Interlaken (Swissland)

If you want to visit a eutopia that seems too good to be true then make your way to Interlaken. What I saw simply looked fake, truly unreal.

We flew into Zurich on Saturday and rented a car so we could have a two-hour drive through the mountains towards Interlaken. The closer we got the more beautiful the scenery became.   On our drive, we called the Skydiving company that we had planned for the next day. Turns out, the weather wouldn’t be great so to our surprise we were jumping out of an airplane at 15,000 ft in three hours. We were all amped and could not wait!

Once at the minuter airport that only consisted of two hangers, it was time to suit up. We all got our flight suits and had what was probably a 2-minute instruction course on how to land and how to jump out of the plane.   Honestly, I wasn’t nervous, just super excited. Skydiving is something you always talk about doing but never get the opportunity. I had the opportunity to jump out of a plane over the Swiss Alps, so damn straight I’m doing it. Luckily Shane, Chris, Eric and I were the first to go. This was awesome because we were the first ones to experience it and wouldn’t have to wait anxiously for our drop. I met my personal guide Todd, an Australian fellow that had been skydiving for 20+ years. I got to say, the propeller plane gave a comfy flight, well until we reached top altitude and my guide swung the door open. I am going to attempt the sound, SWOSHWOWOSHOOWOSH. Not going to lie, I shit myself for a second. We leaned over the edge, and when you look down, dear lord you question why the hell you’d do such a thing but think well why not right? There was no countdown, he just pushed me when he felt ready, and there I went. “WOOOO, HOLY ******* ****,” I screamed. I don’t think I’ve ever cursed so much in such a short period of time. To be honest I wasn’t afraid at all after you started free falling you realize there is no going back so might as well enjoy every second of it. Minus the free fall at 160 mph for 40 seconds, the best part was the views. It is voted the best place in the world to skydive. Long story short, take on everything incredible and slightly insane opportunity you have. “Seek discomfort,” as Shane would say.

Skydiving did take a toll on your body. The adrenaline rush was like no other, so when you come down from it you start off super energized and then become exhausted and just want to relax. We took on the relaxation by going back to the hostel. Our hostel was located right on the main lake in Interlaken. The whole landscape seemed fake. If you took a picture it seemed the only logical explanation to why it looks so beautiful is because of a filter or that Switzerland is just a giant simulation.

Now Sunday, time to hike the Swiss Alps! Before heading off to the trail, we stopped at a grocery store for some snacks and sandwiches. Due to Switzerland not being in the EU it requires a lot of imports, which causes the price of items to be very expensive. This means bargain shopping and not eating out. To get to the trail you had to take an almost vertical train up the side of the mountain.

Words can not describe how gorgeous the mountain stood. I was literally next to the snow caps that I heard about in 5th-grade geography. We started our way down the trail around the mountain. The trail consisted of us running like goats on rocks, made snowballs, meet fellow trail walkers and their traveling dogs, drinking glacier runoff, and screaming into a cave so we could hear the echo of “Go Hokies.”

 

Once we got back from the hike, we relaxed by the lake then ate dinner ate hooters. Great food, great service, and they even put on the Virginia Tech football. Despite the teams loss, it was still a great night.