Mark and I loaded up the back packs and took a train ride south, to Interlaken, Switzerland. We stayed in a hostel, and spent two days trying to kill ourselves...
We checked in Friday night, roamed around in the rain for a while, then hung out in the hostel's bar to listen while DJ Freakadelic threw down the hits. The hits from the 90's. And the 60's. And whatever other era he randomly chose. But it was really funny, none-the-less. Here's the view from our room's window:
Not too shabby a location for a hostel.
Wood carving seemed to be popular in the area:
Saturday we got up, grabbed breakfast, and loaded in the van to head off for Paragliding. After a brief drive, we hiked a bit to the launch site.
After donning the necessary safety gear,
we strapped in and 3, 2, 1, RAN!
Check out that lake view! One to the left,
and one to the right.
We survived!
The view of Interlaken was gorgeous. But we just did not get the rush we thought we would. It was more relaxing than anything. I was not ready for it to end. But we had a schedule to keep! So off to lunch (uh, at Hooter's, actually) and then to the next appointment.
The view of Interlaken was gorgeous. But we just did not get the rush we thought we would. It was more relaxing than anything. I was not ready for it to end. But we had a schedule to keep! So off to lunch (uh, at Hooter's, actually) and then to the next appointment.
At 4, we headed off for some White Water rafting. First time for both of us on this sport as well. We figured, hey, let's just jump right into some grade 4 rapids. (Well, technically we didn't know this until AFTER we were done...)
Eventually, they let us put the raft in the water. They were very happy to point out that a mere 3 hours prior to being at our spot in the river, the water was a glacier. We could tell - even with all the gear on, our paddling hands were frozen.
This was great. The river eventually dumped into one of the lakes, and a few of us went for a bit of a swim back to shore. The water was so much "warmer" in the lake, you couldn't pass it up.
This finished day 1 of extreme sports, and we headed back to town to find some dinner and try to sleep through a party in the bar... Yes, we are wild and crazy and like get to bed by 10pm...
Sunday, we headed down for the fabulous breakfast buffet (white bread, dried cheese, coffee, etc - but some really great apples!) and roamed around town a bit more. Around noon, we headed off for the final event - Canyoning! Yeah - we didn't know what it was before we got here either... They drive you up river, you take a bit of a hike, then you start rappelling, jumping, sliding, swimming, climbing - you name it, to get back down river. It was fantastic!
The canyoning was, by far, the best event! I still have the bruises to prove it. And if you're ever in this general vicinity - you have to check out the company we did all the stuff through: http://www.alpinraft.com/ This will be a tough weekend to top!
Wow! How awesome! I remember they offered canyoning in Spain too, but didn't know what it was and was too preggo then to find out! But I'm so excited to hear how cool it was, and it sounds like the paragliding shouldve been last since it was so relaxing! I'd pass on the cold water rapids myself, and watch from shore with a mug of hot tea :)
ReplyDeleteIt must have taken forever to get all these photos uploaded! You rock! Thanks for sharing them!!! xo
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