Interlaken

A lot of people were skeptical when I told them I was traveling solo for almost 3 months. I think the main concern was safety, but I just told the doubters I would be carrying a knife. Others thought boredom would be an issue, but traveling throughout Europe is far from boring. For me, the perks outweigh the downfalls by a lot. When I travel solo, I am more inclined to meet new people and I enjoy my experiences so much more. If I mess up or make a bad decision to do something boring or not worth it- I don't feel guilty for ruining someone else's trip. Instead, I challenge myself to turn that mishap into something fun. If I do something awesome or find something super cool to see, I can soak up the glory because the success was my own. When I'm tired, I rest. When I want adventure, I go for it. No questions, no debating, it's just me and my backpack taking on Europe.

With that said, there have been a lot of mishaps and a lot of awesome experiences thus far in my trip. Switzerland has been a breath of fresh air. It's absolutely beautiful and there is so much to do. Most of it is way above my price range, however, the past 2 days have been jam packed with fun and adventure without totally breaking the bank.

My first day in Interlaken I couldn't help but look up constantly. All day long I was just taking in the views. At one point I saw a building on top of the mountain which caught my attention. I asked about it and learned you can hike or take a cable car type contraption up to it for amazing views. When I heard that, it was a done deal- I was going up there.

I chose to take the cable car up and hike down. I was happy with my decision because on the hike down I was thinking there was no way I would have enjoyed this post-camino. When I got on the cable car and we started moving, I thought to myself "these Swiss are some crazy people" because literally they just build tracks and ropes and cables and take trains, cable cars, and other devices up thousands of feet like it's nothing. My initial opinion of the Swiss engineers has only been proven throughout my stay here because I have seen and rode on some wild, crazy, and absolutely incredible rides.

When I got to the top the view was absolutely breath taking. Finally I didn't have to look up but instead I could look straight ahead to the snow capped peaks, or look down to the lush, green landscapes and crystal blue lakes. The hike down was steep but fun. It was about 2 hrs down and reminded me of my camino days. I was happy not to be doing 30k, and the quiet, solo trek was just what I wanted/needed. When I got to the bottom the trail spit me out right along the river. I followed the river walk for a while, stopped for lunch, and headed back to my hostel. I met some cool kids from UVA, Princeton, Duke, and Chicago. We had dinner together and everyone was telling stories of their bungee jumps, skydives, parasailing, canyon jumping, rafting, and things like that. I just sat back and listened. All of these excursions are like 300 bucks. I think I might do one but I want to hear about all of them before I decide. I actually felt old and realized I couldn't keep up with college kids. I held my own for awhile before the grandma in me decided it was time for bed.

When I woke up today the weather was beautiful. It was actually pretty hot and so I thought I would go on the free boat ride on the lake. I went to catch the bus, got on the wrong bus, and ended up at the waterfalls. Not a bad mistake, I just had to laugh at my inability to read a map. I took the bus to a small town in the mountains. From there, I walked about 3 miles through town taking in the mountains and about 5 waterfalls. I kept seeing signs for this waterfall thing and I didn't quite understand. There were waterfalls in every direction why was this one so special? I followed the signs and ended up looking at a mountain with no waterfall. I was really confused until I saw this cave contraption. Once again, the Swiss engineers rock my world. Inside this cave, there is a train car thingy ma bob that takes you up inside the mountain. Once you get out, there are 10 glacier waterfalls inside the mountain that have carved corkscrew slide looking tunnels with water just flowing. It was really mind boggling to take in what I was looking at. How they built this thing I have no idea- but reaping the benefits was something I was happy to do.

This is where the traveling solo thing just took over. I wandered through this town, wound up at a cable car, took it straight up the mountain, took a train across the mountain, then took a cable car back down the mountain. I had no idea what I was doing, where I was going, but it all worked out perfectly. The views of course were stunning, the towns I went through precious, and the people I met who kept pointing me in the right direction were awesome.

Since I missed the boat ride today - that is on the agenda for tomorrowa. I also want to bike and explore this area on two wheels. Besides the hiking and the mountains, the cheese and chocolate are pretty great, too. So far so good Switzerland.
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