Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow (Dec. 8-11)

Now, don't get too excited here. Unfortunately the snow I'm referring to is NOT in Prague. However, it was in Switzerland, aka the best weekend of my entire abroad experience. So get excited.

This was my first view of Interlaken, as we approached the town via bus. But I can't forget about the bus trip, so I'll include that in here.


We boarded the bus to Interlaken at 9 pm on Thursday, December 8th. The bus was a whopping 11 hours, so we really got the whole Bus2Alps experience. Luckily I was able to sleep a little, so I wasn't TOO exhausted upon my arrival.


So we get to Interlaken, and I had finally convinced myself to sign up for skydiving. Yup, you heard that right. Skydiving. My trip was supposed to leave the hostel at 12 pm, giving me 4 hours to mentally prepare myself, relax, take in my surroundings. But as I sat at breakfast, one of the guides shouts out "Who's going skydiving today?!" And when I replied that I was, he asked if I wanted to go at 9 am instead, as the weather was better and they were worried about getting in the 12 pm trip. Of course I said yes. And then it hit me. In just 30 minutes, I was jumping out of a plane.


As I left my hostel room to board the bus, I ran into Rachel, a girl I'd gone to camp with several years ago. Not only was she staying at Balmer's with us, but she was staying IN my room. What are the chances?!?! Seriously weird. And, she was going skydiving at 9 as well! So Rachel, her friend Nicole, and I piled into the van, along with a bunch of other kids, and off we went to the field.


I wish I could explain the 800 things that I felt at the time, but mostly, it just didn't seem real. Even once I'd put my jumpsuit on, (stylish photo included), I still refused to believe what I was about to do. It wasn't until the plane was literally in front of me, and my tandem, Hans, was telling me that we wanted to get into the plane last, so that we could jump first. He told me this as if this was a privilege, like I should feel LUCKY for getting to jump out of a plane first. Sure Hans, sure. Instead, panic mode kinda set in.


But then it was time for the plane ride, and I gotta say, for at least the first ten minutes, all nerves faded. It was all too beautiful; to mind-boggling to even worry about what was about to happy. I've included a photo of the view out the window of the plane. Rough life, huh?


And then I hear Hans tell me to lean forward, lift up, and scoot so that I'm sitting on his lap. At this point, he attaches us to each other. And the nerves set in again. I'm not sure I'd describe what I felt as fear, as I felt oddly safe attached to Hans. But it was worry, nervousness, and anxiousness. Then he said "Okay, Sam, I'm gonna open the door". Casual sentences. The gust of wind as the door opened was shocking. At that point it hit me: I'm about to jump out of a plane. WTF AM I DOING?! I put my feet on the ledge of the plane, and I hear Hans ask me if I'm ready. "Well, my feet are out of the plane, so I guess so!" And with a final count of three, we were off!

I can't put into words what that first second feels like. You can't breathe, you're upside down, and your 11,000 feet above the ground. And it feels...just like that. Free fall was the best few seconds of my life, and a sensation that I will never forget. I felt overwhelmed trying to take in the scenery, the feelings, meanwhile Hans and the camera guy shouting at me to smile for a photo (ARE YOU KIDDING I'M FLYING! SCREW THE PHOTO!), and yet entirely relaxed, a sense of calm I haven't really ever felt before. A once in a lifetime feeling.


The rest of the trip down was the most remarkable experience of my life. Everything was so beautiful, and just flying over the Swiss Alps...I mean, who gets to do these things?! It's times like these when you gotta realize just how lucky you are to be alive. And I've never felt so alive in my life.

And before you know it, it's all over and you're landing safely to the ground on your butt. Not gonna lie, I felt sooo dizzy when I landed, what with the air pressure and just a complete overwhelming-ness. I'm sorry Mom to say this, but it was so worth it, and I recommend EVERYONE to try it.


So basically anything I mention the rest of that day or the entire trip will pale in comparison. But here goes trying, because the entire weekend was amazing.


That night Rachel, Nicole, me, and two girls we met at the hostel headed off to a Chocolate Show. Yup. The only proper way to finish a day starting off with skydiving is obviously to watch and learn how Swiss people make their oh-so-famous chocolate. And of course, get some yummy samples. Delish!

I got back to the hostel, only to turn back around to head out to dinner with kids from Prague. There were 10 of us which was really nice, and we went to a fairly nice restaurant. Kelly, Molly, and I split some Swiss Cheese Fondue...best. decision. ever. It was sooo good and I seriously couldn't stop eating it. Absolutely fantastic.


After a day like that, it was time for some seriously deserved sleep. Most of the girls were waking up at the crack of dawn the next morning to go skiing, but Mara, Nicole, and I got to sleep in a little later. Then it was off to Jungfraujoch!


What is Jungfraujoch you ask? It's the place also known as "The Top of Europe", the highest place you can get to without needing to hike some serious mountains. It's almost 12,000 feet up, and you take a 2-hour train ride to get there. Sounds long, but with views like that, it feels pretty quick.


The train is also really cute, looks very old, kinda like the train in Polar Express. After taking the train all the way up the mountain, we finally arrived at the top. Unfortunately, to get the true view, which includes the mountains of Italy and France, the weather needs to be PERFECT, since you are literally in the clouds already. We were not so lucky, but it was still really cool. And the absolute coldest I have ever been in my entire life.

After a brief look at the view from the top, we ran back inside to the warmth. We then went to check out the Ice Palace, which to be honest, I was skeptical of. No reason though, it was awesome. The entire thing is made of ice, which yes, I know, sounds obvious, but like even the floor is ice! And for someone who sucks at ice skating, this was a slight challenge.

After the Palace we wandered around Jungfraujoch for a bit before heading back to the train. We took the train down a few stops, before getting off and exploring another section of the mountain. We got a DELICIOUS meal, and the view was unbelievable. The meal was this Swiss dish of cheese, potatoes, and tomatoes, which was soooo good and the warmth was very welcome from the outside. Outside, we couldn't stop taking pictures everything was so unbelievable beautiful.

After lunch it was back to the train to head the rest of the way down the mountain. While the view was still spectacular, we were all so tired, we could hardly notice it! 


When we got back to the hostel we met up with all the post-skiing crew, who were unbelievably exhausted. But they rallied and we headed to the pizza place next to the hostel for some yummy pizza. Then we headed back to the hostel, put away our coats, and headed to Metro Bar.

Metro Bar is an entirely odd experience. It's a bar located beneath Balmer's Hostel, and is apparently the top bar in the town of Interlaken. So locals come TO the hostel to go to the club. Weird, huh? We were there for happy hour though, and two for one drinks is always nice. We hung out for awhile, people watched, danced, but by around 12:30-1 am we were all pooped, and headed upstairs to bed.

The next morning we got up early enough to pack up our stuff before heading to the lake. Interlaken, meaning between the lakes, has two lakes, one on each side. We headed to the closer one to see the view and take some pictures, and oh my god was it worth it. When we turned the corner around the lake, the view was actually breathtaking. We stayed there for about half an hour just taking photos and taking it all in.

About 3 million photos later, we headed back to the hostel and relaxed before getting back on the bus. We got back into Prague around 1:30 in the morning and were back in our apartments safe and sound by 2 am. What a weekend!


A perfect final getaway on an amazing abroad experience.


Well guys, I've got two more entries in me. Gonna do one tomorrow to sum up the trip, and I'll hopefully end on back in America. For now, na shledanou!