I Went to Switzerland and All I Got Was This Baby

Buona sera, tutti! I just returned last night from what was one of the best weekends of my life! Switzerland is undoubtedly the most beautiful place I have ever been and I loved every moment I spent there. So, in honor of the magnificent Swiss Alps, let me break it down for ya...

How'd ya get there? 


Europe is full of tour companies that are geared towards college students. They're cheaper than flying/taking the train and your transportation and accommodation is 100% taken care of. They offer discount activities and sometimes tours of the cities that you visit. Plus, they usually put you up in the nicer hostels.

The downside: Transportation is by coach bus so it takes much longer to get places than by train or plane. I was initially very put off when I got onto the bus. There was already a group of students from Rome on the bus when it pulled up and I would say about 90% of them were totally hammered. People want to drink to put themselves to sleep (the drive was from 11:30pm-7am) and I get that, but to have empty bottles of hard liquor rolling down the aisles is crossing a line.

Luckily, I got to sit at the very front, away from all of the crazies. My roommate Ella was not so lucky. She got stuck near the back and, during the night, the girl across the aisle from her (who was black-out drunk) fell asleep and kicked Ella, repeatedly and often in the face, from across the aisle.

Thankfully, her bus-mate on the way back was completely sober and the in-bus movies were significantly more enjoyable than on the way there.

Where'd ya go?
Interlaken, Switzerland! It's a smaller ski town in the middle of the Swiss Alps and is comfortably nestled between 2 lakes (hence the name, Interlaken).

These random guys at Hooters posed for me. Haha. 

Of course, the beauty of Switerland is
tainted by a Hooters. 

It's definitely the most beautiful place I've ever been. The views are gorgeous and the people there are infinitely more friendly than Italians. People actually stop for you when you want to cross the street (Italians usually just speed by, honking) and, when we were hiking on Saturday, almost everyone who passed us said hello. One of my favorite stories from this adventure is the event that gave this blog entry its name.

Saturday, after a long day of hiking, my new friends Christine and Matt and I were riding the train back to Interlaken from Lauterbrunnen. Sitting across from us was one of the cutest babies we had ever seen along with what we assume were his parents and grandparents. We were all smiling and waving to him when, all of a sudden, the grandmother hands me the baby! At first, I didn't know that's what she wanted me to do because people in the US don't just hand their babies to strangers. But I gladly took the baby and we played with it for a while. It was so funny but it gave us some insight into what the people of Switzerland are like. And from then on, the running joke between the 3 of us was, "I went to Switzerland and all I got was this baby". One for the books.

Where'd ya stay?
This weekend marks the first of many hostel experiences here in Europe. We stayed at a hostel called Balmer's and, honestly, it felt like camp for grown-ups (if that's what you call college students with an incredible tolerance for booze).

What'd ya do?
Switzerland is the adventure sport capital of the world. This was stressful for me because there were so many things I wanted to do but everything was so expensive and I am one of the cheapest people on the planet. After emailing my Dad regarding the wise decision to make in this area, he told me to go for it. I may never have this opportunity again and he pointed that out. This may seem like gratuitous info but I only say it to brag about how totally AWESOME my dad is. I appreciate him more than he'll ever understand.

Out of all the activities I could've done, I went with paragliding and night sledding.

Paragliding
We arrived at our hostel at 7am and I met Christine who was going at 9:45am. Because nothing says "Good Morning!" like being suspended 2500 feet in the air.

 intense face. 

Here's how it works:
-After driving to the top of a mountain, your pilot gives you a backpack type contraption, filled with squishiness and shaped like a seat.
-After strapping it on, your pilot attaches himself and the parachute to you
-You run like the wind to the bottom of a hill and jump off a small cliff
-At this point, you're soaring 2500 feet above the Swiss Alps with nothing guiding you but the wind
-Once you begin descending, your pilot does tricks like sharp turns and spirals...it's frickin' sweet.

While in the air, my pilot, Kusi (KOO-ZEE) too pictures and pointed out to me the hillside on which he was born. His family has lived in Interlaken for generations and he said that there is no reason to leave. I didn't want to leave either.

Night Sledding
This is a completely unconventional form of sledding.
-You travel to the top of a mountain with your group and your toboggan.
-Once at the top, it takes about an hour of navigating high-speed twists and turns to get down the mountain on your sled.
-You steer using your feet and by leaning.
-The only thing keeping you on the mountain is a small snow bank. If you hit one fast enough, nothing would be keeping you from your death. Sounds fun, eh?
-At the bottom of the mountain, they included a traditional Swiss meal of cabbage salad, cheese fondue with bread, and Switzerland's national dish of delicious hash browns, Rosti (ROSH-TEE).

I couldn't take pics while sledding but here's fondue!

What'd ya see?
Saturday, I took a train with Christine and Matt to a nearby town, Lauterbrunnen, where we hiked the expanse of an entire mountain then took a cable car up to the next tier of mountains, where we hiked some more. I wish these pictures did the scenery justice. I knew from the moment I captured them that the beauty of the Alps is not something that can be captured by anything but the human eye.

Sunday, a bunch of us walked to one of the lakes around Interlaken. It was rainy and gross that morning but the lake was still absolutely beautiful. I have never seen rivers and lakes so clear/blue as they were there. They say Switzerland has the cleanest water in the world...I believe them.

About the Swiss

-3 languages are spoken in Switzerland: German in the North, French in the Southwest, and Italian in the Southeast. We were in the German region. 

-Switzerland's currency is the Swiss Franc. It's only a teeny bit stronger than the US dollar so the exchange rate is better than the Euro. However, wages in Switzerland are much higher than average, therefore the cost of living (and tourism!) is more expensive. The average dinner would cost about 20 Francs. 

What'd ya learn?
-Something I've learned since coming to Florence is that I am completely unknowledgeable regarding life of a typical college student. I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing. There was a bar under the hostel and, Saturday night, I decided to join some new friends for "pre-gaming" (a phrase I have learned since coming to Florence. It means "to get wasted before getting trashed"). After happy hour, about 15 of us went up to one of the rooms for a drinking game. My drink of choice was water and I had no idea how to play. I felt like I kept ruining it for everyone so I snuck out when everyone went back down to the bar.

For me, the constancy and prevalence of substance abuse among students (or anyone) is really sad. I pray that it's only a phase for some of these awesome people I've met. But when a guy sleeps all day, drinks all night and downs Jim Beam like it's Coke only to chase it with Red Bull, I can't help but think that someone didn't get too many hugs growing up. I'm usually the only person not drinking which doesn't phase me at all and I have nothing against other people drinking. It's excessiveness that I have an issue with. I have seen substances ruin lives and break families and I want more for my friends. I just hope and pray that maybe my presence and ability to have fun without getting drunk or high makes some kind of impact on these crazy, awesome people.

Sorry for the length! Believe it or not, this is the abridged blog entry!

Off to Venezia (Venice) this weekend for Carnivale!
~Britt