In Switzerland: Extreme Sports

Note to Readers: JC had so much fun reading all the comments in the last Swiss post, that he insisted on adding his “two bits” to this post, as well. His comments are in green.

As part of the FSU International program I’m with in Switzerland, we visited a Swiss city, Interlaken, which is in the German region. The college students love this trip. They tour two lovely hotels, are treated to a wonderful lunch in each, and…here’s the best part… participate in one of the many extreme sports offered in Interlaken.

Mountain daredevils

Interlaken, which is located between two alpine lakes, is known for its daredevil activities. In addition to the “normal” activities of walking, biking and hiking, you can choose between canyoning, riding horses through the mountains, skydiving, white water rafting, paragliding, bungee jumping and zorbing, which is rolling down a hill inside a big plastic ball, just to name a few.  As recently as 2008, Interlaken was included in the Top 15 Adventure Towns Worldwide!

Adventures of JC and Sara

Sounds like fun, right? Well, for JC and me this is a town of nightmares. We aren’t necessarily strong of heart or stomach.  Our adventures are more like trying a food we’ve never eaten before or walking around town without a map. Take my word for it, given our sense of direction this is an extreme sport!

But we had to do something! We didn’t want to lose face and seem like old fogeys and yet the very idea of jumping out of an airplane or climbing down canyons, the choices made by the students, seemed a bit too “white knuckles” to us. I was going to do some extreme beer drinking but last year the CD the students created from their Interlaken trip featured me prominently holding up a huge stein of beer.  This year, I still had a beer but made sure I was up high enough that no students were around to take pictures! Just so you know, JC only had a couple of beers:~)

Climbing a mountain

While desperately looking through a brochure, we found it! Called the Harderbahn, it’s a funicular train that goes to the top of the Harder Kulm Mountain. I thought it was extreme enough just using the word funicular and harderbahn in the same sentence. It’s advertised as a good adventure for families with young children.  In Disney terms, it’s like riding the spinning cups versus the huge roller coasters.  However, it seemed perfect for JC and I as it also included a restaurant at the top.

So, we bought our tickets and loaded in this little red train with all the rest of the non-daredevil people. What can I say? You have to like going up the roller coaster at a snail’s pace, while watching the world below drop away from you.  Note: the smart people knew to sit the opposite way so they were looking up instead of down.

Actually, I enjoyed this trip very much. It only took 8 minutes and it was kind of fun, especially since I knew the train (hopefully) wouldn’t go over the top like a roller coaster. Or down the hill without brakes! While we didn’t do extreme sports we could have visions of hurdling down the mountain and flying over the town. Now, that would have been an EXTREME sport!

I watched Interlaken becoming smaller and smaller as we climbed. At the end, you reach a gothic, chalet restaurant and some really magnificent views.  You see not only Interlaken, but also the Bernese Alps and the two lakes, Thun and Brienz.

JC and I had an extreme adventure that was perfect for us! So, wherever you are, lift your drink of choice (water is allowed) and say in German, Beifall zu Ihrer Gesundheit.

I, of course, took pictures, even though the weather wasn’t the best. Here they are:

Here we are watching the city get smaller and smaller….

Okay, it’s getting kind of high now and just a bit steep!

FINALLY…we’re at the top. This is just before we exited!

Our view of Interlaken from the top. Things look kind of tiny, don’t they?

The Restaurant with a view:~)

Due to travel and Memorial Day, there will be no Monday Photo Challenge, but it will be back June 1, 2009. I’ll have a special challenge for you!

Tagged as: extreme sports, Interlaken, Switzerland, Travel Stories, travel story