This was our last weekend and it was also three days long so 8/10 people in the group went to Switzerland! We started the journey at 4:30am to get to Interlaken (which was beyond beautiful). We had just enough time to get to Balmer’s hostel before it was time to go canyoning!! We suited up in wetsuits, life vests, and water boots before being hulled up a mountain by two tour guides from the Outdoor Interlaken extreme sports company. I barely had time to realize what I had gotten myself into even though I’ve been planning for this for over 4 weeks…. It just hit me when I got to the top and actually saw the waterfalls! It’s difficult to even explain how much fun we had though, and I knew it would be so Michelle, Katherine and I bought the video that one of the guides made with a video camera attached to his helmet! I actually just watched the video for the first time 10 minutes ago before I got on this train back to Bonn and can I say, it was insane! I can’t believe I jumped off cliffs and slid down water falls! I am so glad I had this opportunity and I want to go paragliding or skydiving next! Afterwards we were pretty tired so we just relaxed for a bit and ate and then walked around the area until we found a really awesome playground haha! Even though we were the oldest people playing in the park you would have too if you saw the strange spinning swing contraption that’s probably not allowed in the States. It was so much fun!
The second day was a lounge around and travel day. We spent the morning after check out at one of the two lakes that has given the city the name “Interlaken”. We got to Thunersee and immediately fell in love with the view and the weather. Many a picture was taken climbing in the trees and sitting near the shore. Jooye, Michelle, Katherine and I decided to rent a paddle boat and we went onto the lake for an hour just to get off of land an relax. We had a great time splashing around and listening to music while also talking with Mikaela and Caleb as they floated up on their paddle boards. We then got our stuff and got on a scenic panoramic train to Lucerne. We, once again, were the annoying Americans that kept standing up and leaning over each other to rubberneck our cameras out the window to see the wonderful countryside pass by. Once in Luzern we found the hostel and relaxed while watching the Olympics until it was time for dinner. We chose a fondue place (against the receptionists ideas that fondue is only a winter food…) and had a great time cooking chicken, eating swiss cheese covered bread, and dipping banana slices in chocolate. Pure bliss. I would have liked more meat and less cheese though… but for the experience of a Swiss food it was worth it.
Our last day in Switzerland came and we needed to get the day started early to make it to our 5pm train. I was so excited to take the cable car ride up to Mt. Pilatus! Once we all made our way to the gondola station it was no time before we were soaring above the trees and into the clouds. 40 minutes worth of gorgeous landscape still couldn’t be enough for a lifetime, I’ll need to come back! At the top of the 7000 foot mountain we took A LOT of panoramic pictures. Since it was a Sunday and most all the stores at the bottom of the mountain were closed we raided the souvenir shop! Finally, we had just enough time to hike one of the trails before the three of us leaving at 5pm had to head down the mountain. I felt like I was training for an intense sport or something as I was breathing the thin air in the cold and windy weather. But, oh, the top of the peak was worth it (as usual) and we once again took a lot of pictures before the clouds set in and it started to rain. Katherine, Michelle and I headed down for another 40 minute gondola trip and I loved hearing the dairy cow’s bells as they grazed on the mountain. Very Swiss. Back in the city we walked along Chapel Bridge (pretty), walked through the city along the Nine Towers and climbed to the top of one (awesome), and ended at the famous dying Lion that memorialized a massacre of Swiss Guards during the French Revolution (beautiful). I successfully got everything accomplished that I wanted to :)
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