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Published: December 15th 2008
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I had envisioned being exhausted and wanting to sleep all day but woke up feeling fine and energetic. It was to be our last full day of our trip so we wanted to make the most of it. One of our busabout guides had recommended doing a cable car up into the mountains so we decided that would be our first venture of the day. We strolled down to the station and as we walked through the door I saw two girls - Tammy and Nickola who had been on my Croatia sailing trip. Nickola couldn't believe it, so much so she yelled 'ohh f*ck off'. Jez and I didn’t know whether to be shocked or amused, we opted for the latter. We yarned to them on the cable car up about all of our travels. It was good to catch up although Jez did manage to insinuate they were prostitutes at one stage, after an awkward few seconds they thankfully ignored his statement. The scenery in the Alps was amazing, we snapped a few photos and then the girls went up to the revolving restaurant which features in a James Bond film. We were on a tight schedule so caught
a train up in the mountains to Murren and then onto Stechelbach where we caught another cable car back down. Our guide had told us to grab a front window view and it didn't disappoint, the ground below just disappears at one point and you drop into a valley with amazing views. On the bus ride back to Lauterbrunnen we saw a whole group of cows with bells on their necks. The farmers let them roam and then when they need to find them they can hear the bells, clever huh.
We decided to finish our travels in style by doing a white water rafting trip. Once at the rafting company we got kitted out in gear, listened to a safety talk and then were split into groups of 8. Our group had Jez and I who volunteered to be at the front, two Aussie girls, two Dutch guys, a guy from New York and our guide D who was Irish so quite a good mix of nationalities. The huge storm clouds looked a bit menacing but we kicked on. We hopped into the raft and assumed our positions. D was at the back and yelled out instructions to
Jez and I. We had to control the direction of the raft so had to be alert. The first stretch was pretty swift but we got through that fine. At one stage we had to get out as it was the area where fish hatch their eggs. When we hopped back in we encountered some rugged areas. I almost fell out at one stage, only Jez’s quick reaction to grab onto my foot kept me in the boat. One of the guides from another boat wasn’t so lucky; he certainly got plenty of stick from all the other guides. At one particular point we heard gun shots ringing out. We learnt that all Swiss men when they turn 18 have to spend 6 months in the Army, then three weeks every year until they turn 45. They are also required to practice shooting once a day.
Before finishing we were allowed to jump into the water, although we were kitted out in wet suits it was goddam freezing, and this was supposed to be summer. Once back at the base we got a free CD of photos that a professional had taken, there were some classics, Jez and I
look terrified, ha ha. I’m glad we went at the front and would recommend it to anyone doing a rafting trip.
Our evening started with a few bottles of Sangria whilst checking out a waterfall. We walked right up underneath it and watched the sunset through it. I think Jez was wishing I was a female as it was quite romantic. Afterwards we went back to Jez’s favourite bar - the one with the ball on a goal in the urinal. I’m surprised he didn’t steal it, although that would be pretty foul. Our final night was spent back at the bunker bar. A busabout bus had just arrived that night and had our mate Steve on it. We reminisced whilst Jez tried to avoid two cougar Australians who wanted to have his babies. Twas a fitting finale.
The following day involved a whole lot of travel, from Lauterbrunnen to Nice and then a flight onto London. A lot of it was spent sleeping. My memories of the day are passing Lake Como in Italy where Jez and I played a game. I would say either Lake Como or Lake Homo and he had to guess which I
was saying, brilliant I know. I think I might patent it. And finally when we arrived into London we were trying to pull sad faces for the camera as our trip was over. Only Jez couldn’t, he looked like a down syndrome stripper; quite appropriate really.
All in all it was an amazing trip, we packed in so many activities and saw so many wonderful sites. Busabout were a great company to travel with and I recommend them highly. Finally thanks to Jez, although I hassle him endlessly he was great to travel with and hopefully we can do some more in the future.
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