from Belgium. Learning that I am Ukrainian, she suddenly said: "It's no surprise that you quarreled with Russia. I'm glad that we are not neighbors. " So, they know about Ukraine here, although not all. The young people of Friborg do not differ very much from the students: here and those who do not know which party won the elections in Germany or what is there with France from Macron. They study what they are interested in, and politics is not always part of their worldview.
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And yet there was curiosity. I learned a few French words, one of which I even used in the title, and decided that the next - the last day in Friborg - I should try chocolate and cheese. The photos, of course, did not survive: everything was destroyed too quickly. But chocolate, like any products, in Switzerland can be bought in a supermarket. I was pleasantly surprised by the price of cheap tiles cost half the franc. Swiss chocolate - rich and dairy really tasty, but its taste did not make me stop loving the bars available in Ukraine. No, there is still no ruby on offer - some Swiss people have not even heard of the invention of the fourth grade of chocolate.
Sometimes it seemed to me that they generally live in the news side - not in a vacuum or on their wave. But then I realized that this phenomenon is far from being mass, and the inhabitants of Friborg are as different as everyone we know.
Stereotypes did not break up - they simply ceased to exist. Switzerland was easier than in dreams, and, apparently, this is the secret of her charm: you relax and stop thinking about your expectations. And from starvation you just will not die: it's full of chocolate.