In the City of Dreaming Spires: At the Base of the Alps

Travel Week Day 5
Interlaken, Switzerland

Today we woke up and went downstairs to ask for help in booking daily excursions. We considered canyoning, parasailing, and going up to see, snow, but the weather wasn’t good enough. We wandered through town looking for breakfast and coffee and found amazing bircher muesli in a sandwich shop. We also went into a chocolate shop that had amazingly beautiful Swiss truffles. We walked back to our hostel where a woman helped us book a horseback ride! We paid chf 60 ($51) and were picked up by a van in front of our hostel.

The van driver took us out of town to a barn where we met our guide, Martina. I was surprised to find that the horses all had English saddles! This intimidated me at first since I have always ridden Western, but I found that the English saddle was comfortable and that I felt very secure. My horse’s name was Pretty, and she was such a sweet girl! I loved cuddling and hugging her neck and giving her kisses. We put on our English helmets, mounted our horses, and rode off down the road. We went through the village and fields where cows with bells and big horns walked up to their fences to visit. Martina’s little dog ran along beside us the whole way. Jenn and Amy had a bit of trouble with their horses wanting to trot or graze, but Pretty was perfect. I was happy to be able to use my past horse experience to keep her in check! We rode on a path along the river under some trees and then took a van back to Interlaken.

After lunch back at the sandwich shop, Amy and I walked to the train station and bought tickets to Lauterbrunnen. The train took us up into the mountains to little Alpine villages. It was amazing to see entire towns way up on the sides of the hills, some accessible only by cable car! We took a bus up to the Trummelbach waterfalls. They remind me of something in the mines of the seven dwarves. Some of the rocks even shone iridescent green. The waterfalls are within the rock wall, and lit pathways, an elevator, and stairs have been carved into the hill so the falls are accessible. The water was unbelievably powerful!

On our way back to Interlaken, I overheard a couple saying that they’re from San Diego. I told them that Amy is from Yorba Linda and that we attend Azusa Pacific. I was shocked when the woman told me that she is originally from Glendora (town next to Azusa) and that her father taught at Citrus (community college right next to APU)! Her husband, who was with her, graduated from Citrus College. Small world, huh? It gets better. The couple asked me where in Oregon I’m from, and when I told them Sisters, they informed me that the couple across the aisle lives in Sisters! They have lived in Squaw Creek Canyon Estates for four years and are friends with the current mayor and owner of Eurosports, Brad. I can’t believe I ran into someone from home on a bus in the Swiss Alps!

Amy and I walked back through Interlaken, stopping by a chocolatier to buy some amazing Swiss chocolate truffles. I contemplated buying a Swiss knife keychain that was exactly the same as the one my mom had when I was really young, but I didn’t want to spend the money. I went back to the hostel for a nap before going downstairs to the hostel restaurant for dinner. It was so nice to have a full salad with chicken after the amount of bread and dairy that we’ve been living on. On a budget in Europe, bread becomes the bulk of one’s diet! I made the mistake of asking our waitress for a glass of water and was charged chf 3.20 ($2.75) for a tiny glass of mineral water. I’d read about this on a tourist website but had completely forgotten. A band was playing in the hostel, so Jenn and I sat at a table and journaled and read for an hour. The bad played funk and was really good, but we were surprised that all of the songs were in English. The female vocalist spoke to the audience in perfect German but still sang in English. I’ve noticed that pretty much all of the music played in Europe is American or at least in English. I’ve heard Justin Timberlake and Sean Kingston many times. The bar became packed, and the smoke eventually became unbearable. I still can’t believe how many people in Europe smoke! I wanted to stay longer but my throat and eyes started to burn. We headed upstairs to our room and fell asleep to the sounds of the band downstairs.