INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND.

Where do I begin with this one? Let’s see. Now that I’m sort of in between fluency of two languages, I find that there are certain words that really only hold their specific meaning in that language, words that just don’t translate between languages. Anyway, to describe my past weekend in Switzerland, there’s only one word that I feel that I can use that accurately describes my feelings upon returning from this incredible place…and it happens to be in Spanish. The word is the verb “flipar” which, in essence, is a mix between “to freak out” and “to blow one’s mind”.

Jenny and I left for the airport after class on Friday around lunch time to embark on our journey to Interlaken, Switzerland. After a short delay, we took off and landed in Zurich an hour and a half later. From Zurich we had to take a train to Bern and then change there for a train to Interlaken. It sounds complicated but it was so easy. By the time we changed trains in Bern, it was completely pitch black out and we couldn’t see any of the countryside on the trainride there. The buildup to what we were gonna see the next morning was almost too perfect.

Once we arrived in Interlaken, a small town set between two lakes in the Swiss Alps, we met up with Jenny’s best friend Nolan (studying abroad in Florence), his college roommate, Matt (in Salamanca), and Matt’s friend Eliza (close to Florence). Even though we didn’t know each other too well at the beginning, by the end of the trip I can say without a doubt that we became much closer after experiencing Interlaken together. After settling into our hostel, the Happy Inn Lodge, we went to an “authentic” Swiss restaurant (ran by an Asian family obviously) for cheese fondue and were pleasantly surprised at how well bread and cheese could fill us up. After eating we made our way to a small corner bar which seemed to be a local hangout for 15 year olds. Hah! It was still fun to get to know one another and try out the Rugen Frau (google it), which was good but probably would have tasted better out of a boot (I hope you don’t have to google it). Apparently tourists like to steal them from the bar so we couldn’t get one…but we got the next best thing…hah, I love inside jokes…Anyway, after that we headed back to the hostel to get some sleep for the early morning wake up.

The next morning we woke up at 8:15, got ready and stepped out to a beautiful, crisp fall morning. It took us about 10 seconds until we were reminded of where exactly we were. Literally all around us, in plain view, were jutting mountains with snowy peaks. It’s so hard to describe how gorgeous the scenery was in Interlaken. You have to see it for yourself. We made our way to the supermarket to buy picnic food for the top of the mountain we were planning to visit: fresh bread, Swiss made cheeses and a few different types of meat. We planned on taking a cable car up a mountain called the Neiderhorn around midday and we had some time on our hand before leaving so Jenny, Nolan and I decided to go on this ride called the Heimwehfluh. We didn’t really know what that meant but it involved taking a lift up part of a hillside and then riding down a coaster type rail in a single-person car with a break in the center. Sounds innocent but it was actually death on wheels. Nolan and Jenny went before me and it seemed pretty fun (from what I could see of the first 3 seconds) but after my turn that opinion quickly changed. My break didn’t exactly work so when the “Slow down” signs came up I pretty much zoomed right past them. When there was a sharp turn I felt like I was gonna fall out of the thing and when I rounded the last corner at a cool 35 mph (not lying) I was greeted with an abrupt crash into the back of Jenny’s car! If I’ve ever had whiplash in my life it was after riding this death coaster. Still, it was a funny, adventurous decision that I don’t regret. I had to get my adrenaline fix somehow. Interlaken is the adventure sport capital of Europe which means that people go there specifically to skydive, paraglide, hang glide, go canyoning, river rafting, etc. Of course, all of these things were way to expensive for us college students so we went for the 14 franc death train.

After this, we travelled to Beatenburg to catch the cable car and we made our way up the Neiderhorn. The sight at the top was incredible. The panorama of the Alps with Interlaken at the bottom in between 2 lakes was so beautiful. The picnic was another nice plus. This was definitely 50 francs well spent (Swiss francs are about equal to dollars).

Next, we went back to Interlaken and bought tons of Swiss chocolate at the supermarket. This chocolate is SO good. I bought a box of Lindt balls and some Toblerone…yah I know you can get them in the States but they tasted so much better in Switzerland. Then we all went back to the hostel for a short nap (well…game of Kent). For dinner, we took a free bus to one of the lakes, Thun, and shared some wine on the banks. When it got dark we went to a local restaurant for gulash and schnitzel and then we went out to none other than Hooters, Interlaken, which was fun and a cool way to bring the trip to an end.

The next morning Nolan, Matt and Eliza left for their train early and Jenny and I explored a little more until our train arrived. When we changed over in Bern we explored a little there, too, so we got to see a little more of Switzerland than what we first imagined. After a bit of a wait in the airport, we left for Palma ready for a good night’s sleep. Overall, the trip was amazing and is definitely gonna be hard to top. Though, this weekend I’m meeting up with some HC people in Barcelona for Halloween, so it will have contenders…here are some pics from the trip and I’ll be sure to update soon about my trip to Barca.

Hasta luego

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