We only had a two day weekend this time, so we decided to use it for an adrenaline and nature rush. Friday we left straight after class for the train station. It was an easy ride over to Interlaken, just a few change-overs and no seat reservations necessary. We arrived around 11pm and took a bus 30 minutes up the mountains into Grindelwald where our hostel was. It was pretty much pitch black and deserted, but not scary at all. Switzerland felt like one of the safest places I have ever visited. Because we arrived in the dark, we had no idea what beauty awaited us. As soon as I stepped out to greet the day Saturday morning, this was the first view I saw:
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| Morning view of the mountains. Grindelwald, Switzerland |
Pretty great way to start the day! Bright shining early we were on the trains by 7:10am back down to the valley where Interlaken is located. We grabbed some bread and coffee from the local grocery store because we were up too early for our hostel's free breakfast. Then we were greeted at the train station at 8am by a guide from Outdoor Interlaken, the group we booked our day's activities through. He drove us to their place where we were fitted for wetsuits, jackets, helmets, and shoes- pretty legit. We then had about an hour bus ride up the mountain towards the canyons. It was super exciting changing in to our wetsuits on the side of the road too....in the cold mountain rain. Our group of six was lead in to the canyons by two guides along with three other people around our age (all originally from the states as well). The descent began with a repel down in to the canyon. The rest was just a rush of icy, intense canyoning in Canoyn Grimsel. Two hours of climbing, sliding down rocks, and jumping off cliffs in to the icy water. It was great! There is actually a link here to a youtube video of our experience. (Well, mostly of Harry's, but we all did the same stuff and weren't about to each pay for a video so we just split one.)
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| Suiting up for canyoning Grimsel. Interlaken, Switzerland |
When we got back in the buses, we were FREEZING! I am not sure if I have ever been more cold. Perfect day to forget my towel too, meaning I had to dry off with my spare shirt. I walked around for the next three hours in a wet shirt. By this time, it was around 2pm and we were starving. Outdoor Interlaken gave us sandwiches, but we went back to the grocery store for more bread and cheese and just took a break for a few hours. At 4pm we met with a guide from Alpin Raft who drove us up the mountain back towards Gridelwald where we stared death in the face and said, "You know what, I payed a lot of money to meet you today. Please don't let me die."
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| Me realizing that I am falling 85 meters! Canyon swing at Interlaken, Switzerland |
And then we suited up and jumped 85 meters off a cliff to our near deaths. It was amazing!!!!! Basically, I was excited and a little nervous, but the fear didn't set in till after I had made the jump. Then it was instantaneous (as shown by my lovely face). I expected for the jump to be more outward and a earlier swing, really just to feel like a big leap with a few butterflies. I even attempted a Spiderman pose and was planning on smiling at the camera guy, but instead it felt like, "Oh...oh oh oh I am actually falling right now! Holy crap!" So rather than a jump, it was a straight free fall and then closer to the bottom I swung through. The swing was actually the best part because you just fly through the canyon. It was too fun! (Here is a link to that video as well.)
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| Eiger Mountain Interlaken, Switzerland |
We left on a train at 4pm, and with two connection changes, we were supposed to make it back to Metz around 10pm Sunday night. The French however, thought that that would be too easy. So instead, they decided to cancel our connecting train to Strasbourg, leaving us with no other connections that night in to Metz. With class in the morning and no money to spare, we get to Strasbourg via a later train (all our following connections could not be made at this point) and stood up for ourselves at the station. Who knew that if you actually walk in with a plan and complain, you could come out with a free hotel and breakfast as compensation? We were able to get nice individual hotel rooms for free for the night, a voucher for breakfast at the station in the morning, and the first train back to Metz in the morning. It turned out to be a fun night eating Chinese food and enjoying a nicer room than the one I have at Lafayette. We made it back in the morning and, as usual, dropped our stuff, cleaned up a bit, and headed to class. This life is crazy!
