48 Hours in Interlaken!

Talk about a busy two days! We took Interlaken by storm, and are exhausted! We got into the ciy on Friday night around midnight.  On Saturday morning, we all got up early and met for breakfast.  We took a trolley up to the top of Harder Kulm.  We hiked down the mountain over the course of the morning.  It was alot steeper and slightly more treacherous than I expected! However, the scenery was beautiful and I really enjoyed the morning to take in the gorgeous weather and amazing sight that is the Swiss Alps.  After hiking down the mountain without any major disasters, we headed back to our hostel to be picked up for white water rafting.  White water rafting was an absolute blast!  I had never been before, and had no idea what to expect, but it was certainly more intense than anything I had imagined.  All six of us in Switzerland went together.  We were given wet suits, water shoes, wet suit jackets, helmets, and life jackets to wear while rafting down this glacial river!  We went over safety for quite a while, which made me even more nervous.  We then rafted down the river with our guide, listening to his commands and doing our best to row in sync!  We all had the chance to hop in the river, which was fairly frigid!  We had tons of fun together, and I can't wait for the opportunity to do it again.

On Sunday, we all got up and checked out of our hostel.  We walked around town, bought some souvenirs, and soaked up as much of the scenery as we could.  Our hostel had a hammock room, and we all grabbed a hammock and a nap!  It was truly a special experience to get to nap with the Swiss Alps as your view.  That afternoon, we did what has without a doubt been my favorite activity of the trip so far.  Alex, Kyle, and I went skydiving with a company called ScenicAir.  We had been talking about it for weeks, but had finally signed up on Friday before arriving.  I was so nervous!  We went out to the airfield and got suited up in our jumpsuits and harnesses.  I was excited, but nervous and dreading it at the same time.  Then, we loaded up into the airplane and took off for 13000 feet.  That was about the longest plane ride of my life! I'm a student pilot, so have spent a good amount of time in single engine planes, but I have never been this nervous during a take off! After getting to 13000 feet, the instructors opened the door and started jumping out, my heart was beating faster than ever.  There were six people in the plane, but Alex was the first of our group to jump.  After she jumped, my instructor started moving us to jump out of the plane! He told me to curl my feet up under than plane and lean my head back.  Before I could even think through the process, we were tumbling out of the airplane.  My stomach dropped as we started free falling through the sky!  I was nervous I was going to hate the experience, but once opening my eyes, I really enjoyed it.  It was unlike anything else I've ever done, and it was so humbling to see how small we are in comparison to the world around us.  We were in free fall for about 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 200 km/hr.  At 4000 feet, my instructor pulled the parachute, and we shot back up into the air.  I have never felt so much relief as I did in that moment! We then glided down to the landing field as a storm was blowing in, which was a little worrisome!  However in the end, I am so glad I did it.  It was fun and a very unique experience.  I would without a doubt go again.

Overall, our weekend in Interlaken was fantastic!  It was busy from beginning to end, but we got to see and experience one of the most beautiful places on earth.  We then took an overnight train to Vienna and arrived here at the crack of dawn. I'm ready for another busy and eventful week, and can't wait to head to Prague next weekend!