Squeeze the orange

Anything I say after this wont do Switzerland justice, nor do the amazing pictures we took. AMAZING. Absolutely, totally breathtaking to the point where you never ever thought something like this place could exist. We arrived in Lucern on the 9th after a 6 hour train ride from Munich. The train ride alone was enough to stay awake for the whole trip, the train weaved in and out of the valley of mountains, around turcoise colored lakes and past multiple waterfalls next to cliff sides. A few times the train would go up the side of the mountain to where it felt like we were almost completely vertical. When we finally made it to Lucern our plan was to only stay a few hours since we were unable to find a decent hostel and needed to catch another train to Interlaken later that day. The little town was beautiful, the second we exited the train station there was a huge lake and mountain sides waiting. Since Kim had been here just a few years ago she was able to show me the areas she had been and the best places to get even better views (if that was possible). We walked along the lake and into the town center and after a few hours of enjoying the area we were off to Interlaken.
It was a short hour and a half until we arrived in Interlaken later that evening and again, the train ride was amazing. Interlaken is a small town surrounded by a lake on either side and endless mountain sides, both green and white. When we eventually made it to our hostel there was a lady waiting for us at a desk next to the bar to book any excursions during our stay. After checking in to our room and dropping our bags we were back to drop a couple hundred francs on a few trips. We were easily convinced on a 6 hour canyoning trip the next morning and as we continued to talk I couldnt help myself but to ask about bungy jumping. She quickly responded with the most amazing jump that I would only be able to do the next evening from a gondola 450ft high. I believe my jaw hit the floor and after moments past I was all for it. Not sure what mommy would have to say about this one but we didnt have to exactly mention it to her until it was over with! After realizing what I have just signed up for and spent money on, it was time for a beer. Well you see, this small down, like many small towns, shuts down after 6:00 and at this point it was nearing 10:30. We pretty much had to jump over obstacles to find a decent meal and hopefully a 16oz cold one. Eventually we found what we were looking for and by no time were passed out cold in order to be bright eyed and bushy tailed for our big day.
8 a.m. came fast but there were no complaints cause we were off to spend the day in the mountains. We were picked up by one of our nice guides that morning and quickly fitted for wet suits, bootys, a helmet, and life jacket. After piling all of it into a van, as well as 9 other people, we were off on an hour drive to the canyons. We arrived at this field, a field full of cow poop and flies which we later found out is where we were going to eat lunch, were asked to get out and put our gear on. Then climbed back into the van and drove the remaining 5 minutes. The beginning of this adventure just so happened to be a 165ft repel from the side of a cliff into the ice cold river below...pretty sweet! I guess I had to get used to it since my jump later that day would be about 3 times the height. 11 newbies and 3 guides later we were on our way down the river through slides and high jumps. One guy was the camera man and the other two assisted in getting us down the river. The point of having names on each of the helmets was so they could easily get our attention since learning 11 names in a short time was pretty impossible in such intense circumstances, the key was to remember who you were! About 2 hours later we came out of the canyon right next to where we pulled over in the poop filled changing field. Much to our surprise there was ice cold beer waiting for us, and of course some swiss cheese. I never thought canyoning would be so awesome but it was, we wish we had done the 8 hour cause those two hours in the canyon were way too short! A couple hours after arriving back at our hostel we were off again to the bungy jumping...or so I thought. Kim decided bungy jumping in California was enough for her but came along to watch what was supposed to be something ridiculous. Just my luck it began to storm the second we arrived at the gondola and unfortunately lightening was involved so by law they were unable to fufill my request. Looks like I will HAVE TO go back...damn ;-) After much excitement followed by extreme disappointment I had exhausted myself and what was supposed to be a small nap turned into sleep until the next morning (11 hours total).
Bright eyed and bushy tailed is an understatement for how I felt the next morning and we were off on a hike by 9am. A hike which was more like a mountain climb turned into a crawl! This hike, which was recommended by the excursion lady who happens to be from mass., was steeper than a black diamond ski slope and had Kim and I drentched in our own sweat within the first 100 feet. Like most ridiculous things this vacation, it was well worth it!! I cant explain what it was like at the top, you will just have to wait and see the pictures. We were able to point out from across the valley, the 'top of europe' station which is burried amongst many feet of snow. The total hike was about 6 hours and we were back in time to head out on a white water rafting adventure. Since bungy jumping was a fail we chose to take advantage of another activity later that day. What we didnt know was that we would be grouped with a high school trip filled with sophomore and junior boys who had yet to see a voice change. We were lucky enough to be in the only boat with just enough people who werent on this high school extravaganza. The water was ice cold so thankfully we had on wet suits again and by the last 20mins of our trip down stream it began to storm again and we were off faster than you could imagine. When we got back to the hostel it was of course sunday night and the world cup final was on so the entire town gathered around a flat screen tv in the back area of the building. Many of us didnt have a preference for winners but after these two guys couldnt stop sucking on their whisles you could quickly tell who wanted the opposing team just to spite them (kim and i included, thank god spain won!!). Our hostel was definitely the place to be, since it is such a small town everyone came to the bar to wind down from the day. The bar is in the basement since by 10 the neighbors cant stand the loud noise from the partiers so after the game we were all rounded up like cattle and sent downstairs. Within no time Kim and I were out of money since it is soo expensive and the only good thing we could think of, since we no longer had any francs, was to turn in our room key for the $10 deposit and make really good friends with our new bunk mates. Worked like a charm! Unfortunately we had to be up at 530 the next morning to catch the 3 different trains that would land us right in the lap of AGNESE in Bologna!!!
We made it to Bologna on Monday afternoon to meet up with Agnese, my Italian 'sister' who my family hosted when I was in high school. We spent the evening with her and her college friends and left the next morning to drive to her home town in falconara (ancona). So far it has been amazing to relax (& bake) by the beach and eat her mothers delicious italian food..I could get used to this!! We will be here until Sunday morning when we head off to the french riviera so until then..CIAO CIAO!!