I left for Switzerland early in the morning on February 10. Teryn, Courtney, Sarah, Ilana and I went on an organized trip to Interlaken through a company called Bus2Alps. It included a 12-hour bus ride to Interlaken from Rome, accommodations at a hostel, entry to a local bar, a trip leader, and a discount on the extreme activities in Interlaken.
[Side note for Mom: If I don't have a job after college I'm coming back to Europe and working for Bus2Alps. What's better than marketing and sales experience while country-hopping throughout Europe?! You better hope I find a job state-side!!]
We checked in on Friday around 7:30 a.m. at our hostel, Backpackers Villa. Across the street from our hostel was the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel and Spa. We could sit out on our balcony and watch paragliders land as they soared down from the mountain. After we settled down I took a nap due to the lack of sleep I got on the bus (who would have known that coach buses in Italy are MUCH smaller than those in the US). Ilana and Sarah walked over to Outdoor Sports Interlaken to change our SKYDIVING(!!!!!!) time from Saturday to Friday. Once I'd regained enough energy I met them at Utopia cafe, where the owner made fresh sandwiches and filled us in on what to do in Interlaken.
After lunch (which was at 10:00 a.m.), everyone wanted to nap before our big jump except for Ilana and I so we strolled around the (very) small town. We drooled over many chocolate shop window displays and took lots of touristy pictures throughout the town.
Skydiving was an adventure to great to relay in this post, it deserves its own. But once we all had our feet safely planted on the ground again, we were exhausted and hungry. The ride back to our hostel was a silent one, while we sat quietly taking in what we had just done and preparing to chow down at Hooters Interlaken.
On Saturday we set out to make our way up to a small town called Murren, about halfway up the Alps. This was quite the process, which included taking a train, riding in a cable car, and hiking, which was the most enjoyable part. I thought I took amazing pictures of the Alps while I was skydiving but my pictures from the hike blew them away.
As the sun began to set in the Alps, we made our way back to Interlaken for some R&R and fondue before the 12-hour drive back to Rome in the morning (which I turned 21 on!).
Switzerland was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, which would be saying a lot if I was a big-world traveler but my repertoire isn't that big. However, if I were a big world traveler, I'm confident it would still be one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I wish I could say the same for the people; we had several very unfriendly experiences with the locals. I hope these encounters were simply bad luck, otherwise, this was the best weekend I had abroad so far. To date, I have never done so many cool things or laughed as hard. It was well-worth the 12 hour drive.
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