Nomadic Adventures

"We must take adventures in order to know where we truly belong."

I left you a piece of my heart in your beautiful masterpieces of nature we call mountains. You've brought a certain happiness in me that I never thought possible.

As soon as I arrived in interlaken I knew we were going to have a great weekend. There was simply something in the air and the people that bring your spirits up right away. It was late at night as we arrived at the Bed and Breakfast so we didn't get to see the scenery, but once we started to walk around town we could see the outline of the majestic mountains we were surrounded by in the land between lakes.

We woke up Friday to one of the best breakfasts I've ever had. We had yogurt with granola along with swiss cheese and salami, and outstanding rasberry jam with homemade bread. The best start to a fantastic weekend ahead.

And then.. the adventure in Switzerland began! I wanted to paraglide more than anything since the confirmation of this Eurotrip and thankfully I had a great friend to share the experience with since she was up for trying firsts with me! We were picked up by a Twin Paragliding van and taken to the site where we got all of our gear. We got our shoes on and got on the road without wasting any time! I wasn't scared or hesitant until we started to reach higher altitudes on the mountain where I realized this was actually happening, and we weren't just "talking" about it but actually doing! We reached the highest the van could go and hiked the rest of the way to the "take-off" mountain site.

Overwhelemed by the beauty ahead of me, my pilot suit me up with equipment and proceeded with instructions and safety talk, which to be honest I might have not been paying attention to since I was too invested in soaking up nature's beauty. Marcel, my pilot was great and made me feel safe at all times. (I highly recommend Twin Paragliding if you ever find yourself in Interlaken) And then we were.. "ready" to set sail. Once hooked up to the parachute Marcel told me to run as fast as I could so I followed orders and sprinted like never before. Next thing I know the ground and my feet aren't in contact anymore and we were in the air flying into the most surreal view.

As I looked around my heart was filled with bliss and everything bad went away as if it never existed nor was given importance. Invincible, almost as if I was on top of the world and in that moment nothing could stop me. A sensation that sparks your soul and for that short amount of time you learn to apperciate life even more because it is simply too short not to be grateful for everything around us. I couldn't be more thankful for my life and what I know is ahead of me.

After a few minutes of smooth sailing over the lakes Marcel asked me if I wanted to do a few spins in the air and how could I say no? We started alternating directions as the air and parachute worked together to make me feel as if I was riding a rollercoaseter! I was liberated by thin air. I didn't want it to end, but all good things come with a limit! After few minutes we alnded and it was over, but the feeling stayed alive within me as it always will!

Once Laura landed we got our pictures and went on our way to the next adventure in this wanderlust land.

Lauterbrunnen was our next stop from which we took a bus thena cable-lift up to Gimmelwald. We arrived at Mountain Hostel and couldn't be more in love with Switzerland and what it had already given us within a few minutes. (yes, a thirty second dance party was called for) There was absolutely no one around. We found our third travel parter, Josh, at the bar next door with the biggest smile on his face and a big mug of beer. We all reunited and catched up for a couple of hours then decided to adventure around town.

Winter wonderland seemed like a never-ending exploration in the making. We went on our way to explore by hiking a few miles up to Murren. An hour later and we arrived! Surprisingly it was not very cold and since it was qutie a steep hike we were mostly hot and ironically surrounded by snow. After heading back down from Murren and rested a bit before dinner next door. After dinner, we decided to embrace our inner child spirit and played around with sleds on the snow. Laura held my jacket as I went down the hill on a sled and was not supposed to let me go so I wouldn't wreck, but as you can imagine inertia was not in our favor or shall I say mine. One minute I hear: "I got you, dont worry!" and after a few seconds I hear: "Oh, shit!!" and it was literally down hill from there... pun intended. I ended up doing a whole 180 and ran into a pile of snow as I fell over. Unstoppable laughter was initiated immediately after embarrasing myself and I realized these are the small moments I live for that become nostalgic memories.

Saturday morning arrived way too son and time was passing us by as we haad the time of our lives. Josh and Laura left early to Murren and wouldn't be back for a couple of hours. In the mean time, I decided to explore a new hiking trail by myself. I picked a route from the map and followed the trail. Two miles later I found a bench overlooking the town and a straight view of the mountains. The more time I spent with the moutains, the more I continued to fall in love. From left to right all I could see beyond me were moutains over mountains on top of mountains. How could such extraordaniray and breathtaking beauty exist? I was impressed by nature as it seduced me with its charm.

I stayed for a while to have some alone and self-reflection time as I enjoyed the moment. I started to hike back down and ran into Laura and Jsoh back at the hostel. We hiked back up to Murren from which we took a trolley up to Sonnenberg. Most of the people were either skiing or sledding down the mountain, but we hiked down and were able to appreciate our surroundings. Once we reached the bottom we went to get dinner at a local restaurant which ended up being one of the best decisions ever! We all wanted to try a typical "Swiss" dish that wasn't foundue. We came across a dish called "Rostii" which is served in different ways but based on potatoes. I had the "vegetarian" while Josh and the sausage and Laura the chicken. Safe to say we didn't exchange many words at dinner.. meaning the food was absolutely delicious. Afterwards, we played pool for a little while before heading back to the hostel. Josh and I went tot he bar next door for a couple of drinks and good conversation along with free coffee cake given to us by the awesome bartender.

Sunday arrived without an invitation. We woke up early and headed back to Interlaken to enjoy one last stroll around town before heading back to Verona. We ran into a Swiss chocolate store and as you can imagine we got some for our friends and family as well as for ourselves. To say it was heaven in chocolate form would be an understatement. Afterwards, we got some hot chocolate and walked around one last time before going back to the train station.

As the train moved away from Switzerland I couldn't help but think I was where I belonged for the tiem being. I enjoyed a perfect weekend in a haeavenly place along with great company and couldn't have asked for more as the simple things in life are what matter most.

Switzerland, you have left me with void to fill up again. I hope we can meet again someday.

"I just want to go on more adventures. Be around good energy. Connect with people. Learn new things. Grow."