Jess, Lizzy, Nina, and I left for Interlaken Wednesday afternoon. The trip started great. We made it to the airport and our plane took off on time. We even landed in Geneva 20 minutes early. As we were going through customs we started to talk to one of the security guards. He was asking us a whole bunch of questions and joking with us. He asked where we were going and we said Bern. He looked at his watch and said the last train leaves in 1 minute you better run. The four of us looked at each other and took off across the airport. It was literally a scene out of a movie. We ran downstairs as the train was about to leave. We somehow talked our way onto the train as it was leaving. We felt very lucky until we heard the next set of news...our train arrived in Bern at 1am and the next train for Interlaken didn't leave until 6am. We had 5 hours to kill in an outdoor train station.
After walking around the station to find that no stores, waiting rooms, or restaurants were open, we decided to explore town. A cab driver told us of a restaurant that was open down the street. We shlepped our luggage down the cobblestone roads and finally found the restaurant. It was open until 3:30. We sat for a bite to eat and laughed about our experiences and trip. At 3:30 we were kicked out and went back to the train station. We curled up in a corner trying to take turns sleeping. A drunk man approached us and asked us where we were from. Jess replied we're from Guam and we don't talk to strangers. He mocked us for a minute and then stumbled away. At 5am the waiting room opened and we were able to finally have a warm place to sit for a few minutes.
We boarded the train to Interlaken at 6 and arrived about 40 minutes later. The train ride was beautiful. On one side you could see the mountains and on the other the countryside. We successfully arrived in Interlaken and made our way down the street to Balmers, the hostel we were staying at. After checking in we crashed for a couple hours. Thursday afternoon Lizzy and I went paragliding. It was a very cool experience. I was attached to an instructor and a parachute. We started at the top of the mountain and ran off the edge of it until we were flying. You can steer the parachute and the guy and I did a bunch of tricks. We went zig zagging across the sky and did some spin moves and swirls. The view was to die for. There are two lakes on either side of the city and they are connected with various rivers. All of this is surrounded by the mountains, some which were covered with snow and others that were vacant. I have lots of pictures from the air so you can see what I'm talking about. We spent some time exploring the town in the afternoon before getting ready to go out. We spent the early part of the night in our hostel. It was quite the place to be. Everyone was around and hanging out and I met some very cool people. Our hostel has one of the only night clubs in town so we went out there every night. I ran into some Wisco people and a group of guys from our trip met us in Interlaken as well. Thursday night was more low key but I did spend a good portion of the night dancing, which is always a good time in my book.
Friday morning Molly and Jordan arrived. We spent the morning exploring the rest of town and went on a tour of a chocolate factory in the early afternoon. The chocolate factory is known and has won awards for having the best chocolate in the world. I have to say it was the best chocolate I've ever tasted. We learned how the chocolate is harvested and how the candies are made. We were even able to make some candy and were fed the entire time. The room was filled with chocolate statues made for different events. There was a dog, a ferris wheel, a ski mountain and a skier, a picture in a frame (both the picture and the frame are 100% chocolate) and some others. You can see them in my pictures! The tour lasted about an hour. It rained most of the day Friday so most of the outdoor activities were cancelled but we still had a great time.
Saturday morning we woke up and went skiing. We went to rent out skis and found out the mountain was closed due to the wind. Not good news. After breakfast we went back and heard that half the mountain was open. We rented our skis and went. You have to take a train to the mountain from Interlaken. The train ride was beautiful. It let us off mid mountain and we took the ski lift up not realizing we were going straight to the top of the mountain. We got off and were immediately hit by the wind. It was very strong. We started on our way down. The middle and bottom of the mountain were far less windy and actually very enjoyable to ski. We skied many runs and paths. It was beautiful and so much fun. I didn't realize how much I've missed skiing. It felt great to be back out there. We had signed up for an excursion to go night sledding and for fondue dinner for Saturday night. There were about 50 college aged kids on the excursion and we met a bunch of people. Sledding took place on the mountain. It was very cool and a lot of fun. I was exhausted by the end of the day and spent Saturday night chilling with the girls.
Sunday we woke up bright and early to enjoy our last day. We had about half a day before the trip back. There were a few places we wanted to go back to in town so we did that. I bought some chocolate to bring back, and even bought some for mom and dad. (I hope it's still here when you guys get here...don't worry I hid it!)
The trip back was very smooth. It seemed luck was not on our side this weekend. The weather was not great and Jess and Nina tried to skydive 3 times and were shut out by the weather each time. Despite all of this I had truly an AMAZING weekend. The mountains are breathtaking and I'll never forget the images and view from the city and mountaintop. I feel very lucky to have gone to Interlaken and skied the Alps. It was an unforgettable weekend.
My roommates have started the countdown to my birthday. I feel old. Yikes.
Hope all is well. More to come later...
Lisa
No comments:
Post a Comment