Heaven In The Alps

After a 7 hour bus ride through the night, we arrived at the Balmers Hostel in Interlaken, Switzerland at 2 am. Just enough time to sneak in a night-cap soda at the hostel bar The manager, Marcus, was really cool with us and very accomodating. Kupe and I transported our bikes on the bus, and he even let us bring them into the room. The Balmers Hstel is rated the #1 hostel in Europe, and for good reason. They have clean facilities, a bar on site, lots of sofas for hanging out, fooseball, pool table, and my favorite was the open-air “recovery room” with a dozen hammocks and a perfect view of the mountains. The Swiss know how to relax. They also had a great breakfast included with the stay. We met some of the other guests and made new friends. People from USA, Austrailia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa, you name it. Lots of kids our age, so there was always some fun interaction going on.

A group of us awoke early Saturday morning and signed up for a full 8 hour day of Canyoning. The description for the full day option was “only for the physically fit and confident adventurer!”, so we were ready for anything and the anticipation built as we waited for the shuttle. For reference, Canyoning is essentially descending an entire mountain by way of cliff jumping (into pools of water), sliding down naturally formed water slides in the rock, and rapelling down waterfalls! We loaded up, picked out our equipment: wetsuits, wetshoes, life jackets, and helmets, and we were on our way. Each helmet had a name across the forehead for easy identification in the canyon, and the Outdoor Interlaken staff obviously used their creativity in choosing the names. I was “Pirate”. Others included “Slider”, “Skunk”, “Mazeltov”, “Seeed”, “Schlong”, “Bru”, “Fool”, “He-Man”, “Bambi”, the list goes on. Our guides were awesome. Riaan is from Zimbabwe, of British descent. John is from New Hamshire, and he has lived in Europe for so long that he has developed an accent. I have to agree that it rubs off quickly. By the end of the day I found myself speaking full conversations in my new-found dialect, eh mate?

We shuttled an hour up the mountain, and in the process we were stopped in traffic by a herd of cattle in the city street. The farmers (wearing stylish Lederhosen) were leading them down the mountain to the valleys for the winter. Every cow in Switzerland comes standard with a huge bell around the neck, so at any point during day or night, it sounds like a bell choir echoing off the mountain walls. The locals claim that each year at Christmas, farmers bring their bell choir cattle herds to a competition to select the best rendition of “Carol of the Bells”. Sounds like a great time! After the entertaining delay, it was onward to the drop point where we were dropped to hike the 1 mile trail to the river. Hiking through the forrest on ancient trails etched into the mountainside set the tone for the rest of the day. We were WAY out there. The guides made it clear that the only way down the mountain was by Canyoning or emergency helicopter, so basically “suck it up!”

Standing at the base of our first jump of the day, there was no time for second-guessing. Riaan shouted out some quick instructions on where the deepest part of the pool was to “aim for”, and started shuffling people over the edge one-by-one. When it became my turn to jump, a quick prayer was sent, and the next 40 ft of gravity became history. Plunging into the frigid 40 degree water was a wake up call, and despite the wetsuits, we were all numb within five minutes. There were huge grins on every face in the group, and the rest of the day was a blur of adrenaline, cold, and pure joy The natural high dives and water slides blew away any man-made amusement park, and I am more than convinced that Mother Nature deserves title as the best architect in the world. The highest jump of the day measured out to be over 50 ft (that’s like jumping from the 4th floor of a building!) The guides, Riaan and John, were like stuntmen with their acrobatics. After sending us all over the cliffs like lemmings, they took the opportunity to have some fun for themselves, doing backflip-corkscrew-preaching-gainers to the roar of our applause. I gained a deep admiration for these guys and their lifestyles. Simplicity is bliss. Their office is the mountains and canyons of Switzerland, and most of their customers are jubilant, college-aged kids high on life. At the end of the long and demanding day, they treated us as the demographic we were with bread, cheese, and cold beer at base camp. Instant satisfaction!

Upon our return to Interlaken, Kupe and I were still on an adrenaline binge with energy to spare, so we took off on the bikes. We headed East along Brinzer Lake, to a town called Bonigen. The lake was the most unique blue color I’ve ever seen; a silver-blue with a metallic tint. Most definitely Swiss Alp snowmelt, so I filled my Evian bottle for good measure. We scoped out the perimeter of the village, and eventually followed our noses to a local joint for some fresh seafood. We ordered the local brew, RugenBrau, said our cheers and opened the menu to find the cheapest plate marked at 30 Swiss Francs! ($30 US) Although we were on vacation (and famished from 8 hours of canyoning), our college-budget instincts told us to stick with the beer nuts. Shortly thereafter, a local woman and her dog took the table next to us and we sparked a conversation. We invited her over to our table, bought her her favorite drink (which made ours look feminine), and spent the next hour or so seeing life through the eyes of Susan, the Swiss-German housekeeper. We learned all about the history of Switzerland, day-to-day happenings in Bonigen, and heartfelt insights from a true native. She spoke broken English, so as a required skill in all of Europe, we conversed in mimicry, charades, and silly sound effects. It is so much fun to communicate this way! There is never any underlying pressure to “look cool” or watch your words to closely. You simply do what it takes to get the message across, and when it clicks, Vuola! You have real human interaction. By the end of the evening, the three of us were laughing hysterically and grinning with shared satisfaction that a 59-year-old Swiss-German woman and two 20-year-old American college guys were all on the same page. When our stomachs finally told us it was time to hustle back to Interlaken for warm food, we said our goodbyes. I will never forget the look of appreciation in Susan’s eyes for us having taken the time to really connect. We told her we would find her when we returned in the future, and I plan to fulfill that promise. Our ride back to the hostel was dark, cold, and rainy; but it didn’t matter, life was good.
Two police officers on foot pulled us over in the middle of the road in Interlaken for not having lights on our bikes. The two men were very sinister and unwavering as we explained our situation. After all, we were only 300 yards from Balmers Hostel! Finally, out of desperation, Kupe decided to start his German-speaking career… “Danke!” (Thank You) he said with confidence. At the sound of this, the policeman cracked up and jubilantly extended handshakes to the both of us and sent us on our way, free men. European lesson #208, when in doubt, “Danke” gets you out.
Sleep came easy, and my bunk with a pillow the size of a bread loaf never looked so good.

We were blessed with yet another day of gorgeous weather, and after breakfast we set the course up the mountain on the bikes. We took a “wrong turn”, (which really isn’t possible on vacation!) and ended up in a gorgeous village north of Interlaken called Lauterbrunnen. We ended up seeing some of our classmates on rented scooters, and we created a CIMBA caravan on the highway. Guys + motorized vehicles = only one near-accident. It was a blast! The landscape was breathtaking. Sheer rock cliffs rising out of rolling green farm meadows. Waterfalls falling hundreds of feet into icy blue pools. As we gained elevation, the mountain pass opened up to a panorama of snow-capped peaks. Drool was running down my chin as I pictured snowboarding on the Swiss powder. I came away from the weekend with a sore neck and jaw, because everywhere I turned I found myself gawking.

All-in-all, Interlaken was the best experience I’ve had so far. I have to give a shout-out to fellow classmates Zach Wright and Michael Brock, for all of their effort in organizing this trip. When people step forward and take the lead like these guys did, it makes everyone elses world so much easier. THANKS a million guys!!

‘Til next time, Ciao!