Flying high

It was my birthday and our plan right from the beginning was to go paragliding today. But we had tried to book with no luck… so instead I had a big day planned in Interlaken.

Our day started like most with a discussion of what to wear… not from a fashion aspect… more from a comfort and temperature point of view. Karen announces that from her weather app it was not going to be that cold so she didn’t think she would take her jacket. Sue and I looked at each other obviously thinking she had gone mad… and convinced her to take it (you know… better safe than sorry). More on this later…

We headed down the tram… cable car… and train to reach Interlaken… which we had seen for all of 5 minutes on the day of our arrival when we went up to the spectacular (and freezing) Harder Klum. But Interlaken is so much more than that… in fact it is so ridiculously beautiful that you cant help but love it- gorgeous lakes, perfect mountains, stunning sceneries and cute towns everywhere you look. Interlaken actually means ‘between lakes’ as it straddles the glacier-fed lakes Thun and Brienz and it’s capped by the pearly white peaks of Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau,

We hopped on the ferry headed for Iseltwald where we would begin a walk around part of the stunning lake Brienz. We walked upstairs and grabbed a seat and commented how upmarket the ferries were… only to be kicked out a few minutes later when the conductor asked for our tickets and told us we were not supposed to be in first class 😂.

The colour of the lake is simply amazing…

displaying beautiful turquoise and emerald hues, colors often associated with shallow tropical waters. This results from tiny particles of glacial sediment known as “rock flour” that produce an extraordinary visual effect only enhanced by the cleanliness of the lake.

The trail from Iseltwald to Giessbach is rightly regarded as one of Switzerland’s most beautiful lakeside walks. This trail, which hugs the bank of the glittering, blue Lake surrounded by sheer mountain slopes…

takes you through gnarled, fairy-tale mountain forests…

with beautiful ferns, mushrooms and trees lining the path… and moss everywhere!

I am obsessed with moss… it makes everything feel so alive with the intensity of its green green colour.

We are once again overcome with the beauty of Gods creation and drink in the atmospheric scenery.

We arrive in Guessbach and walk up a steep path with amazing views at all different levels of the beautiful waterfall.

We arrive at the gorgeous Art Nouveau Giessbach hotel…

…with its stunning views of lake Brienz and its many mountains… and the waterfall. Here we celebrate my birthday in style…

…very quickly as we are on a tight schedule… and we may be the only people to ever have part of their meal ‘take-away’ from this posh hotel 😂. But it was the only way we could make the funicular taking us down to the ferry, which only goes every two hours.

We continue onto the homely village of Brienz which offers enticing alleyways, Swiss chalets adorned with flowers and a lakeside promenade. From here we had the unique experience of taking the old railway’s authentic alpine steam train to the summit of Rothorn at an altitude of 2244m. It is a very steep ascent and we kept thinking about ‘the little engine that could’ as it slowly chugged it’s way up the spectacular mountain.

The scenery along the way is extraordinary; the train winds its way up the mountain through a world of pristine emerald fields and picturesque forests all with a back drop of snow-capped Alps.

I was in the carriage… thankful that the windows completely open… wide-eyed and terrified I would miss a cow in a field, a clichéd mountain village, or a distant hiker waving to the engine driver. It was all indescribably beautiful.

Once the mid station has been reached, the forests make way for alpine meadows, rocks and sharp ridges.

At the top there are stunning views- one of the most beautiful places in Interlaken… although when we arrived, we couldn’t see it. There was a complete white out and once again, it was freaking freezing.

Back to Karen thinking she wouldn’t need a jacket…..😂

We went inside the restaurant at the top to escape the cold and the next minute, the clouds parted to give us breath taking views of central Switzerland, Lake Brienz and the Bernese alps

How do you compare extraordinary beauty with extraordinary beauty…. the Jungfrau train journey with this one? It is difficult to keep trying to find greater and greater superlatives to describe the magnificence of what we have seen and felt. But this one was very special… off the tourist track and away from any crowds. Untouched wilderness… and we breathe it in…. as Sues hair is nearly blown away by the freezing winds.

We catch the train home and seat ourselves in some very comfortable seats… only to be told once again that we were is first class while only being second class citizens 😂

Next morning we awake to a typical mountain morning where the weather can change literally every few minutes. We are booked in to paraglide at 1.30 and it’s touch and go whether it will happen…. rain is expected… and I’m not sure if I will be disappointed or relieved if it gets cancelled. We go walking around our gorgeous little town to pass some time and ease our nerves while we wait.

I am no adrenaline junkie And I am terrified of heights. Even watching clips of people doing things that involve heights makes me dizzy. And despite trying to overcome this fear by doing crazy things like zip lining in the Peruvian Andes (thanks Alex for that terrifying experience 😂) nothing has changed. I’m also an anxious flyer despite the many flights I have taken in my lifetime. So all this considered, Im not sure how we decided the perfect activity to celebrate life on my birthday was to go paragliding over the Swiss alps. We all feel great trepidation.

But the whiteout and rain clears leaving perfect conditions… so we are on. Feel the fear and do it anyway!!! We take a deep breath, put our best foot forward, a few steps together down the hill with our tandem instructors and we soar high up into the sky!

Tandem paragliding is the ultimate experience if you want to experience the pure weightlessness of flying combined with breathtaking scenery and the awe-inspiring natural beauty of the Lauterbrunnen valley, which I had walked through a couple of days ago. The countless waterfalls, beautiful views of the car-free resorts of Wengen, Gimmelwald and Mürren, with glimpses of the James Bond Mountain; the Schilthorn and framed by the extensive awe-inspiring Jungfrau mountain range.

We flew for about 20 minutes… and I will say that I experienced some anxiety… but mostly exhilaration. And the trained instructors were amazing! This is probably the most incredible thing we have ever done.

We decide to celebrate with a couple of drinks and a very late lunch (we didn’t want food in our tummies before our jump…just in case). We catch two cable cars from Murren via Birg to reach the Schilthorn, which at 2960m… known as James Bond mountain because it was made famous when it was featured as the location for the 1969 James Bond movie, “On her Majesty’s service”. We sit in the revolving restaurant used in many of the dramatic scenes of the early James Bond movie. The outdoor viewing platform is the main reason to visit- on a clear day you have views as far as Mont Blanc and the Black Forest, and an unrivalled view of snow-capped mountains wherever you look. This is known as the Swiss Skyline…. but it is not a clear day and instead we have a complete whiteout.

The clouds do momentarily part and then the mountains disappear again.