Only a couple days left!
Good morning! It is now Tuesday and we are on the bus headed towards Germany and Luxembourg, our last two new places for the program! We will be stopping in Germany for a quick lunch break and spending the night in Luxembourg tonight. But you’ll hear more about that tomorrow. Yesterday was an epic day to say the least. In case you didn’t see my facebook status, I spent my Monday afternoon bungy jumping in Stockhorn, Switzerland. More about that later..
We started our morning with a continental breakfast as usual. Then it was off to the bus to go up the hill to catch a train to a higher spot on the hill, to get on one last train that took us to the Top of Europe. This is a building literally built into the Swiss Alps where you can send postcards, buy souvenirs, climb around the mountain a bit, etc. As a group we went out on an observation deck type place to take some fun pictures before exploring the place on our own. Unfortunately we were a month too late for any of the fun activities like ziplining or tubing at the top of the mountain, but we did get to go to the Sphinx, which is the highest point on the mountain I believe. What a neat experience. We were all a little ill after a while because of the altitude but it was worth it, literally breathtaking views. We also got to walk through an ‘ice palace’ and through tunnels that were just carved into the mountain. After our time there we took two trains back down to the bus to drive back to the hotel. But the fun was just beginning. There are a lot of intense, adventurous activities to do in Interlaken. Most of the people in our group went Canyoning, which I’d never heard of until this trip but they basically jumped off cliffs into the water and rampaged around canyons. Sounds thrilling but not my cup of tea since I don’t like water. Another set went paragliding, which I would’ve done if I’d had enough time. Lastly, two of us went bungy jumping. We were picked up at the hotel and driven out to Stockhorn, about 30 minutes from Interlaken. I was quite worried because the people weren’t talking to us very much and we don’t speak German. When we got to the main building even more people joined us so we loaded up a Gondala (enclosed ski lift kind of thing) and rode up the mountain about half way. At this stop we received directions entirely in Swiss German, guessing what they were saying most of the time. Then we signed our waivers, suited up in the harnesses and prepared to go up even higher. This time we loaded a much smalled gondala and we were strapped into a corner like cows. We rode half way up until we were directly above a small lake with the mountains surrounding us. One at a time we started jumping, with the help of two guides up top and two guides below in a boat waiting for us. You couldn’t really see anything until you were on the ledge, about to jump, so that probably helped with the nerves. When it was my turn I tried to ask how to get down because I couldn’t remember what they said but they didn’t hear me so they checked my locks and sent me to the edge. Oh. My. Gosh. What a sight. I wasn’t sure what to expect but when I looked out for the first second I saw nothing but air. The lake was completely calm, everything on the mountain was still, and I could barely hear them counting down for me. The only thing on my mind was that if I didn’t jump the right way then I was going in the water because my rope was just a bit long. When they reached one I jumped. The first second goes by and then I realize that I’m in the middle of the air and there is nothing to hold on to- free falling. After a panic moment, it’s like time stood still and I could see everything around me perfectly clear. It was the most peaceful thing I have ever felt. And then I realized I was still falling so I prepared myself for the return. But I never felt it because I just knew I was hanging in the air. After just swinging around for a while I was pulled into the boat successfully and unhooked. The guides both spoke English and they were very nice, I was still in shock that I just did that. I didn’t realize what they were saying till jus t recently but I guess I was about a meter from touching the water, I honestly had no idea. I also had the loudest, longest scream out of the group according to my partner in crime, Caitlin. It seemed like a short thrill for almost $200 but it was so worth it. I’ve wanted to bungy jump for a long time and I would probably do it again someday. Once I made it back to shore we waited and watched a few more people jump before going back to the Chalet to head home. I bought the cd of pictures so you will see those at some point. Surprisingly it didn’t hurt our bodies as much as we thought, but this morning I realized that it actually did hurt so I’m a bit sore.
After we got home I grabbed a microwave meal from the grocery store and ate that while catching up with other members of the group about their adventures. Then I got to talk to my best friend, Nick Nelson, and remembered why we’re best friends. At 10:00 Caitlin and I had to walk to a hotel to pick up our pictures and it ended up taking us about an hour to get there because we kept going the wrong way but we made it eventually and it only took us 15 minutes to get back to the hotel! I was welcomed home by 4 people just hanging out and loving life in my room, ready to hear about our adventure. After spending a couple hours with them, just being care free kids, it was time to pack up and go to bed. What a day. Hope you enjoyed the story!
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