Interlaken - an adrenaline charged mountain adventure

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Hello all,

Firstly, sorry again about the lack of photos - will do a big blog with photos when i get some time.

So i made it to interlaken, but this was before a crazy night train. Certainly an experience if you do any travel! I got on at Bolonga in Italy at about 11.30pm and stupid me was thinking it'd be this nice carriage where all the ppl would be girls and we'd chat and then id get into pj's, brush my teeth, and go to sleep before waking up in a new country. Wrong....as it was so late, everyone was already asleep, all the luggage spaces were taken, as was my bed by a lady who asked whether we could swap as she had a small child (who was already asleep in the bed) so of course i couldnt refuse. So no sleep etiquete, but straight into bed, cuddling my backpack after horror stories where ppl had had all their possessions stolen while they were sleeping.

And why did i expect sleep - this was a train, it moved, rattled and was damn noisy! And it made numerous stops and the constant moonlight and station lights were enough to drive anyone crazy. And i had a 5.30am stop so i was all paranoid about missing my stop even though the lil conductor man promised he'd wake me up. So all those factors meant that i had very little sleep.

I was so cranky waiting for the train to stop in Spiez - grinding my teeth i put up with the late train, nausea from all the windy turns, the numerous ppl lined up in the corridors and the gross toilets. We did however, get a breakfast pack which i was happy with! That and the stunning views of mountains and little villages!

I ate the 2 crossionts with a guy i met Bradford from the US who had an equally horrifying night - he offerered me some nutella which was heaven on the dry bread! We got along really well and promised to catch up in Interlaken if bumped into eachother and if not, on facebook - ah trusty facebook!

I arrived in Interlaken to pouring rain. Donning the raincoat for the first time i walked to the hostel cursing the rain but feeling justified lugging my raincoat around sunny western europe for 2 weeks! I finally made it to the hostel looking and feeling like a drowned rat but soon perked up after i brushed my teeth - ah simple pleasures.

The rain thankfully eased so i went to catch the ferry to Lake Thun as my eurail was valid for ferries for the day. I just made the ferry, with the people putting the plank back on the dock just for me. Brimming ear to ear i boarded and had the boat nearly to myself as it was early morning. The views were spectacular, and even more beautiful given that it was so different to what i'd experienced in europe previously. Snowcapped mountains, quaint wooden houses and the peaceful blue river. I just sat and soaked it up.

I stopped at a the lil town Spiez for a look - and it was soo cool! The perfect balance between views of the alps and the harbour. And such large, awesome houses. I walked through the backyards of ppl's chalet's and wondered if i would ever be rich enough to own a mountain getaway such as this!

Back on the ferry to the town Thun. Thun was not as quaint, in fact it felt like a big city so i wasnt that impressed and after a quick walk around i was back on the ferry home. On the way i sat next to a group of english geriatrics on tour of switzerland - it was quite amusing at times and roll the eyes annoying at others. The ferry took ages to get there but i again sat back and enjoyed the serenity...the rain had started again but just like a melbourne day, by the time the boat docked the sun was beaming again...

Back at the hostel, 3 girls (1 from the UK and 2 from US) were in my room, they were great and I sat with them as they enjoyed 2 for 1 drinks at the bar...mind you in switzerland 2 for 1 still = bloody expensive. They were going to Jungfrauyong - the highest peak in europe the next day and after the sold it i really wanted to go - ice palace, sleding, awesome views and husky dogs! But i was in the adventure capital of europe i also really wanted to an adventure sport. So i compromised, i was going to a smaller mountain - Schilthorn and going to try cannyoning (details later!).

Schilthorn was awesome. It took trains and cable cars to get up there but the views were fantastic. When i got to the terrace i looked out onto the snow capped alps and breathed in the fresh mountain air.....oh wait no, i breathed in the smoke from yet another european smoking - omg this is my med nerd coming out but i cant believe how many ppl smoke in europe, i'd really like to know the lung cancer rates here. Once i passed the passive smoke, it was really cool. I walked around the terrace for ages and then went out onto the alps for some more killer views and just reflecting on where i was and how lucky and cool it was that i was so close to the swiss alps. The mountain wasnt tourist overun so at times i had the alp just to myself which was lovely. Schilthorn was also where they shot one of the Bond movies and they had a lil promo about that which was cool - 10 points if u email me which bond movie it was!

On the way back, i hiked through one of the lil towns instead of taking the train and it was really nice. The views were spectacular and every now and again i'd look back and see another killer photo of the mountains. So many photos! I also bought some swiss cheese from a lil shop - with a man who's response when i said i want some swiss cheese was - but this is all swiss cheese pointing to the array of cheese in the case! But again the rain set in and i couldnt hike the whole way down. Back at the hostel i caught up with the 3 girls who'd had a great time at Jungfrauyong - but i didnt regret my mountain choice and as i paid for canyoning and was assured by the lady at the hostel, yes its safe, yes they give you instructions and equipment and yes its suitable for sissys and beginners - i was excited about my adventure tomorrow!

There were 2 guys from my hostel and 2 other swiss ppl also doing canyoning and immediately we all clicked and got on really well. I could tell this was going to be a great experience. We got to the home base, suited up in wetsuits, booties, lifejackets and personalised helmets - mine was princess and i was referred as this the entire way through! Other names - shaved, knifehead, vladimir...heh! We then went upto the river and the first step in the river was horrible - so, so cold!! As ive mentioned before, my love for hot things, this was not pleasant - but hey i was schmoo - adventure sports king now so i had to toughen up! (to my poor mother - im sorry i do these things to u!!)

The wet suit warmed up and my first slide down a mini waterfall was exhilerating! When we got to jumping off rocks about 100m above open waters, i was scared and quite a few times i thought to myself - am i really jumping off cliffs into a small area of water - what happened to the logical schmoo i knew back at home! Well she had well and truly gone as i took the plunge and omg it was fantastic'!! Jumps got higher and slides longer and there was even some rappelling (using a rope to get down rocks) and I enjoyed the experience more and more and by the last jump i was grinning as the instructer told me id have to run a little of this rock and jump out into the water at least a 100m down - he commented as he saw my beam - your not afraid at all are u princess?! With a hell no - i cannon balled down - SOOO COOL!

Back at base we got our complimentary beer and chilled out in the sun - talking about our lives and canyoning - it was amazing how well we all clicked and i could have stayed there all day. Once again it was a great representation of the cool ppl u meet when u travel - for example, Casey one of the guys from the hostel was a scout for the Toronto Rapters Basketball team - dream job!! I picked his brain for ages about how cool his life was! And Neil was a new yorker who was a barber shop owner who was also pre-med!

Back to reality, i explored the town, chilled at the hostel and hung out with Casey and Neil. Tonight was yet another night train to prague - shudder - i hoped this one would be more pleasant!

Overall, Interlaken was one of my favourite places, just for the absolute change in atmosphere and scenery, the fantastic ppl i met and for conquering some fears. This experience definately re-charged the batteries and i was ready for discovering the eastern block, losing my autonomy but gaining mates in Danielle and Ann as travel buddies and chilling out in some undiscovered beaches.

Bring it on!

Schmoo

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