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We made it ON TIME for 7:00am flight out of Istanbul to Zurich! It was a smooth, easy flight with no issues on either end. When we arrived in Zurich, we got off the flight, went downstairs and immediately caught a train to Interlaken. It was a very easy process with no stress. The train ride to Interlaken was probably the most beautiful train that we have been on throughout the trip thus far. We rode through the Swiss countryside, into the Swiss Alps along-side crystal clear blue lakes and rivers. We all could not stop snapping pictures the entire way. It was a short train ride and arrived in Interlaken in about 1 hour. The city was a small town, which was a nice change from some of the big cities that we have recently travelled to. Most of Interlaken seemed to be tourists from many areas of Europe and North America, or they moved to Interlaken for the on-season months to work but lived elsewhere. There were not many locals that we met during our time here. We found our hostel quickly and easily and when we arrived we felt like we were back home a little; other than
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The three of us at one of the many Balmers Hostel happy hours. the scenary of course. It was a famous recommended hostel to travellers and it seemed like everyone who stayed there was from the US or Canada. This prevented us from really meeting any true Swiss people but also was a nice change to meet people who could relate with the troubles and good times of travelling. We checked into the hostel, and were put in a dorm room with about 12 beds. We have to say, we have been a little spoiled with our roommate situation in the other hostels we have stayed at, so we were a little worried about the number of people in the room and who we were going to be sharing space with. When we got up to the room, we met 2 young girls from the US who were very nice but were leaving the next day. We also roomed with 3 guys from Toronto who we ended up befriending for the rest of our stay in Interlaken. They were very friendly, respectful of our space, and we could also relate with by sharing the same travelling experiences. The hostel was really traveller-friendly in the way of the services they provided like phones, laundry,
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sleeping on another train internet, free bus rides around the town, and the best....a hammock room to relax in. Our only complaint was is the staff was not very helpful or friendly towards us or many of the other travellers there, an example being they "locked" us out of our rooms from 10:30am to 4:00pm for cleaning. We all did not understand how "cleaning" (we still are not sure what they actually did) took 6 1/2 hours but we figured out it was probably a ploy to get people out doing the outdoor stuff which Interlaken was known for. It was a hassle and we ended up spending most of our time outside in the common area or just walking around the town. Our second day in Interlaken was the most exciting, as we got to go white water rafting in the Swiss mountains. We met the guides at the hostel around 12:30, rode a bus to get changed into our wet suits and gear, and then took another bus up in the mountains to get on the raft. Kim and Katie, thinking they were expert rafters since it was their 2nd time, decided to step up and sit in the front of the
raft to help the guide steer the raft and Erica sat directly behind Katie (as you can see in the pics). We think Kim got the most wet out of anyone in the raft since she is completely under water in most of the pictures! We were able to get out of the raft and swim in the below freezing cold glacier water which was something we have never done. Our guide was very nice and made the experience even more memorable. After we were finished rafting, we were able to go back to the hostel and get some laundry done. Later on that night we hung out with a lot of friends that we had made at the hostel and on the rafting trip and went to the center of the town to watch one of the Euro 2008 match on a giant big screen TV outside. By the way, we haven't really kept up with the EuroCup (sorry, Jerry), but we do know that Spain won the final game...go Espana! Our third day in Interlaken was a pretty relaxing day. Erica ended up going to a high ropes course which she had never done. Kim and Katie rented
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This is the most beautiful lake we have seen on our trip. We actually got to swim in it during white water rafting a scooter and got to ride around the town and up in the mountains to the glaciers and waterfalls in the Alps. After our daytime activities we said goodbye to our friends, and had another overnight train scheduled that night to head to Amsterdam, Netherlands.
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