Posts by MirandaMouse

Influencers are the ultimate form of resourcefulness and business savvy. In a way, it’s a kind of intelligence. Thankfully, I’d say, because some of them—especially those exiled in the Near East—are living caricatures, made up mostly of stupidity and vulgarity.

They’ve managed to seize opportunities around new technologies and sometimes turn them into mountains of cash; not everyone can do that.

Since they mainly target idiots and factories producing those are running at full capacity these days, in hindsight, their success isn’t surprising. Commercially, they’re in the same league as politicians, gurus, cult leaders, and—to a lesser extent—market and fair hawkers. It’s true that anyone who’s made a fortune has taken their money from the pockets or sweat of countless others.

When it comes to travel, their existence amplifies the word-of-mouth effect, but with the internet, this would’ve happened sooner or later anyway.

That said, assuming we’re not part of the idiots, we can’t really object to them all clustering in the same places at roughly the same time... unless we live there.

Most of us belong to a generation that’s already visited the interesting spots before they were plagued by overtourism, and we know where to go to avoid it—somewhere peaceful and better suited to our status as seasoned travelers 😉

I haven’t visited all the "interesting" places yet (gotta figure out the real definition). I haven’t been to Santorini, but because of the hype around this overtouristed destination, I don’t feel like going. Same for Bali...

We had this happen in Saint Petersburg (back in 2018). We’d already been to that restaurant the year before and were shocked to see the prices had almost doubled. To check, we grabbed a menu in Russian, and the waiter snatched it right out of our hands. We just left...

Well, I’ve been at the last Airbnb I booked, and I’m leaving tomorrow from Basel Airport in the middle of a heatwave... 🤪 Looking for cooler temps at higher altitudes will have to wait.

Since the funeral was on Monday, it was the easiest option.

Still, I managed to see Bregenz and Lindau, and yesterday Appenzell. I just can’t stay cooped up doing nothing anyway.

Today it’s way too hot even in Switzerland.

This trip started off stressful (worried about the heatwave in Zurich, the hosts telling us the same day their flight was canceled so our stay was compromised—but they eventually found a way to leave the next day...), and it’ll end on a stressful note, that’s for sure.

Oh well, at least I wanted to see Zurich and Appenzell, and I did. Took 2-3 photos of Lake Walen on the way (small detour).

Obviously, I’m not in the mood to go into detail about the visits or show the photos. I wasn’t even really in the right headspace to enjoy it, but like I said, doing nothing is worse. The only thing keeping me going in life is travel—or at least discovering new things (doesn’t have to be far for that).

I’ll try to bring back some Ovomaltine for my mom; she loves it! Hopefully, it doesn’t melt too much.

Alright, the trip won’t be extended.

My grandmother just passed away in Nice.

I don’t even know how I’m going to get there.

It sounds nice but it's far away 🚂

We'll see if we go further up.

Anyway, since I'm really dumb, I hadn't read all the comments and I see there are no curtains in the living room and no door between the bedroom and the living room. You couldn't really tell from the photos.

It seems so crazy to me not to have at least some curtains, especially since it's going to be hot...

That's why I prefer exchanges, even if things like this can happen. Where we are, we can see the light too.

It makes searching more complicated.

In short, we're going to sleep even worse, be exhausted, and not do much (no, a sleep mask isn't the same—it's annoying and not completely blackout).

No, there's nothing there, actually. Everything's been booked for ages, of course.

The Vercors is quite a ways away.

Yeah, it's pretty disheartening this summer...

I see it's going to be hot in the next few days 🐭

That'll limit our outings...

This year just won't end.

We're waiting for more precise weather updates before deciding where to escape to...

Actually, no... It clearly says paid from Monday to Sunday, 00:00 to 00:00 if you look closely...

On another note, we ended up at the zoo's second parking lot, which was supposed to be paid but was actually free on weekdays. The explanatory sign was hidden by branches and another was tagged. There was police or something similar nearby, and we asked them to confirm. The zoo's website says it's paid...

The weather's so-so today—it's not the best for enjoying the viewpoints as planned...

It was hot and humid today... We stayed at the Lindt café with the AC, then since I needed to walk, we headed back to the lakeside up to Münsterhof, which we’d always seen later but nope—it wasn’t just hot, it was also kinda gloomy.

Another stress: we went back to the Mythenquai parking lot, and I realized it’s paid 24/7 😮 It’s not so much the price, but the day we’d been there, I’d only paid until 7 PM... I’d read (in German) something like "7 AM to 9 AM, 4 hours max." But actually, above that, it clearly says 24/7. It’s just limited to 4 hours during the day and unlimited after that...

Honestly, when you’re not used to it, nothing’s clear—and no, in France, there aren’t any OPEN parking lots that are paid 24/7.

If I’d understood, I would’ve paid, of course.

Now I’m just stressed about getting another fine (there was nothing on the windshield).

I’ll skip the paid parking at Lindt—it’s already 17 francs just to enter (luckily, we were invited). I’ll just say it feels a bit cheap, especially if you take the time to shop at the store and café. They could at least offer 1 free hour to avoid "ventouse" cars (cars that overstay).

Anyway, that’s Swiss mentality for you. I’ll admit, it’s one aspect I don’t like. Let’s just say in France, it’s still simpler—and since I haven’t driven much in other countries...

Yeah, it’s my travel journal—I say what I think!

Still, I don’t know what we’ll do this Sunday before leaving. We’ve kinda seen all of Zurich. I’m a little mixed on the city.

The thing is, we don’t really feel like staying in a hotel... We like having a fridge, coffee machine, and the option to cook, especially for long stays.

For 2 nights, I can find an Airbnb not too far away.

Otherwise, I’ll check out your hotel in detail (and the prices 😮)

We just did the Lindt experience.

I ate way too much chocolate 😊

A few photos from yesterday

I’ve already visited Vienna—it’s still pretty far though 😅

I’m looking for accommodation near Innsbruck, but I can’t find anything within my price range or criteria, let’s just say.

I think it’ll be more in the mountains. Right now, I’m really craving nature and small towns, but I’d still like to spend a day in Innsbruck. Salzburg’s been on my mind for a while too.

For Germany, we’ve already crossed the Swiss border plenty of times last year (on a stretch between where we were and Stein am Rhein, we crossed the border several times) without any issues.

I didn’t know about the first-aid kit, and of course, we don’t have one 😅

Yeah, I know about the Austrian highway vignette—it’s crazy expensive. There’s a 10-day apartment one, though.

Alright!

According to the weather forecast, it’ll be better to head to Tyrol 😅

Today was way too hot 🥵—30°C, but in full sun, it really hits hard.

We checked out the other side of Lake Zurich, with the Chinese garden and the walk.

We ended up in Rapperswil, which is really pretty with the lakeside walkway.

We found an Italian restaurant that wasn’t too expensive compared to the others 😅

Why not Germany?

I was in Munich in June and really liked it.

Last year, we visited some small towns near the border, and I went to Freiburg twice. It’s a country I’d love to explore, especially some charming cities.

Oh, my next accommodation is an Airbnb not far from Lake Constance, but on the Swiss side. We’re planning to go to Lindau. Meinau is farther away, and we don’t have time. I wanted to find another place to stay in the area, but if it’s too hot, forget it.

We already gave up last year because of that. Flower gardens are nice, but there’s no shade…

I mostly go where I can find lodging—I’m pragmatic.

Clearly, I wouldn’t have gone to Zurich if I’d had to pay for an Airbnb.

Except there isn't necessarily accommodation in the mountains...

10 is too cold.

If there's a region in Germany where it's 25-30°C, that's great.

I don't know Germany well enough, but I wanted to do a road trip in that country.

Anyway, we'll see where the wind takes us, but I'm not really keen on lingering in Switzerland anymore.

I preferred my trip last year, and I think I've seen most of what interested me.

Edit: Anyway, I don't even have a sweater or a coat right now... 😅

I’ve got an Airbnb until the 31st, after that I’ve no idea. Apparently there’s another heatwave coming...

Actually, we only have two days with nothing planned, so I was thinking of Rapperswil one day and Lake Walenstadt the next—though it doesn’t just depend on me.

Today we visited the National Museum, which is honestly pretty good! There’s a big exhibit on Switzerland and the war, and on war and banks

We wandered around Bahnhofstrasse to see the heart of the city. Well, it’s not ugly, but it’s not exactly "beautiful" either.

We followed the Limmat to check out the alternative Zurich West district, but honestly, it bored me quickly. It’s ugly over there—we saw the Viadukt, but I didn’t feel like going any further. I’m too old to get lost in those kinds of hipster neighborhoods; I’m not really into that anymore. I’d rather see beautiful things (and eat well, actually).

Fun fact: it cost the same to take an Uber back as it did to buy two public transport tickets at 5 bucks each. Never seen that anywhere before...

Finally, something cheap in Zurich! Better than dealing with parking, obviously—except for going to the lake, with the Mythenquai tip!

Yeah, I mentioned the national museum!

I know Baden.

Climbing up to the viewpoint doesn’t really interest me...

Oh, I forgot a detail: I think Zurich is unfortunately way too tagged for my taste. I'm not saying it's awful, but we're talking about Switzerland, a country known for being SPOTLESS. There's some neglect there.

I was also shocked by the number of tags in Prague last September compared to my first visit, but well, it's not Switzerland, is it?

Anyway, I just booked a few nights near Lake Constance on the Swiss side.