YOLO: Interlaken

Ciao!

So I'm terribly behind and exhausted, but I'll update this specifically for my fabulous trip to Interlaken, Switzerland from February 24-27th.

So I left for Interlaken at 11:30 pm to meet up with everyone from Bus2Alps. Seeing that I knew no one going on the trip, I packed my bags and crossed my fingers that I'd make some friends. Turns out, a lot of people were going solo and it was an easy task. We boarded the bus to find that the majority of people on it were already completely smashed. The Rome kids, they're wild. So 7.5 hours later and some stiff joints, we arrived in Switzerland. Even though it was dawn, I could see the mountains and knew I made the right decision by coming.

We checked into Balmer's (our hostel) and got to our rooms. I met the 7 other girls in my room - all from Florence - and we grabbed a quick breakfast of bread and butter. Then I went out the door with Brit and Matt for our morning paraglide through Interlaken. On the ride up the mountain we drew names for our pilots: I got Thomas! He was young, funny, and made the glide interesting. We hiked up a little further into the side of the mountain and they laid out the equipment. They briefly explained what to do to take off (you run down the mountain until the wind catches you) and then they said "GO!" I honestly thought I'd be "that person" that fell trying to run but I succeeded! The entire paraglide lasted about 20 minutes and honestly, it was so incredible. I didn't think it was scary, seeing as you're sitting in a seat just coasting through the mountains. It was a pleasant ride and towards the end, Tom decided it'd be fun to do some tricks. Finally on ground again and I was sad it ended. Paragliding was beautiful!

Afterwards, the three of us headed back to the hostel to hang out before our second stunt of the day: Canyon Jumping. A lot of people had done it and raved about it, so I'd figure I'd test it out because skydiving is way too expensive (I plan on doing it this summer anyways). I met up with Matt, Mike, and Emma from Sevilla and they were fantastic! Around 1pm we boarded the bus with about 10 other brave people and drove to our jumping destination. Simply the drive through Switzerland is breathtaking. The mountains are so huge and perfect, I could honestly live here (and I don't even like the cold or snow). Anyways, we arrived and got all geared up in our harnesses. Then we took a 15 minute hike up the mountain to the jumping platform. The guys running the session were really chill - maybe even too chill - but we signed our souls and picked numbers to jump. I picked #6, right in the middle of the group, so I could see people jump first and then also have people to cheer me on. The first girl hesitated for about ten minutes and then finally faced her fears and jumped. Wow! I thought she slipped of the platform and would have hit her head on the canyon walls but she survived! The next few people went and finally it was my turn. I wasn't scared until I stepped out onto the platform and Izzy (Iggy?) let the rope drop. I actually felt the weight of it hanging in the canyon and realized that my entire life relied on this rope holding up. Incredibly frightening. So I had planned out all of these cool ways to jump off the platform, but when the entire group was shouting "5...4...3..." I just started running and jumped out as far as possible, completely forgetting to look at the camera lady.

Wow. I can't describe the feeling after I jumped except panic, freedom, and terror. I literally couldn't even scream because I was too terrified until finally (after what seemed like hours but was really 8 seconds) the rope caught and I swung through the canyon. THE GREATEST FEELING OF MY LIFE. The entire experience of canyon jumping was probably the scariest/most liberating/wreckless/incredible thing I've ever done. You can only jump three places in the world, Switzerland being one of them. The hardest part? Actually getting the courage to hurl yourself off of the platform, because they're no one forcing you off, like in skydiving. Absolutely incredible.

So after that adrenaline rush, I had absolutely no other plans for the rest of the weekend - and it was only Friday! We got back early enough to make the Chocolate Show in town. The show was fantastic, especially for the price. We learned about the various types of chocolate, how it's harvested, and how to make certain yummies. The best part? SAMPLES. There were so many samples and I stuffed myself silly. My favorite was definitely the beer chocolate. Afterwards, although stuffed, we headed to dinner at the best Thai restaurant in town, conveniently located next to our hostel. I found my drunken noodles on the menu! Sorry Cozy Thai, but you lost this one. My dinner was fantastic and I even had some leftover to bring back. Afterwards, we hung out in the basement Metro Bar and then passed out after an exhausting - perhaps one of the best days ever - and slept.

SATURDAY! I got to sleep in a little, which was nice for a change, and headed to breakfast with Matt. Afterwards, Matt, Brit and I stocked up on lunch - apples & oranges - for our hike through the Swiss Alps. Since I clearly have no athletic abilities, that cancelled out trying snowboarding or skiing, so instead we settled for hiking. Good choice. It was a beautiful, sunny day out and we took the train to the next town over, where we found these incredible cliffs. We didn't have a map, really, so we picked a direction and just walked.

Eventually, we saw paragliders and remember that this was the right direction so we continued past a waterfall and found a cable car up the mountains. We took up to Murren so we could continue our hike. We stopped for lunch the side of the mountain and our view was absolutely surreal. I couldn't believe where I was or what I was looking at. Just endless mountains, right in front of us. I couldn't have been happier.

After lunch, we hiked some more and eventually decided to turn around (since we had to make it home for dinner). It was the greatest hike I'd ever been on. We walked for forever through the canyon, past small farms and barns and streams that have the clearest water I've ever seen. On the train ride back to Interlaken, there was a family sitting across the aisle with a baby. We made faces at the baby to make it laugh and the family noticed. The woman handed her baby to Brit across the aisle and we played with it for a couple minutes until it sank in: THE WOMAN JUST GAVE US HER BABY. Who does that!? It was the funniest but most bizarre thing ever. So we gave the baby back. "I went to Interlaken and all I got was this baby" seemed to be our slogan for the day.

We got back from our hike and for dinner, we decided what else but Swiss fondue! There were 6 of us that went to dinner and we got this enormous pot of Swiss cheese and plenty of bread. We ate and ate and ate...then felt sick. Definitely worth it.

We headed back to the hostel and got ready for a fantastic night. We hung out in the rooms, played some games (until we were too loud and got asked twice to go to the bar) and then just danced in the club. I tasted my first Bulmer's, this wonderful cider. It's my new favorite drink. The club was fun. Phoebe and I played some Truth or Dare (but most Dare) and made some new friends, aka Glasses Kid and Hat Kid. It was a very very fun night, to say the least.

SUNDAY: After breakfast, our group walked to one of the lakes. After all, Interlaken does mean "between lakes." It was drizzling, but still a beautiful day. I'm almost positive despite the weather, it's always amazing in this place.

We found our way to the lake and it was beautiful. The water was stunningly blue. The mountains in the back made for the best postcard money could buy.

After a quick "this is for mom" for photoshoot, we stopped for some souvenirs. Taking the long way back to the hostel, we passed the goats of Interlaken. They were somewhat entertaining.

Afterwards, one last stop at the bagel shop across from our hostel. The woman is from New York but married a Swiss man and now runs a shop in Interlaken. Honestly, she has it made. We boarded the bus - I got a great seat this time - and we drove the 7.5 hours back to Florence.

I am going to live in Interlaken as some point. It is the perfect place, just absolutely incredible. It's definitely been my favorite trip thus far. I made new friends, did some crazy things, and just was able to do what I wanted. It doesn't seem to happen that often. I loved it.

LATER THAT WEEK: So the week of February 28 - March 3 was our Midterms Week. Unfortunately, I went to Interlaken the weekend before and didn't get anything done. I came back from the trip and crammed for midterms for Monday. Then I crammed for midterms on Tuesday. I think from exhaustion and germs and these apartments, I got sick and was miserable for the rest of midterms and the week. We'll see once I get the grades back...eh. I got some antibiotics from the doctor and paid a pretty penny for two prescriptions. Then, spring break happened (*See next entry*).

That's is for now!