Interlaken

Watch out for expensive internet at the internet cafe in town. 18 Swiss Francs for one hour roughly equals $15 US dollars.

Wowzers… a couple of hours of that would pay for my entire monthly internet service at home.

Yes, Switzerland is freaking expensive.

I have traveled to Interlaken 2 times to camp and go whitewater rafting, and both times have been absolutely amazing!!! The drive into the town is somewhat difficult, the mountain pass takes about an hour and is VERY steep, make sure you get there before dark. We found a great campsite about 10 minutes outside of Interlaken called Stechelberg, it is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. Located in a valley, you wake up each morning to the sound of waterfalls and the site of a beautiful glacier. The facilities are great (bring some euro change for a shower) and there is even a barbeque area 30 seconds down the road. In addition there is a cable car nearby as well as an awesome waterfall system inside of the mountain (definitely recommend seeing this)!! Pictures don’t do this place justice AT ALL, it is like a fairy tale!!

We went through Swissraft for our whitewater rafting and were not disappointed. The river was amazing, definitely an adrenaline rush, and the guides were very capable and personable. If I still lived in Europe i would go for a third time!!

Interlaken is situated in between Thunersee and Brienzsee. A great town to stay and take small day trips to the beautiful country sides around. Specially places around the lakes like Spiez, Thun, Isaldwald. Also places in the valley like Gimmeldwald, Murren, Wangen, Lauterbrunnen…the list goes on.
A lot of opportunities to hike the Alps and get awesome views of the valley.
Interlaken Ost has most of the trains going to these places…

...I actually needed a break from the heat. I had just come off a two month stint in the one of the hottest July Italian history (at least that’s what I was told – I believe it). Anyway, there’s only so much heat a man can take, so it was, WHOOSH, away to Switzerland for me.

While Zurich had it’s charm, it’s no Interlaken. If you enjoy jaw-dropping vistas, fresh air and have a penchant for adrenalin inducing sorts of activities, then Interlaken is your place! Do yourself a favor and at least go canyoning and bungee jumping – here’s why. First, Interlaken is one of the few places you can do this. I heard about some fatalities recently, but I believe that to be an anomaly. Not to belittled the tragedy, but you take risks every time you set out the door. By in large, the Swiss are fairly precise and thorough sorts. As for the bungee jumping, how many time will you get the chance to vault yourself from a gondola, suspended over an alpine lake with nothing but the snow-capped Swiss Alps around you? I dare say, “NEVER!” You can relax on a beach on the beaches of Spain, don’t waste your time doing so in Interlaken.

Beautiful…went for skiing, but did so much more.

I dont know if that’s exactly what its called… but I went paragliding, or some sort of thing, where you run off the side of a mountain with a parachute – already open – and then you basically float around for about 30 minutes… it was awesome! i really hate the feeling of having my stomache drop – so i’ve never wanted to go sky diving, but this is kind of like sky diving without the stomach dropping part. we floated over tiny houses and over the lakes and green hills and it was incredible!

We had a few days bad weather, but made the most of the beautiful location. We spent one day trying to find horse shit balls in Gimmelwald, but the restaurant was closed. Also went to Murren, but the calbe car to the top of Shiltorn was closed due to high winds. The highlight for sure was learning to snowboard in the Swiss Alps. Could have spent way more time there, but I think it would be nice to go in summer when there are more adventure sports running.

I’m going to ski from Dec 26, 2006 – Jan 4, 2007. Packing right now! Can’t wait!

I hiked on a mountain trail in the alps and came across a bench overlooking a beautiful valley. The dedication on the bench read “The song from beginning to end I found in the heart of a friend”. It struck me as a beautiful and love-filled dedication to a woman whose name was Robin Lambert.