Arriving at Frankfurt at around one in the morning, we accidently ran into another Camp Adventure group from Ansbach. To our delight, they were heading to Switzerland as well, although not to Interlaken. Hearing about their travels and camp experience so far, we were able to kill an hour before our next train left.
Piling onto the train, we were all freezing and exhausted. We threw our bags onto the overhead racks, and layered up our clothes to wait out the cold on the train itself. Catching what little sleep we could, a trainman came and woke us up telling us to go into a compartment, as it should be warmer. Grabbing our bags, we found the closest compartment, which turned out to be just as cold. Figuring that was as good as it was going to get, we ended up using our towels as blankets. By about four in the morning, Sydney and I were ice cubes, and decided to go find out what was going on with the heaters. We came across another trainman, who enthusiastically informed us that they were only heating the front half of the train. He encouraged us to move further along to find some open seats in the warmer area. You can imagine how happy we were to hear that we had suffered hours in the freezing cold, when there were actually heaters working not far from where we had been. Ugh.
After what seemed like a lifetime, we finally arrived at Interlaken Ost Bahnhof. Walking out of the train station, the small town of Interlaken was situated at the base of the Swiss Alps; no matter which direction we turned, the mountains dominated the town. It was FREEZING! Asking a Swiss man for directions to our hostel, we quickly found it and were greeted by a very enthusiastic man. Although we were unable to actually check into our room, we were able to use the luggage room, lockers, and bathrooms, which allowed for us to layer clothes on.
Finding the hostel worker man again, we explained to him that we would only be in Switzerland for the night, and that we wanted to go bungee jumping and canyoning before we left. He generously offered to call the major company that held these events and find out any information he could. After a quick phone call, he said that we were all set to do both, beginning with bungee jumping and directly after, going into the glaciers to go canyoning. Furthermore, the company offered to pick us up from our hostel and drive us to base camp. So, with two hours or so to kill, Juliet, Sydney and I took a quick tour of the city, stopped by the supermarket to grab some food for the evening, and did a little souvenir shopping.
Getting back to the hostel, we grabbed our backpacks, towels, camera, water, and Francs, and waiting outside for the van to pick us up. Now at this point, you would naturally assume that you would be freaking out and rethinking your decision to go. I, however, was singing, dancing, and getting all psyched to go.
The van pulled up, and an Australian man rolled down the window and said, “you three look like you’re ready to go jump off a cliff!” And with that, we piled into the van, picked up a few more brave souls, and made our way up the mountain to the (real life, named for the company) North Face.
Making it up to the top of the mountain, we were read the disclaimer and basically had to sign our life away. Watching several people from our overall group canyon jump, Sydney and I were going back and forth on whether or not we actually wanted to bungee jump, or switch over to do the canyon jump. Asking the mountain lady, she informed us that there is only four places in the world that you can actually canyon jump, Switzerland being one of them. With that new information, our minds were made up and we were getting strapped into our harnesses.
I volunteered to be the first one out of the three of us to make the actual jump. Showing no fear, I let the mountain man double check the tightness of my harness, posed for a few pictures, and walked to the edge of the platform. Looking over the side, the bungee line began to pull me closer and closer to the edge. Instead of being pulled off the platform, I told Sydney to give me a quick countdown and I made the jump. Describing the feeling of the free fall is something I cannot put into words. It is one of those things that you have to physically experience it to completely understand. I will say, however, that my mind went blank. I kept trying to take a breath in, but the air wasn’t going into my lungs. I screamed- a lot. And for those three seconds, it was the most surreal feeling I have ever had. The rope eventually caught my weight, which allowed me to swing like a pendulum until I came to a stop. If you haven’t seen my facebook pictures of the event, I would DEFINITELY recommend it! They turned out awesome! Furthermore, I think I have made canyon jumping apart of my bucket list, as I would like to make the remaining three jumps, where ever they are at in the world.
Watching Sydney, Juliet, and the final couple jump, we made our way back to the van to wait for the others as they finished their drinks in the bar. I’m not sure if it was adrenaline shock, or car sickness, but I got super sick on the way back to base camp. I literally thought I was going to have to ask the people to pull the van over so I could throw up, which thankfully, never actually happened. When we actually got back, I was seriously contemplating whether or not I would be able to go through with the canyoning.
Waiting until the last possible minute, I manned up, put on three layers of wetsuit, and jumped back into the van to head to the glacier. Parking the van down the hill, we were required to hike about ten or fifteen minutes into the glacier to our starting point. I took up the caboose, as I was still unsure whether or not I would need to vomit.
Arriving at the starting point, Hannah went over the correct ways to jump, slide, and repel down the rocks. After his quick explanation, we were taken to the edge of the glacier, and made our first jump into the four degree Celsius water. BRR!
The canyoning experience itself was definitely… different. Not only was it freezing, but also it was something I NEVER thought I would do. The entire trip lasted about two hours, which was actually cut an hour and a half short because it was so cold and getting dark. Again, if you haven’t checked out my facebook pictures, I would get on that!
We made our way back to base camp, stripped off our wetsuits, and were offered drinks, bread and cheese while our pictures were being moved to CDs. I was still feeling VERY sick, so I pretty much posted up on a bench and waited until it was time to go.
Getting back to the hostel, I got ready for bed and was basically asleep by the time Sydney and Juliet got out of the shower at 7:30 PM. I was woken up later; I’m not quite sure what time it was, by three Indian men who would be sharing our room with us for the night. Making eye contact with them, I decided that would be a good enough hello, rolled over, and went back to bed.
Sydney woke me up around 8:00, asking if I felt up to going on a quick hike before heading back to the train station. I sat up enough to discover an AWFUL headache. Sending my regards to her and Juliet, and I laid back down with the hopes of going back to bed.
Wrong. The Indian men flipped on the lights and started getting ready for the day. This normally wouldn’t have bothered me, but one of the guys sprayed some cologne and I swear I became asphyxiated to it. I can still smell it in my nose. That was enough to get me up, dressed, packed and waiting in the lobby until Syd and Juliet returned.
Walking to the train station, we arrived a little early, and were able to find a small store to buy some breakfast. Although I hadn’t eaten much, I bought myself a baguette, and was thankful to get it down without feeling nauseated. Sydney and Juliet ended up going back into the store to buy some more food for the train when our train pulled up to the platform. Grabbing ALL of our bags, I poked my head into the store, told the girls the train was there, and made my way outside. Sydney came, so the two of us waited in front of the door for Juliet to come and get her stuff. She never came. The train lady said that they had to leave, and that the doors would be closing. Sydney and I jumped onto the train, and despite our attempt at an explanation, the train lady signaled to the conductor that we were ready to leave. Juliet came out right as the doors closed and the train started to roll away.
Thankfully, she had her phone, Eurail, and passport with her in her purse, which meant that she would be fine catching the next train out. We arrived in Basal about two hours later, and after checking the train times, we decided to go ahead without Juliet, which she was fine with.
We ended up arriving into Pressath around 8:00 PM, called the taxi, and were thankful to make it home earlier enough to get some stuff done before we had to get ready for work. Unfortunately, Sydney and I made it all the way upstairs before realizing that Juliet had our house key. With no other option, we made camp outside our door, and planned to wait until after eleven when our other roommates would be home. Needless-to-say, we eventually made it inside, showered, unpacked, and went straight to bed without getting anything else done.
Overall, although I was FREEZING most of the time and got sick, Interlaken was EPIC, and I think the pictures showcase that pretty well.
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