Interlaken pt 2

Okay, back to story time. So I took my hot chocolate and my strawberries back to my hostel and devoured them. After an unsurprising stomach ache, I walked to the grocery store down the street. When I say street I mean a tiny path out the back of the hostel in an incredibly residential area. I tried my best to be frugal because oh my god is Interlaken expensive. Rather, all of Switzerland is expensive. I bought stuff to make pasta and decided I would live off of it for the entire week. I also bought beer and wine heh.

I went back to the hostel and hung out in the games area with three Australian boys. Such a lucky gal. We all made dinner together and I ate with my German pal from the night before. Hostel culture is truly something else. We all spent the whole night drinking, playing piano, and playing games. The next day, bright and early, I went paragliding! Since I wasn't skiing I figured I had to do some sort of cool outdoor activity.

We took a van and walked a bit to get up on this mountain --> From there we were strapped in and briefed. Of course, I was the first person. I didn't even realize what was happening until my guide said, "Okay, ready? Left foot forward." Next thing I know I'm running, virtually in place. Running against a parachute is hard for anyone I'm sure, but especially hard for someone who hadn't ran in months. But, I made it! Next I was just gliding :) It was so incredibly peaceful. I expected the paraglide to move quickly for some reason, but we just slowly moved across all of Interlaken. I could see both lakes and all the surrounding mountains including Jungfrau (the "top" of Europe). It was an immensely serene experience. Until the end. All my guide said when we were landing was "stand up". I don't even know what that means when my feet are literally suspended in the air? I fell on my knees. No one else fell.

After that I decided to keep the excitement going! Everyone had been telling me about this amazing hike, Harder Kulm. Emphasis on the "harder" (even though it's not pronounced like that). I quickly ate lunch then headed out. Some said this hike would take four-six hours, but one of the boys from my hostel did it in an hour and a half, and ensured me I would be about the same. He forgot the fact that I hadn't voluntarily gone on a hike maybe ever. This was easily one of the hardest things I've ever done. The trail is essentially straight upwards. My knees started to ache and I was dripping sweat even with my layers stripped off. I thought about turning back numerous times. I even started talking to myself. I was going delirious!

After two hours and four miles, I finally made it. It was such a beautiful day. The sun was shining, but it was still a bit nippy at the top once I had stopped huffing and puffing. I was honestly very proud of myself. I think this hike might have jump-started my health kick since I proved to myself that I am capable! I can do exercise! And feel really, really good about it after!

I decided to chill for the rest of the day and the next day went to Iseltwald. I had heard that this particular dock was featured in a popular Korean film. Of course I had to go and check it out for myself. It was honestly pretty bleak. You had to take the bus down and essentially wait an hour until the bus came back. There wasn't anything to do there since it was the off-season. It was literally just me and the rest of the people from the bus in the freezing cold, wandering around what seemed like a deserted island. The scenery was beautiful though!I went back to my hostel eventually, hung out, then ran into two of my buds from the first night. We were all traveling alone so we banded together and decided to hit the clubs!

The next day I ran into one of my buddies over breakfast and we decided to go waterfall hunting. We took a train to Lauterbrunnen, saw a mini waterfall, then took a bus to a waterfall that was unfortunately closed. We headed back and went up to Gimmelwald and hiked to Murren. On our way up, we had to go off of the path in our to find our next waterfall (pictured). We traversed through the forest and over fresh powder (blundstones are really the perfect shoe), and onto a bridge that straddled the waterfall. It was precarious I genuinely thought I was going to die. It was worth the snow in my boots. We continued up to Murren, had a quick bite, then headed back to our hostel. As it was our last night, we got our little three-man gang together to get some fondue! None of us had indulged in the Swiss delicacy since we had been there, so we figured we would do it together and attempt to save some money.

Overall it was the most incredible trip. Not being able to use my phone was so daunting and scary at times, but definitely a blessing. I was able to make a lot of connections IRL and fully take in the nature around me. It's definitely scary traveling solo as a young woman, but I think it's an experience we all need to have at one point in our lives. It's incredibly empowering to be on your own and outside of your comfort zone.

Interlaken-wise I would suggest going if you love the outdoors and you're also rich or at least prepared to go into debt. There were many other things I could have seen and done, but I just didn't have the funds! It costs hundreds of dollars to go to the tops of the mountains, hence why I took the hike route. It's a breathtakingly beautiful place and also a coin-guzzler.

And there we have it! the travel chronicles episode 1