Interlaken, Switzerland

Friday, September 12:
The plan for the weekend was to go to Balmers Hostel in Interlaken, Switzerland from Friday to Sunday but since we planned to go as a big group, 26 people, the only available days were Saturday to Sunday Morning.  So we made the most of our one day to hang out around Riva. A couple of us went to check out Lugano, a city about 15 minutes away where other Virginia Tech students study abroad. The city was very cool and Riva is minuscule in comparison so it was really nice to be able to look around and have that city feel again. We walked around for a couple hours, peaking in and out of shops then sat down ate dinner and headed home.

Saturday, September 13:
We all had to get up at 6 am to catch the first train out of Riva because we had a canyoning trip planned for 1:30 and it took about 4 hours to get to Interlaken. It was the most beautiful train rides I have ever been on, everything looked so unreal.. it all seemed like it was out of a magazine.

Once we got to Interlaken I realized how different a country can be just by going a couple hours North. In Riva and Lugano, everyone there is Swiss Italian, so everything looks Italian and everyone speaks Italian. In Interlaken everyone is Swiss German, so everything looks German and the main language of that region is German. It was really cool to see how in one country the cultures can vary so much in such a short distance. After we had settled in at Balmers Hostel we all got ready to go Canyoning, which is basically making your way down a canyon by hiking, swimming, repelling, and jumping off cliffs.

We did the beginner Canyoning trip which was relatively short but I plan to go back and do the advanced trip as well as go bungie jumping from a gondola suspended over the lake. When we got back to the hostel a couple of us went and walked around to check out the town before going to the bar/ club that was located in Balmers. That was one of the great things about Balmers Hostel, it organized all your trips and had a club located in the actual building so you didn't have to go anywhere if you wanted to go out. So thats what we did, all 26 of us went to the bar downstairs and had a great time.

Sunday, September 14:

Sunday morning we woke up and had to be out of the hostel by 10. We had a couple of hours to kill so we walked around checking out some of the cool views and seeing what Interlaken really has to offer, and it was awesome. There was a perfect view of the Swiss Alps and it surrounded us on all sides.

While we waited for our train I stumbled upon a restaurant that I honestly would not have believed existed in such a secluded area..but it did, it was Hooters. The menu looked appetizing and it was the cheapest thing around, so I am sad to say that I ate breakfast at Hooters...in the middle of Switzerland. The plates were massive and the food surprisingly good so I am happy with the decision I made.

After breakfast we walked around a little more checking out the abundance of Swiss army shops they had before finally getting on the train and heading back to Riva. It was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.

First 10 day break next.