24 hours in Interlaken

Europe Trip 2018 all started when Natalie, my beloved original “Two girls and a eurail pass” travel partner from 2014, and her boyfriend Shannon asked if I would be interested in joining them for Oktoberfest in Munich. Shannon and Natalie were headed to Europe for all of September and, though they weren’t extending invites to join them for the entirety of their romantical pre and post proposal galivant through Europe, the world’s largest beer festival was an open invite to any and all ne'er-do-wells who could get their act together enough for a plane ticket and wanted to have a kick ass time.  

Having been to Munich twice, I didn’t have a super crazy burning desire to return (I usually try to go to new places I haven’t been before when I gather up the miles to cross the pond), however at the age of 30 (or any age really, but especially once you get in the 3-0’s) I also know that there isn’t a slew of remaining opportunities to get a bunch of your friends together pre-babies and real responsibilities to travel across the world, throw on dirndls and lederhosen, and prost all day at the world’s largest beer festival. I was also itching for a chance to put some more stamps on my passport and didn’t yet have anything else on the books for this calendar year. Case in point, it didn’t take much convincing, I was in faster than you could say fo’ schnitzel.

From there we gathered the rest of the crew including my buddy Napa Chris, his childhood friend Kyle, and this new dude I had been seeing named Adam. (We also had a few folks who agreed and unfortunately had to drop out as plans began to form - Paul, Visger, Brandi - we missed ya!) Adam and I have only known one another 3 months so inviting him to Oktoberfest at month 2 was a gamble, but we get along really well and from what I’ve gathered thus far both seem like pretty carefree big-hearted party animals so I knew regardless of what the future may or may not hold, we’d travel well together and have a blast. Luckily for me he didn’t think I was a total lunatic for inviting him to jump on a plane with me and was stoked to put some stamps on his (expedited) passport too.  

Both being miles mavens, we used points for our flights over and back and opted to start out in Switzerland first. (We would then join the rest of our motley crew in Munich for the main event). Our itinerary included Interlaken->Lucerne->Munich ->Prague. From Prague Adam would head home for his sister’s wedding (priorities) and I’d continue onto Budapest where I’d have Napa Chris and my girl Anna who was flying in from visiting family in Germany.  

I met Adam at 3:30am at his place for our 6am Tuesday flight to Zurich, parked my car in the “guest parking spot” (more on this later) and into the Uber we went! As our delightful driver regaled us with stories of “sloppy beer drinking women” and other unprovoked misogynistic and relatively racist rambles, I immediately regretted asking him what his craziest driving story was and thus unwittingly catalyzing his “make Uber great again” soliloquy (luckily for me the language barrier would prevent this from ever happening again on our trip).  

After a hasty farewell to our new “friend”, onto our American Airlines plane we went - first to Phoenix, then Philadelphia, and then finally, to Zürich. 20 hours later (including one close call making our flight in Philadelphia which put Adam’s soccer legs to the test and left me realizing I was in dire need of more regular cardio), we officially crossed the pond and hit Switzerland at 8am Wednesday morning.  

20 hours of flying hit us pretty hard, but after a quick coffee and bathroom break, we were ready to take on the last leg of the race, a 4 hour train ride to Interlaken - the adventure Capitol of the world!

The view from our train window

My travel companion, on the train, after 20 hours of flying

Having been to Switzerland before (Lausanne, Geneva, and Lucerne), I knew we were in for a breathtaking start to the trip (Switzerland, though expensive, is highly underrated by American travelers in my opinion), but even having seen some of the country before frankly nothing could have prepared me for the incredible, jaw dropping beauty that is INTERLAKEN. With its crystal clear lakes, lush green hills, gorgeous mountains, and perfect fresh air as we rolled in on the train I couldn’t help but think that this is what heaven must look like.  

Though fairly exhausted from our travels, the beauty of Interlaken hit us like a natural 5-hour energy and adderall cocktail and after a quick check in to the private room at the top of our Swiss log-cabin hostel (Balmer’s - great place, totally recommend it!) we were off to explore. We only had one day in Interlaken and were on a mission to make the most of our 24 hours in the world adventure Capitol so we downed some schnitzel and beers at the most Swiss-looking restaurant we could find, gaped at the scenery a bit more, and promptly signed up for a 5pm paraglide.  

The view while eating our schnitzel 

Paragliding would be a first for me. The van scooped us up along with 6 other folks who’d be taking the leap at the 5pm slot. Up, up, and up the van drove until we reached the top of the mountain. We were then each paired with a professional paragliding partner who’d be strapped to our back and harness as we ran at full speed and jumped off the mountain with our parachute. 

I opted to go first. The paragliding instructors asked us to do our best not to scream as locals had been complaining about the noise recently. (There is a park where you land that might as well be called “paragliding park” as it must see anywhere from 80-100 people landing in it post paraglide every day.)  As you can see by the video, I failed to not scream (but only momentarily and if you listen closely you can hear me profusely apologizing!). Running off a mountain at full speed and feeling your feet lift the ground is mildly terrifying, but once I was up - man what a thrill! I am not sure how to describe my paragliding experience beyond saying that it was absolutely INCREDIBLE. As I gently flew over the lakes and mountains of Switzerland, it was breathtaking, peaceful, and easily a top 10 (if not 3) life experience.   

My instructor even let me take the wheels (handles) for a bit which was super cool. Like most passengers with my driving, the poor swissman did get a little nervous and eventually asked to take back control- he did oblige me with some pretty cool flips on the way down though. Upon landing, my heart was filled with wonder and gratitude and my mind with a moment of reflection - “this is why I Travel” I thought, “This is what it’s all about.”

At the top of the mountain, living our best lives!

The entire paragliding experience lasted about an hour and a half from pick up to drop off (with the actual paraglide from mountain peek to park landing lasting about 15 minutes). It cost a total of 170 Swiss francs each (about $175) and is an experience both myself and my travel partner agreed that we will never forget. I would highly recommend it to anyone, at any age. Don’t pay heed to my 2 seconds of screams at the beginning, it’s really not all that terrifying (like most chances and experiences in life worth having, it’s just the initial leap into the unknown that can be scary).

The view

(Side note: When I was 26 on my first European adventure , I promised Natalie and myself that if I hadn’t sky dived by the time I was 30 that I would return to Switzerland, Interlaken specifically, for my 30th birthday and take the dive. In actuality I ended up spending my 30th in Vegas - so I was a few months late - and opted to paraglide rather than sky dive - but regardless I still think 26 year old Laine would be pretty proud)

The rest of the evening was mostly spent reeling from our incredible adventure. (If we had more time in Interlaken and slightly larger budgets we honestly probably would’ve opted for more adventures as Interlaken offers no shortage of hang gliding, cliff rappelling, water sports, you name it. There’s even a “golden ticket” you can get where you get to do all of them! But for now I was content) We played some competitive ping pong, went to the market, and wandered around Switzerland on foot looking at mountains and swigging red wine (the only affordable thing in the entire country). All in all, it was a perfect first day and night for the start of another epic adventure.  

We left the next morning on the train for our next stop, Lucerne- but I think it’s safe to say that even with only 24 hours in Interlaken that it left a special place in our hearts. As the train rumbled away through the mountains, I looked back not saying goodbye, but merely a “see you later”. Heaven on earth is not the kind of place you only visit once.