Bern / Interlackan Switzerland

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Well I got in last night by myself around 9 after a nice train ride with Kass and our new friend from California Steph. They got off at Speiz to go to thier hostel, and I went on to Bern alone. After some language difficulties, I found my hostel through the blinding rain and 40 degree temperature. The Bern Backapckers Hostel is where I stayed, and it was very nice. Perhaps the nicest hostel I have had so far. That goes for all of Switzerland, it is awesome. It is so clean and modern, basically a clean US. I met 4 cool people in my room, 2 from Arizona, and twin sisters from Canada.

I did reserve the last bed in the room for Heather, who was supposed to meet me in Bern... but by 11, I realized she wasnt coming. She hadn't emailed in a few days, and it wasn't till this afternoon that I got an email that she will be meeting me Thursday in Munich. With that worked out, I went on with my orginal plans for the day. That meant I was going whitewater rafting in Interlackan, which is known for its extreme sports.

In Switzerland, it is mid-40's and there is still a lot of snow. Apparently this is very rare, and is usually in the 70's-80's by now. We decided it didn't matter, and it didn't matter that it was raining super hard, we were going. We had some lunch, then headed from the train station to Outdoor Interlackan on thier bus. We went with a group of 20 other kids from ages 20-23 from all over North America. The river water was 42 degrees, with some ice in lagoons in the still spots. We did have wet suits, but they only did so much. We went in 6 person boats with a guide, through a 2 hour ride in class 2-4 rapids. The biggest rapids were awesome, and we didnt all go in the water at least once. Our boat flipped, and we also jumped into the lake at the end with the other two boats. I got the pictures because they were only 2 franc (the currency in Switz, which is like my 4th currency). Afterward, it took about 3 hours to warm up, so everyone hung out at the lodge and had some drinks. By 6, I had taken the train back to Bern, about a 40 minute ride and now I am at an internet cafe with the Canadian twins.

Random side note, I would like to recommend to anyone who comes to Europe for a long trip that the EU Railpass is worth it. We figured out the numbers last night, and we would have spent over 800 euro on our trains thus far, but instead, we get unlimited trains for 30 days with our pass, and it makes it so simple.

Kass is no staying at my hostel in the bed that Heather was supposed to have. So we plan on hiking the mountains for like 5 hours tomorrow, and seeing around downtown Bern. I am gonna get an afternoon train to Munich by myself, and there I will hopefully meet Heather from her 3 day (which ended up being 6 day) trip to London. She missed my favorite part of Italy, Venice, and perhaps my favorite place of the whole trip in Switzerland.

Finally, I just wanted to reitterate that I am still having the time of my life. The scenery of Switz is too much to describe. And although I feel like I've bascially put my life at home on hold, and that I am so far out of the loop, I will never forget this. This trip is going to ruin my life according to most people, and I can already agree. Travel is an epidemic, and I am already busy planning my next trip.

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Photos

Small Swiss Town
In the Alps somewhere, and it was the first rain of the trip. These are all from the train window.

Comments

[jeff snyder]

brussels
hey guys check out heathers email about your upcoming trip to Brussels, You are all set including hotel for second night, an old 16 th century Castle/ Hotel and my friend RAF will give you guys the tour.