INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND
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| Ahhhhh!!! Switzerland |
After much internal debate, I decided that trains
would be my method of transportation around Europe. I booked my “Flexi” EuroRail
Pass in Paris, which was anything but flexible. It was full of hidden fees,
special restrictions and many French inconveniences. But damn those trains were
nice! Each row of the immense corn fields across the French countryside flashed
by rapidly yet the first class cabin was filled with serenity. I arrived into
the cold and rainy town of Interlaken, Switzerland around 2pm and felt very
much at home.
I followed my couch surfing host’s explicit
directions to an apartment just past the train station and found ‘the door with
beers and helmets outside’. Yup, that must be the place. I walked into the
kitchen to find my host, Toby, drinking with two Asian girls from California.
All were drunk and encouraged me to drop my bag and grab a beer. Whoo-ee! Toby
worked as a canyoneering tour guide and was hosting an after-after-party with
Jen and Eileen who had enjoyed the day by sliding down the natural waterslides
of the Swiss Alps. They threw a cowboy hat on my head and mistakenly called me
Ellen- they dubbed her my alter ego and the name stuck for the next few days.
Jen (special education teacher) and Eileen (nurse)
were enjoying a 2 week European tour so we crammed in all the laughs we could
in our one night together over some beer and Thai food. They were SO much fun-
a huge (but far too brief) highlight to the trip! Although Toby’s apartment had
spray paint on the walls and was less kept than any hockey house I’ve ever been
in, I had my own room and awoke each morning with a gorgeous view of
paragliders making their way down from the Swiss Alps. Toby was a very chilled out
New Mexican that split his year between Interlaken and New Zealand and showed
tourists a fantastic time. He lived life with little regret and little
possessions- what a good combination, huh?
He was a good soul.
And he showed me a great time! His group of friends,
roommates and housemates all worked within the tourism industry and shared the
same unbounded spirit. He had warned me that if I sat around long enough, I’d
probably get roped into doing something crazy. And that’s exactly what happened
on the second day. I went downstairs to ask his South African friend, Rayno,
for directions but got persuaded to go cliff walking for the day! Next thing I
know I’m scaling the face of a cliff like Spiderwoman with nothing below my
feet except a slippery metal rung. We took a couple trams up the side of the Jungfrau
mountain range to Murren, a small village with nothing but tranquility. No cars were allowed- the village was only
accessible by tram or the old two feet and a heartbeat. We threw on some
harnesses and attached ourselves to cables that allowed us to follow along the
face of cliffs. This was by far the scariest part of my trip! And the most FUN.
It was at about 3000 feet that I said, ‘I couldn’t feel more exposed if I were
naked in front of my high school class.’
We were fortunate enough to watch some base jumpers plunge off the side
of the cliff before we started! It was INSANE- now you see them, now you don’t!
Cliff walking was nothing compared to that.
That’s been a theme on this trip- no matter how adventurous you think
you are, there is ALWAYS someone who puts you to shame.
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| Meghan and me cliff-walking |
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| Rayno on the tight-rope |
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| Swinging bridge |
For over two hours, the surrounding Lauterbrunnen valley
was disturbed by the sound of us clipping and un-clipping our carabineers
around the edges. We encountered metal rungs, ladders, tight-ropes and a grand
finale 262 foot narrow tower bridge that hung 1200 feet over a ravine! I had
put so much trust in Rayno but was reminded at the end that it was HIS first
time cliff-walking as well. What a GREAT day! An extreme feeling for such a
neutral country.
That evening, Toby’s friends came together for a communal
dinner of racquelette, a Swiss tradition similar to fondue. The meat and
veggies were cooked on top while the cheese slowly melted on the bottom. Put
them all together and you’ve got yourself a VERY happy belly. And the company
was great. Toby’s network were all traveling, nomadic bad asses whose only
agenda consisted of 5 months in one location, 5 months in another, and 2 months
of traveling. They had no job set up in the next location- just the high hope
that they’d find something once they landed. Their lives were based on
short-term plans only. It was interesting to be amongst this extremely
laid-back lifestyle. No one here griped about the economic doom that currently
plagued the world. They had no 401k or stock options to worry about. They were
happy, hard-working individuals that made enough money for living and
traveling. I questioned how long one can go on like this though. Surely things
would change once love came to town, no? Priorities had to change once kids
came into the picture, right? I have to assume yes because there were no
rugrats amongst the crowd.
Considering my surrounding landscape, I had no
choice but to spend a lot of time outdoors during my time in Interlaken. I
borrowed Toby’s bike for an arduous 30km bike ride to Grindelwald, which is
situated between the craggy trio of the Wetterhorn (Virgin), Mettenberg (Monk)
and Eiger (Ogre). I learned that the Monk is situated in the middle so as to
protect the innocent Virgin from the Ogre- that’s the extent of my Interlaken
knowledge unfortunately. I took the tram to the top of First peak and had a
beautiful hike toward the twin reservoirs before forcing my knees to withstand
the two hour walk down to the base. The mountain valleys of Switzerland were
filled with the ringing of cowbells! And I’m not talking about my mom’s kind of
cow bells that echoed throughout many a college arena. These cowbells were
HUGE! The cows wore them around their necks so that the farmers could keep tabs
on them while grazing in the mountains.
They had to be deaf though to withstand such bells all day. I got a nice kiss from a cow while making my
way down First. It was very sweet….but their
tongues are 10x more coarse than a cat’s!
I had to check for scratches.
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| Atop First |
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| First hike |
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| Grindelwald |
I gave my body a rest after the ride to Grindelwald
by laying by the lake for an afternoon.
I had consistent 70 degree weather, which was perfect for lounging.
I gave my body the minimum amount of time to
rest so that I could hike nearby Harder Klum.
And I ended up hiking it twice- both rain and shine just to marvel its
beauty.
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| Interlaken |
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| Interlaken town center |
In
conclusion, in case you haven't been able to comprehend, I LOVE SWITZERLAND! I LOVE
SWITZERLAND! I LOVE SWITZERLAND! I don’t want to go picking favorite countries
or anything but….Geez! I had visited Interlaken in 2002 but experienced such
terrible weather that I thought it was deserving of another chance. And man, I
was right! I want to buy myself one of those dark brown chalet houses, stuff
its flowerboxes to the brim, stack my wood in a perfect line and live the rest
of my life eating chocolate and cheese in Switzerland! Grindelwald to be exact.
