Flying high in Switzerland

Hello all. Well, another great day on the other side of the world, and my what a day it was. We started off with the intention of sleeping in. Ah, that precious commodity of sleep that is so lacking some days on our vacations. Unfortunately, we neglected to turn off the alarm on the ipod, so sure enough, at 6 am it went off, and Michelle was awake. Thankfully, for one time in her life, she was able to get back to sleep. And since our bed here is really two twins pushed together, Tim did not notice her get out of bed, nor crawl back into it.

At 8:45 Tim was the one doing the waking. We rushed downstairs to grab breakfast before it closed at 9:30. Homemade bread, juice, homemade cheese, organic eggs (from the hotels farm) and coffee were downed with gusto. Back up to the room to prep for the day, and we were off.

Off to where you may ask? Well, what a great question. You see, the day before we were looking for something a little wild and crazy to do, and since the Swiss are so outdoorsy, there were many options. We chose to run off of a cliff . . . with a parachute and a guide strapped to our backs of course! We had talked to a man yesterday at one of the companies, and thought that we would sleep on it. In the morning, we were both still excited about the option, so we left the hotel to set up the flight. When we arrived to the shop, their 12:00 session was booked solid, but they had two openings at the 1:30 session. We booked two spaces, and were off to find some breakfast.

On the way, we stopped at the train station to deterime times for our trip out of town tomorrow. Originally we had planned to go to Luzern, but as we will explain later, plans are changing slightly. Once the train information was determined, we went to lunch at the CoOp place again. Having figured out the method to this place, we wanted a second try at it. We both tried different food this time, and it was still ok . . . not great, but not the worst meal we had ever had.

We arrived to the parasailing booth a little early, so we spent the time watching others at the landing site. It was amazing to see all of the tricks and turns they were doing in the air before landing. We both decided that we wanted to experience whatever they could throw at us.

We waited with a Hindu family, a family of four, where the mother spoke no english. The guide was working on hand signals with her, and trying to learn a few key Hindu words. We all drove in a van together that had to be push started by the guides, and there were a few cracks about how the van was as old as the parachutes we would be using. Nervous laughter commenced by most.

We reached the top of the hill that we would be launching off of, and all of the guides unrolled their packs. We were then to choose which guide we wanted to take us on our flight. Nothing like knowing someone for 20 minutes, then being asked to choose one to bet your life on. They warned us at the booth that our camera was a "bit big" to take on the flight, but that it would be up to the pilot we choose. Tim chose the one who seemed ok with him bringing our camera on the trip, and Michelle chose the one who was left, as everyone else seemed to rush to one specific person. Michelles guide was named Martin, and she would soon learn he had been doing this for 16 years, with over 5,000 flights under his belt. Not a bad default. Tims guide, Peach, beat Michelle's, with 18 years experience. We think we got the pick of the guides.

As they were unrolling their packs and strapping us into the harnesses, it soon became clear that since Michelles guide was the last one to unroll his parachute, she was the first person to go. Imagine a slight hill, that at the top end was where we were standing and the packs were being unrolled, and as each new pack was unrolled, it was placed just below the one before it. So that you had all the chutes lined up, going down the hill. That meant that since Michelles parachute was the last one to unroll, she was going first and was starting with less running room than everyone else. Ah, the joys when she figured THAT one out! At least with her leaving first Tim was able to get some good launch photos of her, as he was the last to launch.

It ended up well though, as she did not have enough time to get scared before she was being lifted off the ground and flying like bird. The sensation of lift off is quite thrilling, a bit like lifting off in an airplane but without a metal tube around you. The whole trip must have lasted all of 20 minutes, but it was amazing. We flew close to cliffs, and had a great view of the Interlaken valley. Just amazing. Towards the end of the flight near the landing zone, the pilots offered us the option of doing tricks - "Do you like rollercoasters?" The G-force was amazing as we plummeted downward in tight circles - blood rushing to your feet and your stomach turning. The landings were both smooth, better than others we saw who tumbled to the ground with the pilot strapped to their back. The camera survived with some great pictures of Tim's flight.

Once back on the ground we wandered back to our hotel to figure out what we were going to do for the next three days before we headed over to Paris. We were both feeling lukewarm about going to Luzern, as we are a little burned out with big cities and in need of some more rest and relaxation. So after much debate and the help of the hotel receptionist Paula, we are headed tomorrow over to a small town farther up in the hills called Murren. It is close to the town of Gimmewald, which is where some of the Westmont students have gone in the past for their semesters away. Gimmewald comes highly recommended, but we opted for Murren as the hotels were a little more available in Murren, and it was not so remote. A day trip to Gimmewald will be a fun possibility though. We have plans to sleep in a bit, head over to a department store to buy some warmer long jons to put under our pants, and then head up the mountain. The weather report for Murren was 6 degrees, but no snow. There should be internet access there as well, so hopefully we can keep the daily updates going.

Using Paula's food recommendation, we headed down the street to Barron's restaurant. A more traditional restaurant serving Swiss faire. Since we are on the German side of Switzerland, there is a heavy influence in the food. We opted for a starter of Gulach soup for Tim and potato soup for Michelle. We added a bottle of wine and a glass of the local beer. The main courses were Pork Schnitzel and noodles for Michelle and Rosti with a Brot sausage for Tim. We were satisified and happy with the choices. Needing to add to our delight of a good meal we topped it with dessert of a swiss-style apple pie with ice cream and whipped cream. Bellies full and a empty wallet (it is expensive here) we left the restaurant to head back to the hotel for a relaxing evening.

Blessings to all, good night!