Europadventures: Switzerland: Interlaken, Grindelwald and Bern.

So, I finally decided on an official theme for my blogs! I'll post here once a week recapping my last weekend's endeavors, which should be pretty much every weekend from the looks of it. I guess I'll start by telling you all about the lovely and frigid Switzerland! It was absolutely beautiful, for starters. I've never seen so much snow in my entire life. My travel buddies Mary Kate, Steph, Sarah and I were in Switzerland from Thursday, February 9th to Sunday the 12th and visited three cities during our stay: Interlaken, Grindelwald and Bern, the capital.

The ride getting to Switzerland, however, wasn't exactly a smooth ride. We took a charter bus from Florence to Interlaken, about an eight hour drive. However, we got there in about nine due to extreme weather conditions: it was snowing, below freezing, dark outside (we left Florence at 6:45 PM) and to top it all off, the ground was icy. Just picture a massive charter bus with over 35 people in it, going down a mountain covered in ice. At night. With snow flurries whizzing by. Definitely a trip I won't forget for awhile.

Anywhooo, come 3:30 AM we finally made it to Interlaken! Here's a view of our hostel for the weekend. This picture was taken around 4:00 AM, fun times.

And this is the view from our room window! We woke up to this the next morning -- it was absolutely breathtaking. So. Much. Snow.

None of us got much sleep the first night. We rolled into Interlaken around 4:00 AM and were up by 7:45 AM to sign up for any activities we wanted to do that weekend. It was a very impulsive, last minute decision, but myself, Mary Kate and Steph decided to go canyon jumping! Just a little bit of background for those of you who don't know what it is (I didn't, so don't feel bad), we basically jumped into a canyon 300 feet below us, a four second free fall. Canyon jumping is only offered in two places in the world: Interlaken and New Zealand, due to canyon dimension restrictions. So of course, we had to take advantage of the once in a lifetime opportunity. We had to take a bus from Interlaken to Grindelwald to get to the canyon, so here's a few shots of the town of Grindelwald.

Myself, Mary Kate and Steph getting pumped for the jump!

Pictures do not do any of this justice. It literally looked like this from every angle; massive mountains covered with massive trees, all of which were covered with snow.

This is a shot of the canyon we jumped into. You can see at the lower right hand of the mountain the walkway that encompasses the bottom of the canyon - that's where we walked once we finished the free fall.

Making our way up the mountain!

Here we are, all harnessed up and ready to jump! Steph, myself, Mary Kate, and our fellow canyon jumper friend Molly. As you can see, we're all pretty bundled up as it was below freezing. I had seven layers on top and two layers on my legs, and I've never been so cold in my life. I'm also from Texas, so most people who know me can vouch for me when I say I hate the cold.

As it turns out, we had to sign a contract saying we were aware of the dangers of jumping off a cliff into a canyon. They read it aloud to us before we took the leap, so we all got a good laugh in.

Me and my man Ziggy right before I took the jump!!! Here's a good view of the 300 foot drop below me.

And I'm off! The photographer, Julie (true story), recommended all the girls wear their hair down for the drop as it makes for a better picture. I can't help but agree.

Literally the weirdest feeling I've ever experienced. I wanted to scream but gravity was pulling my face down so it kept me from making a peep. After the four second free fall the rope becomes taut, then you swing sideways throughout the canyon. I wish I was able to have my camera, it was incredible.

This is Mark! He met us at the end of the canyon fall and pulled us back to land. On the bus ride back to Interlaken from Grindelwald Mark and I talked most of the way, which basically consisted of me asking him endless questions. As a native Switzerland, I asked him how long snow was on the ground in a year: his response was November to May. Can you imagine, snow like this for seven months out of the year? I sure cannot.

After a four second, 300 foot free-fall, beer had never tasted better. On a side note, everything is incredibly expensive in Switzerland, so be prepared to spend your life's savings away. The Swiss Franc has about the same exchange rate to the US dollar, so when I spent 25 Swiss Francs on my lunch (a beer and a burger), I was not a happy camper.

As part of the program we booked our trip with (Florence For Fun), we got to take part in a Swiss chocolate tasting! I'm usually not a fan of chocolate, but even I was swooned by this stuff. Below is a champagne truffle. Literally, a truffle with champagne. The guy leading the chocolate tasting handed these out and said, "This is my way of saying, welcome to Interlaken!"

These were chocolate shots. Yep, I said chocolate shots. A shot inside of chocolate, chocolate being the chaser. The guy leading the tasting said, "Don't operate a vehicle after having three or four of these."

The freezing yet beautiful walk back to our hostel after the tasting.

Helloooo Bern, the capital of Switzerland! The four of us took a day trip to Bern, and surprise surprise, it was beautiful.

Apparently Albert Einstein lived in Bern for some time, and his apartment where he came up with his theory of relativity is open for the public. So of course, we checked it out! Here's the inside of his apartment.

Albert Einstein and his first wife, Mileva. He married his cousin after him and Mileva split up.

Albert Einstein's living room.

The clock tower in Bern!

Just to illustrate how cold it really was. There were fountains like this all over Bern, and they were all completely frozen.

The (frozen) fountain with the clock tower in the back.

Bern, Switzerland!

So long, Bern!

The four of us went out to a local club that night, it was pretty epic. Anywhoo, I really liked this picture of the four of us. Travel buddies for the weekend!

This is the view of our hostel, the Funny Farm (yes, that's the name) the next morning, the day we left. The pictures below are all from Interlaken.

I kid you not, I turned a 180 degree angle from the previous shot of the hostel and took the picture below. That was the view from literally, right outside of the Funny Farm.