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Interlaken = Best Weekend of My Life!

This past weekend I went to Interlaken, Switzerland with a group of friends.  We went with a group called Bus2Alps, which is a tour group that plans trips all around Europe for study abroad students.  They are such and amazing group and the best thing is, you don't have to think all weekend and just get to enjoy the trip.  They get you everywhere and know all the destinations so well that they take you to things you would have never known to go see beforehand or had a way to get there.

On Thursday night, we all met up at the train station to catch the bus.  The bus was really nice and there was a good amount of foot room.  The drive there was about 8 hours.  They plated a couple of movies, but I quickly fell for a couple of hours once we got back on the bus.  We arrived to Interlaken around 3:30am and were dropped off right in front of our hostel. We stayed at Balmer's.  There were 10 of total (5 girls and 5 boys) in our room.  We had beautiful views from our windows and it felt like a real cabin in Switzerland.  

After a couple hours of sleep, we went to get our free breakfast.  It wasn’t anything special, but was free so we made sure to make it down.  Then it was time for skydiving!

We skydived at Scenic Air-Skydive Switzerland.  After the four of us signed our lives away, we got suited up.  There were three planes and we were on the last one.  The plane ride up was about 15 minutes and the views were just incredible.  For miles, all you could see is snow covered mountains.  After getting attached to my guide, the door opened and it was time to jump.  I wasn’t nervous the entire time, except when I was hanging outside the plane 13,000 feet up!  I asked to do a backflip out of the plane.  The adrenaline was insane and I couldn’t believe I was free falling 120 mph from the sky!  Once my parachute opened, he started doing turns and cartwheeling us through the sky.  My landing was far from perfect, but I was alive and still shaking from the rush.  It took me several minutes just to be able to stand up straight.  I called my mom to tell her happy birthday and reassure her I was safe.  It was by far the BEST thing I have ever done and am definitely addicted to it now.  

Then we met up with the rest of our group in the hostel.  Happy Hour just started, so it was 2-for-1 beers.  i had a beer called Rugenbrau, which was a local beer brewed right down the street.  We sat downstairs, just talking and reflecting on what an amazing day all of us had had.  We must have said "This is the best day of my life" a good several hundred times. 

On Saturday, we spent the day walking around, exploring and relaxing in Switzerland.  While walking, we found our Bus2Alps leader (Alex) and he told us he was going to see the view of the lakes.  As with everything else I had been experiencing that weekend, saying that the views of the lake were incredible, was quite an understatement.  It was stunningly beautiful and unlike anything I had seen before.  You can't help but just stare and want to pinch yourself and wake yourself up from this incredible dream.  It's almost not possible to be able to take it all in. 

We stopped for lunch and I had a rosti, which is just shredded hash browns cooked in a skillet.  However, mine was covered in delicious Swiss cheese, cubed bacon and grilled onions.  It was one of the best meals I have ever had, along with the most incredible view that exists in the world.  That evening, we went to a chocolate show and tasting.  Tasting it was by far my favorite part. I think we all ate our weight in chocolate.  They had trays of chocolate of all kinds, and we were just allowed to eat whatever we wanted.  Talk about kid in a candy store.

Then it came time for our second adventure.  Night sledding.  It was incredibly fun and amazing!  You get this metal sled without any type of steering mechanism.  To "steer", just put one of your feet in the snow (this didn't really work for me; I just hoped for the best when passing people).  We all had to wear these blinking red lights on our backs so we wouldn't run into each other.  You basically are told to you follow the white and if it isn't white, it's off the side of the cliff or a tree.  Awesome.  It took about an hour to get all the way down the mountain.  There were times when nobody was in front of me for several seconds and all I could do was hope that I was still on the right track.  I took some time and ate snow.  How many people can say they ate snow off a SWISS MOUNTAIN?!

The best part was the views.  The night was so crisp and clear without a cloud in the sky.  You could literally see EVERY single star.  The stars gave the sky just enough light, that you could see the tips of the snow covered mountain tops in the background.  It was so faint, that a camera couldn't even capture it.  The night ended with a fondue dinner that was included with the night sledding.  We got a pitcher of beer, salad, pork, rosti and cheese fondue. 

Before leaving on Sunday, we went to this awesome place, where the lady had bagels overnighted for New York.  I finally got to have an American bagel!

I cannot wait to go back to Switzerland.  It has part of my heart now...

Four Weeks Until The Big Day

I thought I would write at least one post before I leave to talk about my mixed emotions and what I hope to get out of my experience in Italy.

Exactly four weeks from today, I will be already flying from Atlanta to Rome.  Scary that it is now less than a month away!  This past week, we received our final packets.  One of the most important and most exciting things it contained was our housing assignment.  I am living in an apartment with five other girls (so six total).  There are two bathrooms, three bedrooms, a living space and a fully equipped kitchen.  Best of all, our apartment is on the third floor and luckily there is an elevator (no having to carry all that luggage up the steps)!  We are right next to the Arno River, and while I initially was bummed out that it wasn't located right by the Duomo, I think this will be a perfect location and it looks really cute!

This is my address:  I would attach a Google Map, but it won't bring it up (still learning how to work my new Mac).  I, of course, will take lots of pictures of it once I get there!

Via della Vigna Nuova 24 50123 Florence, Italy

I am having so many mixed emotions about the trip.  While getting to know my roommates and talking about all the things we want to do is exciting, it has made it all that more real.  I am really starting to get nervous and wondering if this was the right choice for me.  I am one of those people that needs to have everything planned out, and that just isn't possible with this type of trip, so it is making me uneasy.  I have NO idea what to expect and don't know a single person going!  I mean, how do you prepare to live 5000 miles away?  How do you cram trying to learn a new language in four weeks?  How do you make sure you pack everything and don't forget one important piece?  

However, i am getting very excited to see all the amazing things that I have only dreamed about or seen in pictures.  The Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Venice (and Carnival!), Ireland on St. Patrick's Day, London, skiing and skydiving in the Swiss Alps, Rome, and even more... 

I think this trip is going to teach me a lot about myself and show me how strong of a person I really am.  I know this will be the experience of a lifetime, but I just need to get on the darn plane so that there is no turning back and I can forget all these nervous feelings.  Here's to learning a new culture and la dolce far niente (the sweetness of doing nothing).  Italy, I will see you in less than a month!

Ciao.