Interlaken

I have been completely horrible about blogging in the last few months, but I’m going to try and catch up with my posts before I leave for my weeklong trip to Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (SO EXCITED)!!  Things have been going really well, and I’ll write a separate post to fill you guys in on my life in Geneva.

Ok, post number one…

At the end of May, I went to Interlaken, Switzerland with the local Au Pair group called LINK. It was formed by an ex-pat American couple, and provides a great resource for meeting other Au Pairs in the area, and information about events etc. The group meets bimonthly, and goes on about four trips a year. For most of the girls it was their last trip with LINK, but we were all really anxious to see what Interlaken and our ‘extreme sports’ would have in store for us.

LINK Before Hike

Since it was easier and cheaper than the train, we took a charter bus to Interlaken, and arrived at the Funny Farm Hostel in the morning. It used to be a grand hotel but now offers some pretty nice hostel rooms for its patients, er uh… guests. Ours even had a huge terrace that gave us a wonderful view of a snow covered peak. I met a girl on the bus named Katie, and we became quick friends and roommates. The three of us, Shayna included, explored the town before our afternoon paragliding adventure. Because it’s in the German speaking area of Swtiz, it has a completely different feel than Geneva. There were chalets everywhere, with dark wooden walls that boasted intricate woodcarvings, old sleds and cow bells, and German writing. The sky was covered with paragliders everywhere you looked. I found out on a recent trip that Interlaken is actually one of the best places in the world to jump, so I guess that explains why. We also went to the grocery store to pick up some food for dinner and lunch the next day. In Switz, because everything is so expensive (a Starbucks latte around 7 bucks to give you some perspective), our meals while traveling usually mean PB&J….yay.

Chalet

Shayna and Emer

When it came time to go paragliding, we met up at Balmer’s Hostel and took a van ride on a windy road to the top of a mountain side. It was the most amazing view of the town, lake, and surrounding mountains. There were eight of us going and they had us go in two groups of four. Shayna went in the first group, and I have a video of her take-off on my Facebook for those of you who want to see what it’s like. Basically you run off a hillside until the sail catches wind and suddenly you’re flying!! It really wasn’t scary at all, you’re strapped to a guide and the parasail (or whatever it’s called) is already open so you don’t have to worry about it failing. We had perfect weather that day, which meant that we were in the air for about 15 minutes and could ride the thermal air ‘tornados.’ My guide offered to have us do corkscrews and these side swinging things, the latter made me feel sick though. I have a video of my takeoff and some air time. I’m sorry for the awkward dialogue (my guide was so awkward when we first met, which made me feel awkward, and led to me feeling awkward hanging out midair with him in silence…so ya...awkward).

Yay Paragliding!

Before Take-off

(Video doesn't want to upload right now, so I'll try again later)

After a somewhat bumpy landing, we grabbed some dinner and went to Balmer’s Club Metro for the night. It was so much fun!!  In the morning the group met up and we took a gondola up to Lauterbrunner. The view was just out of the Sound of Music, exactly what I pictured Switzerland to look like. Weathered chalets, cow bells ringing, and wildflowers. From there we started on a 10 mile hike back down to the village, which took a few hours. We passed farms, streams, and waterfalls along the way, it was absolutely gorgeous. Thankful to rest our feet, we left in the evening on our bus back to Geneva. I really enjoyed staying in Interlaken, even ended up visiting again with my brother in July.

Emer, Shayna, and Katie

Wildflowers

Shayna, Katie, and Emer During Picnic Lunch

 ~ Emer