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Published: October 9th 2008
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What I will remember about Interlaken are the four things: unbelievable views, Balmers hostel (number 1 among top hostels in the world), Matt's dance, and being cold. I will explain these four items in a moment.
Interlaken Interlaken serves as a peaceful base for adventurous crowds. It is located between two glacier lakes and offers stunning views of Jungfrau mountain. It is very popular among thrill seeking backpackers and when it is the season, these people create a very special atmosphere in Interlaken.
The coolest thing about being in Inetrlaken at that time was that the Olympic Games were currently taking place in China. Matt and I enjoyed two days full of activities and there was something memorable about resting your body after an active and day and watching Olympics with a cold bear in your hands. Mmmmm.....I would do it again and again....
Balmers And now I come to Balmers. Balmers Herberge hostel is the oldest private hostel in Switzerland. As a true hostel, it had some inconviniences, but served as a true home away from home. It had everything that we needed (in order of importance): a great spirit, a bed, a range of
activities to sign up for at the hostel, bike rentals, TV to watch the Olympics, excellent bar, crowd of young people, and to top it off, a solid breakfast.
Unbelievable views Self explanatory. Check out the pictures.
Matt's dance Check out: Where the Hell is Matt: "http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/"
And here is Matt's attempt at a knock off...Great fun, everyone should try this dance in public at some point in their lives - even if it requires a beer or two, or three. (the video will be posted soon)
Being cold The item four - being cold- deserves a little bit of an explanation. To start, when Matt and I arrived the weather in Interlaken, while being relatively warm, was not great. It rained non stop for the first two days and the temperature was around 75 F. But, never mind the weather, we decided to jump into glacial water!
On the first day, we did whitewater rafting. The run on the river was pleasant (we were looking for something to scare us to death), but freezing cold....even with the wet suit on, our feet were submereged under a layer of water inside the
boat and by the end of the trip, I could not feel my toes. To make the end of our trip more exciting, our guide first suggested, and then simply forced those who refused, to jump in the glacial waters. Of those who refused, Matt and I were the last ones to jump. While trying to get to the shore and realizing that every move becomes harder and harder, I was thinking about victims of Titanic tradegy and how helpless one must be in such a suiation. The first day ended in a hot shower and my feet remained cold for about two weeks...
On the second day, Matt and I decided to do something different and we took a 8 km bike ride to a mountan city, Lauderbrunnen. To make a long story short, it started drizzling mid way and by the time we were about to reach the city, the rain intensified. I kept ignoring the rain and my clothes getting wetter, but by the time we reached the city and temperatures dropped, I gave up. My mind wanted to enjoy the city views, but my body was screaming to get back into the warmth of our
room. The two of me compromised when Matt and I found a small camp where we made a fire with a piece of the toilet paper I saved in order to bake the only apple we had.....our dinner. The end of the second day - hot shower!
Finally, on the third day, we dragged ourselves to do canyoning. For those who don't know, canyoning is traveling in canyons using a variety of techniques that may include walking, climbing, jumping, repelling, swimming. It was my first time doing canyoning and I LOVED it. There was something special about letting your guard down and swim downstream the canyon with your head first. Juimping was fun, although every time I got glacial water up my nose. The best part was probably our group. I would forever remember the two high spirirted and risk taking Korean travellers. For everything we do, they screamed "FantasTIK"(with the emphasis on the last latter.....and our guide was making fun of this word all the way).
Canyoning was great and we ended our third day with a hot shower and a train ride to Germany!
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Erin Marie Boyer
Erin Boyer
Looks Great!
My hubby and I are planning to go to Europe and see Interlaken when we leave Korea. Do you think Interlaken is worth the trip? We are also going to Luzern... have you been there too? What do you recommend?