I’ve always wanted to go skydiving. I figured it would probably happen sometime in my life, but I don’t think I could’ve dreamt up the magnificent atmosphere in which I got to check this adventure off my bucket list any better than the one present in Interlaken, Switzerland this past weekend.
We arrived in Switzerland via the most gorgeous train ride I’ve ever experienced. We came in around lakes that were surrounded by the breathtaking Swiss Alps. Interlaken is located between two massive lakes, Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, hence the name Interlaken (between lakes). The sun was shining and the air was warm as we made our way to our hostel Friday evening, and as soon as I arrived I could feel the positive atmosphere that Balmer’s hostel possessed. We walked into the lobby and after being greeted with free Swiss chocolate and warm smiles of the staff, we were led on a tour of the amazing hostel where we spent the next few nights. The hostel had a restaurant, full kitchen, game room, common room with a TV and fire place, and even a club in the basement! This place was amazing. Once we settled into our rooms, we sat at the restaurant to enjoy a burger and a local brew. After that as well as a short stint in the club downstairs, I decided to hit the sack early because I knew I wanted to be in great shape for the adventure I had ahead of me the next morning. That night I had some trouble sleeping, but NO trouble at all waking up in time to be ready for my 8:30am pickup time. Anxiously waiting in the lobby for the skydiving company to pick my friend, also named Chris, and I was one of the longest 15 minutes of my life. Once they got there we piled in the van, and embarked on a twenty minute journey along the edge of Lake Thun headed toward the air field where we would soon take off. The ride was filled with pump up jams and gorgeous views all around us. We finally arrived at the airfield, and we get suited up and wait as the skydiving instructors are preparing the equipment to jump. During this time we had our elaborate skydiving school instruction. This basically consisted of us lying on the ground for five minutes while one instructor told us to lift our head and feet up as if we were flying through the air. Once we felt fully prepared to jump out of a plane, we got our harnesses on and I met my skydive instructor, Mick. Mick went over a couple things we me like simulating how it is going to feel right before we jump out of the plane as he counts to three and pushes me out.
After that it was a waiting game. I was in the second plane so I had the pleasure to see the first group head out. After their plane took off, they disappeared behind a mountain and the next time I saw the plane it was a tiny black dot in the sky directly above me. Once the plane was directly above me, I saw the first people jump out of the plane, and they seemed to be falling forever. Finally the brightly colored parachute opened and they flew to the ground safely. Once they were all on the ground again, my excitement hit a new level as I knew I would be in the next plane to go up to jump.
A couple people start heading toward the plane, eventually Mick comes to get me, and we head to the plane. He lets me know we will be the last ones in, first ones out. So I knew when I got up there I would be the first person to jump out of the airplane. I climb into the airplane, which is tiny and now packed with about twelve people. I am sitting in Mick’s lap basically, and my legs are intertwined with a couple other people on the plane. Then, the plane begins to head towards the runway as I take my last glimpse of the ground and the door right next to me slides shut.
The next fifteen minutes was a beautiful plane ride over the lakes and the Swiss Alps. Mick pointed out a couple things to me on the way up, and showed me a top of a mountain where he said that he was going to pull the parachute when we are coming down. At this point we were only about a third of the way up. As the houses become smaller and smaller, and we have even risen above the massive mountains surrounding us, Mick hooks me up to his harness, tightens the straps, gives me my goggles, and then slides open the door right next to me to see how it looks. When he slid the door open, I looked to my left and look down to the ground 13,000 ft below me. That was an INSANE sight. I knew that in a matter of seconds I would be flying toward the ground that was so far below me at an exhilarating speed of 120 miles per hour.
At that moment the camera man weaved his way out onto the wing and Mick told me to swing my legs outside. I looked down and put my feet on the tiny platform separating me from the 13,000 ft below me. As soon as I stood up Mick said “put your head back and smile.” The next moment we jumped out of the plane, barrel rolled and began free falling to the ground. The moment when I saw the ground below me again, and threw my arms out to the side to get into free fall position, was probably one of the most surreal and exhilarating moments of my life. At that point fear was gone, and instead absolute elation was the only emotion I could feel. I yelled in excitement and smiled ear to ear enjoying every second of the spectacular fifty second free fall. The views around me were beautiful. The Swiss Alps are even more gorgeous from above. The camera man was flying next to me and he was so close that at one point he was falling with his back to the ground, and I grabbed his foot that was right next to me. Fifty seconds later, Mick pulled the parachute and after it opened I got to enjoy the rest of the glide back to earth. We were spinning through the air and I just held my arms out like wings to feel the air flying beneath them and the sensation of flying. Eventually we flew down to the field where our flight began, I picked up my legs, and we slid in smoothly on our butts. It was phenomenal. Easily the highlight of the trip, and one of the highlights of my life. Definitely recommend it to everyone. 
The rest of the day, after the rest of the group got back from paragliding which is what they did instead of skydiving, we headed on a bus to a cave nearby. The hike up to the entrance of the cave was gorgeous especially since there was a beautiful waterfall running along the cliff we were hiking up. We took a tour of the caves and ended the day by eating at a restaurant in the middle of town. There we enjoyed Swiss cheese fondue, Rosti (a Swiss dish with potatoes, Swiss cheese, and bacon), and the views of the Swiss Alps in the background. Skydiving, paragliding, caves, and Swiss fondue….it was a great day.
The next day some people went mountain biking, but a few of us went on a journey to a town called Lauterbrunnen where we wanted to look at a waterfall inside a cave. The cave wasn’t open, however, we did take a nice walk through town and managed to see another waterfall, a small avalanche, and people base jumping off the cliffs right next to us. When we were on the walk all of the sudden we heard a loud sound similar to a kite blowing hard in the wind. I look right above me and there are people flying at my head with suits on that look like flying squirrels. Just before the tree line, they pull parachutes and glide safely down to the field next to us. When we got back in the evening we headed to a chocolate show where we got to make our own chocolate and eat as much free Swiss chocolate as we wanted. Another successful day in Switzerland.
Our final day in Interlaken we decided to check out a high ropes course that was walking distance from our hostel. We find it after strolling through the woods a bit, there we get suited up and head with one of the employees to learn about the course. Now, I don’t know how many of you have been to ropes courses in the US, but if you have you probably know the normal routine of helmets and instructors at just about every tree you come to on the course. This wasn’t quite the same. We basically got a short explanation on how to use our carabineers and zip line device and then we were set free to explore the tree tops on our own. We spent the next couple hours navigating through obstacles, zipping from tree to tree, and checking out the sights of the Swiss Alps in the background, all while suspended about 60 ft in the air. At one point, I was doing the hardest level course, and I had to get from one tree to the other only using ropes with metal rings on the bottom of them similar to stirrups on a horse. I had already completed the course one level of difficulty below this and my hands were starting to lose grip. So I was hanging, both feet inside one stirrup hovering 60 ft in the air which was pretty wild. A few trees later I had to get from tree to tree by swinging on a rope and grabbing a rope ladder on the other side. It felt like I was in the middle of an epic battle on a pirate ship. Then once my arms were exhausted and my hands were out of grip I hooked into a zip line and flew across the treetops to complete the Black Eagle (the hard course). It was a fantastic way to finish our visit in Interlaken.
After that we had a beautiful train ride from Interlaken, Switzerland to Milan, Italy followed by a bus ride to the airport, a flight to Belgium, and a taxi ride back to the Monty. The taxi ride was ridiculously fast (he was pretty much going 90 mph and above the whole time). It was so funny when we would hit a spot that must normally be a speed trap because he would slow down an incredible amount to the point where I thought the car may be malfunctioning. Anyway, we made it back safely, and ten and a half hours after leaving Interlaken, we were back home in Antwerp.
