Interlaken, Switzerland

Last night we got home from a great weekend in Switzerland. On Friday after class Emily and I went home to pack and get our stuff together. We headed back to the train station and met up with the other girls going to Interlaken as well. We had to take a train from Luxembourg City to Bassel (which is on the border of France and Switzerland), from there we had to take a different train from Bassel to Interlaken. We had a 9 minute layover in between our trains and a 10 minute walk from the station platforms in France to the station platform in Switzerland. Needless to say the second we got off the train we took off running. I was just following the signs and sprinting as fast as I could to not miss the connecting train. Luckily we all made it onto the train and got to Interlaken on time. We had to find our way to the hostel. We ran into boys that spoke English who had just come from our hostel so they were able to give us directions. We got to our hostel and got checked in. Some other Miami kids met us there and we all hung out and then went to find a snack. Saturday we got up early and got breakfast. We had to switch hostels for Saturday night so we had to pack up all our stuff and move to a different hostel. We walked around some of town before checking in to our other hostel. Interlaken was a very quaint town really pretty and surrounded by the mountains. When we got there on Friday it was dark and we couldn't see much of the mountains just the lines of them. When we woke up Saturday we could see them all around us. It was such a view. There was quite a bit of fog, but there were still some great views. We walked around the city a little more looking at all the shops and decided we would bus up to Grindelwald. We had gotten free bus passes from the first hostel so we jumped on the bus and found out we then would have to take a train so we were told we needed to get off. The train was coming thru right then so we jumped on and hoped it would take us to the right place. One stop later we found out that the train split so we would have to take another one. This also meant we had to wait 30 minutes and buy a ticket up to Grindelwald. The train ride was so pretty, the farther we got up the mountain the more snow there was. While we were down in Interlaken there was some rain but as we got up the mountain it was all snow coming down. When we got to Grindelwald it was white out conditions. We walked around the city and checked out all the rental shops. We ended up finding a sports store to get our stuff. I had to rent ski pants, gloves and a sled. I got away cheap compared to others. Another group had to pay around 80 CHF and I only had to pay 25 CHF. Once we got all geared up we set off for the slopes. It was so cool to be in the Swiss Alps. I'm glad I can say that I have sled down the Swiss Alps. We had to take a bus up to the top of the area to sled down. It was a very interesting ride up. I had to hold on and even close my eyes for a little while. I would NEVER be able to drive there. The snow was coming down very hard and the roads were crazy. Our bus driver was winding all around getting up the mountain. I found it entertaining that all the cars and buses had chains on their tires. As we rode up the mountain though I completely understood and appreciated them. When we got off the bus we were in a winter wonderland. There was more snow than I can ever remember being around. We got out our sleds and started on some little hills then went down some of the larger steep hills. I made a snow angel and we attempted a snowman... I had such a great time sledding down the hill, but it was quite a task to climb back up. We waited around for the bus to come back by and get us. That is a time the sleds came in super handy as a double for a chair. We had another wild ride but made it back to the rental store. The man working the rental store was so helpful and friendly. He made sure we knew exactly where we were going and what to do. We found a bakery that was making Berliners. They are like doughnuts filled with jelly. It was really good and only 1 CHF, so we HAD to get one!! Then we went to the train station to catch the train back to our bus stop. We had the train ride down the hill and then caught our bus back to the hostel. At the hostel we relaxed and got ready to meet up with everyone else from Miami for dinner. We ended up eating at a Swiss restaurant, Des Alps. They had fondue and other Swiss meals. I tried the Rosii. It was like hash browns with tomatoes and cheese. It was very good though. After dinner we all went back to our hostel bar and sat around and hung out. We met some of the local kids and learn about life in Switzerland. I feel like Interlaken is mostly a tourist destination so all jobs revolve around tourism and outdoor adventures. On Sunday we woke up to it snowing. The bottom of the mountains were now covered in snow and made an even more picturesque view. We walked around for a little while and caught our train home. Going through the country side on the train I saw some amazing views. The train ride from Interlaken to Bassel was such a scenic ride. Then we had a 2 hour layover in Bassel so we walked around and found some food. We went to a Chinese restaurant. It was very good and I hadn't had Chinese since I have been here so it was a nice treat. We found out while we were checking out that you couldn't use a credit card and we had no CHF left so we had to cause a scene and go to the ATM to get out more cash. There is always an adventure when we travel. We got to walk from Switzerland to France through the train station. I was in two places at once over the border, in Switzerland and France. Our train home from Bassel got stopped half way there and we had to sit and wait an additional 45 minutes to get home. I never really did understand the French messages that kept coming over the intercom so I don't know what happened, but we made it home. I guess that is all that matters. When we got back we got back to another cold night in Luxembourg. We only had to wait for 20 minutes for the bus though which was a definite bonus. When we got home we made ourselves dinner and showered and got to bed early. Monday we were back to classes. Mondays are always the worst days because I have classes all day from 8:45 to 6:30. Also you just come off a great weekend and have to go back to class. This week is a big week because we have our mini-field tour. I am going to Vienna with my Music class. We go from Wednesday to Sunday. I am so excited and can't wait for all the adventures to come in Austria.

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