Sharing an adventure with each other is obviously wonderful, but sharing it with friends is even better … and boy, did we have an adventure this past weekend!

 

Our friend from college, Bill, came to visit, and we wanted to show him as much of Switzerland as was possible.  Chris has been busy working on a project in Geneva that required his presence, so Bill and Sarah had a low-key first day exploring Zurich and Basel by themselves.

On the second day,  we hopped on a train and headed for the French-side to meet up with Chris.  Here we enjoyed delicious food (any break from the mundane meat, cheese, and potato dishes found on the German side is always welcome), excellent views of the Alps (though it has been consistently close to 80, those babies are still covered in snow), and the Geneva United Nations location (sadly, tickets were sold out so we didn’t take a tour).

Geneva is only 3 hours from Basel, but it offers a very different experience.  It’s a little louder, a little less orderly, and bit more lively.  We were only there for one night, but in that time, we were able to provide Bill with insight into the drastic differences between regions in Switzerland.

Our ultimate destination for the weekend was Interlaken, but because no trip to Europe is complete without seeing a castle, we decided to stop off in Montreaux (a small town in the Lavaux Valley) for lunch and a short visit to Chateau de Chillon.  The place was swarming with Asian tourists, but it was still worth the stop for the history and views.

We arrived in Interlaken just in time for dinner and drinks, and we were immediately confronted with the difference in regions.  Maybe our impressions were skewed in comparison to the tasty french food we had in Geneva, but we were severely disappointed.  The restaurant received excellent reviews, but in reality, the place was nothing more than a Swiss Applebees.  At least the beer was good.

Saturday was our big day for adventure.  First thing in the morning, we hiked Harder Kulm (the highest point in Interlaken).  The signage states that the hike should take approximately two and a half hours, but wanting to work off a bit of the beer and fried food we had the previous night, we decided to hustle.  We were all a bit tired and extremely sweaty by the end, but we managed to make it to the top in an hour and fifteen minutes, our personal record.  Needing some time to relax and cool off, we had a casual lunch and admired the views from the restaurant at the top.

Hiking the mountain in such a short time was pretty extreme compared to most days, but when compared to our afternoon activity, it was mere child’s play.  Approximately ten years ago, Chris went skydiving in Interlaken while he was studying abroad.  The adventure has been on Sarah’s bucket list ever since.  It took a little convincing to get Bill on board, but he eventually came to realize the extraordinary opportunity.

I could try to describe the experience, but I think this video we put together does a much better job.

That evening, we headed back to Basel for one final hoorah.  We indulged in a heavy meal of fondue, schnitzel, and wine and called it an early night.  We are all exhausted in the best kind of way.