I remember talking to my best friend who went abroad last semester about how amazed she was by Switzerland, and it all made sense to me as we pulled up to our hostel at 5 a.m. Friday morning. The entire town is boarded by the most picture escque mountains and the brightest snow. To say it was breathtaking is an understatement. I feel very repetitive when I write about the scenery anywhere I have been going in Europe, but I promise I'm not exaggerating, and there is no other way to describe it.
We shacked up at "Balmers" hostel for the weekend. This hostel is 300 years old.... so I was concerned about what I would be sleeping on. Although the 30 second spurts of water in the showers were interesting, my first hostel experience was a pleasant surprise! All 9 of us in my room felt like we were at camp with our bunk beds and shared little bathroom. We came to love it by the end of the weekend. We pried ourselves out of bed on Friday to sign up for activities. Whatever came over me that morning, pushed me to sign myself up for night sledding and paragliding. I don't think I knew what I was in for...
That night I (and the rest of the girls) "bundled up" in our leggings, combat boots, headband, sock bun and little gloves and deemed ourselves ready to tackle the Swiss alps........the man in charge actually laughed in our faces when we pranced down to the bus. Needless to say, we arrived at the top of the mountain in rented snow pants and boots. and THANK GOD we did because the hour run down the mountain would have been miserable in my H&M leggings. The whole experience was kind of a blur. We took a gondola up to the top with our tiny plastic sleds. The string attached to the sled was our steering source....I'm not going to lie, I was internally panicking. Not only was I so very far out of my element, the miniature glow sticks they gave us as our only light source were less than comforting. BUT, once we got on and got the hang of it (or at least somewhat), we had a blast. When am I ever going to sled down the Swiss alps again? Probably never.
I guess I was trying to top one activity after another when I signed up for paragliding the next morning. My 2 roommates and I got on our snow pants and boots again and headed for the mountain at 9 am. The only thing that genuinely confused me about all of these activities were that the people running them just chose not to mention that before we would actually paraglide, we would have to causally hike to the cliff first....so we pull up on the side of the mountain, and surprise! Hiking in feet of snow, falling every two steps, was absolutely hysterical and the men in charge got a kick out of us. (Throw yourself in the middle of the Swiss alps, its impossible not to feel so incredibly awkward...) Anyways, coming out of that hike, we saw the most BREATHTAKING view. I was stunned. The mountains in front of us and the lake right below us was unreal. After the initial shock of the view, I remember that I am about to hurl myself off this mountain and fly across Interlaken. So, I harnessed up, strapped a 250 pound man to my back, along with the parachute, and was ready for take off? Well, Take off didn't go quite as smoothly as one would have hoped, being that I almost lost a shoe in the midst of it, but I made it up there! And it was totally worth it. I recommend paragliding to anyone especially if you ever have the chance to go to Switzerland. I promise these views are even more surreal when you're FLYING. As my hands decided to go numb and my motion sickness kicked in, we tumbled down for landing, and I realized that I probably just had lived the coolest 10 minutes of my life. It was worth the numbness and vomit that followed! When am I ever going to paraglide off the Swiss alps again? Probably never.
The rest of the weekend was spent getting lost in the best way possible and seeing as much of Switzerland as we could. That included long bus rides, a language we actually did not speak one word of, and discovering amazing chocolate! I was so excited to get back and blog about this trip; although it was my first, I feel like it is going to be one of my favorites. Not only did I get to see one of the prettiest places in the world (in my opinion) but I learned that I had this new side to me? Adventurous, outdoorsy, daring, winter-loving? Who knew. Guess my diva ways aren't everything :). Sorry this post is a bit long, but I wanted to include as much as I could! So now its time to rest for a few days, but then celebrate my roommates 21st in PARIS on Friday. I will be sure to inform you all how Valentines day is spent in the most romantic place in the world....
xo Bria
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