Swisslandia

Contrary to popular belief and much to our parents satisfaction, we did not spend our entire stay in Switzerland tempting fate. We rented a quintessential mountain condo in the valley of the Swiss alps, also known as Lauterbrunnen. Despite the winteresque (new word?) weather, we made the very most of our 4 days in this picturesque town. 

Lauterbrunnen in all its glory

We spent two days hiking and although the first day was less death defying than the second (see Zu), we still managed to get lost, take the road less traveled, almost lose daylight and end up soaked and chilled to the bone. Thank goodness home is always a train and gondola ride away. Day 3 greeted us with a torrential downpour, so we made the best of the weather by taking small walks around Lauterbrunnen, over caffeinating at the adorable coffee shops that sprinkle the town, and signing up for paragliding (???). 

Hike up to Murren, pre torrential downpour

Are you sensing a theme here? Ryan loves to hydrate via mountain spring water

 Day 4 found us meeting up (at total random) with Julie and Richard for a raft down the Lutschine river. I love river rafting. As a child, we took annual rafting trips in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In fact, river rafting was a planned activity at our recent wedding. When I grew up, I wanted to be a raft guide. We all know how this story ends, however every time I get a paddle in my hand and wedge my foot into a nook of the raft I am reminded of my childhood dream and immediately feel the need to share this with our guide. Sorry, Sven. River rafting is work, however due to the low river volume (this has been the coldest summer the Swiss have seen in 35 years. The snow is not melting, therefore the river is not swelling) this is the hardest I have ever worked getting a raft down a river. We high sided and bounced off more rocks than J Lo has in her jewelry collection. I can still hear Sven yelling "get down", "all left","all right" SH_T!". It was an awesome adventure and ended with a group swim in the magnificent Lake Thun.

Our final morning, as we had a 12:33pm train departure to Venice, found us waking up far too early for an 8am paraglide. I was determined to leave Switzerland with a memory other than our terrifying hike. The gregarious Julian (my tandem) and stoically Swiss Hans (Ryan's tandem) led us up two gondolas past the town of Murren to the launch point. It was a blue bird morning. I nervously recounted our horrendous hiking experience and casually mentioned my aversion to heights. Julian was less than sympathetic as he replied, "what did heights ever do to you?" Ryan was already in the air as Julian said, "Ok Jamie, I need you to run now". Before I could back out, we were soaring through the air. Vertigo is a funny thing. Walking along the edge of a cliff will send me into a frightening spin. However, soaring through the air makes me happy. I am not afraid of heights, I just hate being dizzy. Wouldn't you? I loved paragliding! You see the world from an entirely new perspective and you feel free as a bird, for what it's worth. I didn't want it to end. Ever. I landed in a small field, adrenaline pumping through my veins, hoping I had charmed Julian enough for him to offer me another flight. I didn't, but he charmed us into purchasing the photos he and Hans took during our flight. 

Ryan and Hans, soaring above Murren

Flying like an eagle with Julian!

While Switzerland is best experienced during good weather, I absolutely encourage any traveler to make a stop in the Berner Oberland region. It is a sight to be seen and the ultimate adrenaline junky destination. If I can do it, you can too. 

Fun Fact: The local language is Swiss German, which is considered a slang language as you can't actually write it and it has no applied grammar.