Lauterbrunnen (Part III)

My final day in Switzerland was a bit of a rollercoaster, but it turned out to be an absolute blast in the end.

The morning started out with a late-ish wakeup (that’s about 9AM) and running into everyone in the kitchen for breakfast. Though the day was once again pretty rainy and dreary, we were all determined to make the most of our last day in the most beautiful place on earth.

There were so many options: I could go to Trummelbach. I could go to the top of the mountain to see some of the places where they shot 007. I could go into Interlaken to do some shopping. I could just hike the random trails around the campsite. The list goes on.

Lindsay and Skye were planning to do Trummelbach as well, and after meeting up with one of Simon’s friends, Kirsten, we all decided to go together. Simon and Renae had already gone, so they decided to do the cable car ride up to the top of the mountain and take a 2-3 hour hike down.

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Lauterbrunnen (Part II)

After paragliding I was handed a train ticket back to Lauterbrunnen and pointed in the direction of the train station. It was a nice little walk and at the end was something very exciting:

A supermarket.

I don’t know if you understand just how great supermarkets are, especially while you’re backpacking. You see – most places I’ve come across have grocery stores. They’re tiny little stores, generally no larger than a 7-11, and sell a decent selection of the basics. Sometimes you’ll find one a little bigger, but for the most part we’re talking just essentials.

But the thing is – in each an every city I’ve visited so far, it seems that the locals don’t consider VEGETABLES to be essentials. Try finding some lettuce in the grocery store. Good luck. And if you do manage to find yourself a bag salad, odds are it’s going to be really limp and brown. At least that’s been my luck.

So when I came across this giant co-op just across the street from Interlaken Ost, I swear the clouds opened up and the angels started to sing. Even though my train was scheduled to leave in about 10 minutes I made a quick turn right and headed straight for the entrance.

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Flying Over Switzerland

Dear Diary,

Today I ran off the side of a mountain. The technical term is paragliding, but I think that term is far too tame. You’re basically running off the side of a mountain util the ground falls out from under you and the float your way over mountains and trees and the city of Interlaken held up by nothing more than a bunch of strings and a few yards of fabric.

I’m not much of a dare devil. I even gave up skateboarding after about 3 hours because I was scared of falling and breaking my arm or something, but for some reason when they showed a video of paragliding on the Bus as one of the many options for activities in Lauterbrunnen, paragliding piqued my interest and without really putting much thought into it I signed up and paid. The panic didn’t really set in until this morning.

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Lauterbrunnen (Part I)

I’ve only been here for around 18 hours so far, but I already know that I love Switzerland. I think I knew the moment we crossed the border from Italy. It’s absolutely beautiful.

I’m not much of an outdoorsy person – I don’t like bugs or animals, I’m not really all that into white water rafting or rock climbing and I don’t particularly enjoy completely “roughing it,” but I learned in my last few years at Cornell that I really enjoy just throwing on my camera and taking a walk through nature. Not trailblazing or anything like that, but just a slow wander around some trails, through some trees, maybe along the water, just relaxing and getting away from all of the busy-ness of life. I took these walks once a week or so, even in the dead of winter. I ran into deer, I walked through knee-deep snow, and puddle-jumped when it all melted away, but I loved my walks.

It turns out that I’m not a huge fan of cities, something that really surprised me considering that I’m not a nature girl by any stretch of the imagination. I prefer “structured nature” – you know, where all of the trails have been marked, the paths have been carved out, and the scenery still every bit as wonderful.

That’s exactly where I am right now.

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