Facing Fears and Taking A Leap…Interlaken, Switzerland

Our guest blogger, McKenzie, is back with an this time she is facing fears in Interlaken, Switzerland!

Welcome back! If you’re reading this right now, then you must have enjoyed reading some of my previous musings about my travels across Europe, so… yay!

Sojourn#3 revolved around my travels to Interlaken, Switzerland. It seemed like the entire TCU study abroad group was in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps. I had been told countless times by friends and family that I had to go to the Swiss Alps while I was studying in Italy, so I was anxious to see what all the fuss was about.

Well, let me be the one to tell you, Switzerland is one of the most beautiful, and I mean beautiful, places I have ever experienced. The small quaint town of Interlaken was completely surrounded by mountains, lakes, and breathtaking views (my pictures don’t do it justice).

Friday morning our Euroadventures tour guide led us on a walk through the streets of Interlaken where we later ended up at Lake Brienz. To begin describing the beauty of the vistas and views would be such an injustice to the beautiful landscapes in this region. Many of my friends had activities planned such as skydiving, paragliding, and skiing, but for me, 1) I have a fear of heights and 2) as hard as I try, I will never be a great skier. So, when everyone left for their afternoon endeavors, I spent my time exploring the town and seeing all it had to offer – and by that I mean I spent my afternoon eating fondue and dark chocolate!

I’ve come to the conclusion that fondue is not my thing, but I felt obligated to try it since I was in the motherland of cheese fondue. On the other hand, as you all already know of my obsession with dark chocolate, I was very pleased when I found the chocolate store, Läderach! Läderach had an assortment of chocolates, ranging from dark chocolate to white chocolate to truffles with champagne and even truffles filled with Baileys (cue the jealousy my mom is about to experience).

Later that evening, my friends and I went to an Irish pub called Three Tells. The people were lively, the atmosphere was enticing and even better – the menu was full of AMERICAN food! Living in Italy really makes one appreciate the variety of foods we eat in the states, so you can imagine all the smiling faces when handed a menu full of food we eat back home. If you ever find yourself in Interlaken, be sure to hit up Three Tells – you’ll thank me later.

Waking up to a beautiful Saturday morning and still holding on to my fear of heights, my friend Cornelia and I decided to be spontaneous and paraglide over the Swiss Alps! YES, I said paraglide, and YES I was terrified… but being adventurous seems to be enticed from within you when having opportunities to travel across Europe.

***A little background information – after I decided I was going to be adventurous and run off the edge of a mountain and paraglide down to the ground, I texted my family to let them know. If you know my mother, you know this was a bad idea. SHE FREAKED! Maybe I should have just sent her an after-picture? Kidding, of course. Love ya mom! ***

Okay, so back to paragliding. It was the most surreal experience of my life. The view of the mountains was incredible, and the adrenaline that overcame me while running off the edge of the mountain was indescribable. I felt so free – not a care in the world. Gliding down and around the mountains and getting to soak in all of God’s beauty from a bird’s eye view was spectacular and something I will cherish forever.

Deciding to spend a weekend in Interlaken, Switzerland was definitely one of my better decisions and I’m already looking forward to my next return – whenever that might be. And deciding on a whim to paraglide over the Swiss Alps was an experience of a lifetime. I’ll end this post with one more thing – never let your fears be greater than your desires. Take that leap of faith and be adventurous. The world is your oyster, now go explore!

Ciao,

McKenzie

#LiveLikeKenz