Hang Gliding and Hiking in Interlaken
September 5th, 2022 (G)
We woke early enough to enjoy breakfast at the hostel and then departed Geneva via train. As we headed deeper into the Alps toward Interlaken, we had an excellent view of Lake Geneva and then sweeping views of the quaint swiss countryside set in front of the more dramatic mountain peaks. After a few hours of fighting off train sleepiness, we arrived in Interlaken. Here we quickly found our Hotel which was truly an old swiss mansion and after dropping our packs off in a room perched on the highest floor of the 4 storied building, T set out to contact an old hang gliding instructor to see if we would be able to repeat the flying experience she had 12 years before. Meanwhile, I had to hop on a scale to make certain I would be light enough to go flying.
To T’s great delight, her contact answered and committed to immediately heading to pick us up, right after he brushed his teeth. He soon arrived, his character deserves some description. He was small of frame but of average height, with short curly gray and brown hair, clean shaven, with a wiry muscularity. He spoke with an Australian accent that seemed to have softened over time, but his words and manners had fully retained the jestful, joyful, and brutally direct style that is common in many Australians I have met and is generally admired by the world over.
I am happy to say that while I was just a kilogram or two over the stated weight limit of 95 KG, after taking a look at me, confirming my willingness to run like the wind, and picking me up once to manually check my weight, he agreed to take me flying. So it happened that before long we were all cruising up a mountain road in a van packed with a hang glider. When we arrived at the take-off location we assembled the glider, covered the safety instructions, established what was required of me during our take-off (run fast and look good), and waited for a solid updraft to begin our journey through the sky.
Before long the moment had arrived, all systems go, we’re running down a mountain cliff at full speed toward the edge. We’re running and running and then the ground has left us and we’re flying! Below we can see Interlaken and the gorgeous lakes to either side. The mountains are all around us and the ground far below is a patchwork of greens from the pine trees and fields. We cruise around with the wind whipping our faces merrily. Spinning, stalling, twirling our way down to an eventual smooth landing in a large grass field where T and the van awaited us.
After standing up and dusting ourselves off, he offered me a beer in classic Aussie fashion. So I sat sipping a beer beneath a tree as he and T hopped back into the van and headed back up the mountain for her flight. Before long I saw them soaring through the sky and in no time at all they too had made a smooth landing. With a final departing wave, he dropped us back off in front of our hotel with smiles on our faces. We spent what was left of the evening just resting in the hotel.
If you dare to go hang gliding in Interlaken, we highly recommend going with Hang Gliding Interlaken. https://www.hangglidinginterlaken.com
September 6th, 2022
Having completed one of our main Interlaken objectives earlier than planned we decided to focus on the next which was a hike higher up in the alps. We ventured by train up to Grindelwald and from there proceeded via cable car to First. Here we began our hike further up and further in, to a high picturesque mountain lake. After visiting the lake and greeting some of the local cows there, our trail turned back down towards Grindelwald. This trail offered us stunning views for the rest of the hike.
Several hours later we arrived back in Grindelwald where we stopped for a little while to revive ourselves, then caught the train back down to Interlaken. We were extremely close to the Jungfraujoch which is home to the Sphinx Observatory (pictured in the film The Grand Budapest Hotel) which would have been nice to see but, it will simply be an excuse for a return trip in the future for now.
Returning tired from our hike, we took a little nap and then spent the rest of the evening working on the blog.
September 7th, 2022
Having completed our two main goals for our time in Interlaken, we spent the seventh bumming around the town a little and visiting a nearby castle via local bus. There really wasn’t much else that we had planned and we enjoyed having a slow, down day to round out our time in Switzerland. The weather had been cantankerous and it rained off and on throughout much of the day.
September 8th, 2022
After breakfast, we packed up our belongings and caught the train off to Italy.