At the Top of the World

After battling the train strike all Friday morning and finally finding out that although our train was canceled we could hop onto one with a detour through Geneva, we finally got to Interlaken, Switzerland. Let me just say I'm glad I was so determined to get here because this place was amazing. Interlaken is a tiny village in the Swiss Alps surrounded on either side by two huge lakes and by mountains on the other sides. It's definitely an outdoorsman/extreme sports lovers' paradise- since it's pretty small, most of the activities let you take advantage of the natural beauty and awesomeness of the land around you.

With this in mind, I had one mission going into this trip...something I was not going to let myself leave Europe without having done- skydiving over the Swiss Alps. Another friend and I booked our places for a Saturday jump and after waiting out the first snow of the season, we were driven up to the top of one of the mountains to the landing strip. We received a few basic instructions on jump procedures, got suited up, and started heading out. Francesca and I were in the last group to jump, so we got to see everyone fly out of the plane and drift in a few minutes later for a safe landing.

Once it was our turn, we got into the plane, lifted off, and started getting strapped in to our tandem instructor. As we were climbing, the entire landscape of Interlaken came into view. The higher we went, the more incredible the view. Finally, we reached our jumping altitude of 11,000 feet and they swung the door of the plane open all of a sudden. Looking out the opening and actually seeing the Earth a few miles below was the first jolt of excitement. The second came when I swung my feet over the side of the plane to assume the jump position. Dangling there at 11,000 feet, I knew there was only one thing left to do. My instructor tilted my head back, assumed his position, and out we went. That was the third and sweetest jolt of excitement- the realization that I was free-falling from a plane at 120mph toward the Earth.

My instructor and I did a backflip out of the plane so the first thing I saw was it flying away from me. He flipped us over and the entire panorama of the land below came into view. Sun beaming on the snow capped peaks; clouds not quite reaching the tops of some; clear, blue water glimmering below- it was incredible. We free fell for about 30 seconds, after which Dave pulled the chute and we started drifting. He asked how it was and I couldn't even begin to tell him. I told him how my sister had done the same thing back at home and since she had flipped out of her plane, we were even now. A few spirals and swirls later, with the land quickly approaching, Dave swung us around for our approach on the landing strip and we slid onto the grass field on our butts. Definitely one of the coolest things I have ever done.

The rest of our time in Interlaken was spent hiking the mountain trails. There are trails that go all through the different parts of the surrounding peaks, so we were able to experience the sheer cliffs, snow capped mountains, waterfalls, mountain cottages, and fresh mountain air. This weekend proved to be one of the most outrageous I've had so far, and I definitely recommend making it to Interlaken if you ever want an experience unlike any other.

I'm off to Italy later on today once I finish my last two finals and classes for the rest of the semester (heyoooo). I'll be there for about 9 days and we'll be seeing Rome, Florence, Tuscany, and Venice, so get ready for some more sweet pictures and stories. Have a good one!

A bientôt!

"It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end." -Ursula K. Le Guin

One, Two, Three Strikes You're Out

As of last night at 8pm, the train and metro systems in France have been on strike in protest of cuts to retirement benefits to the workers by President Sarkozy. It's crazy to see how much Paris relies on it's means of public transportation on a daily basis. Currently, only 4 metro lines are running (3 at 15-25% service, one full time because it's completely automated). Our classes today were canceled since some of the teachers and students have to commute pretty far to get to the BU Center and everyone is pretty much stranded in their own arrondisement unless they can get a taxi or get lucky enough to find a train.

The strike is only supposed to last until Friday morning, but in the past they have lasted up to three weeks and have completely paralyzed the government and economy into submission. All I can say is that come Friday morning, the trains better be up and running because myself and a few friends are heading to Interlaken, Switzerland for the weekend! Check back early next week for pictures of the Alps and my skydiving adventure (if we ever make it there...).

In other news, this past week I explored the Bois de Boulogne area, which is Paris' version of Central Park, except 2.5 times bigger. There are two lakes in the Bois that have great running trails I use, complete with a scenic view of autumn in Paris. There's also a racetrack inside the Bois which apparently was in use the afternoon I went.

After seeing the Bois, I headed down to the stadium area and checked out le Parc des Princes (soccer stadium and home to Paris-St. Germain) and Roland Garros (home of the French Open). The Roland Garros complex was amazing- you could walk inside the main stadium right down to the clay court. I even hopped the wall and snagged a picture of myself on the court where Roger Federer, Raphael Nadal, Serena Williams, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, and Justin Henin have all played and (minus Roger) won a Grand Slam tournament title.

Hope everyone is keeping it real back in the States. Get pumped for some sweet Switzerland pictures coming your way!

A bientôt!

"The sea that calls all things unto her calls me, and I must embark." -Kahlil Gibran

A Long Awaited Adventure

So this weekend may have been the craziest I've had in a long time. It's been in the works since before spring semester ended, it's taken a few months of planning, and it was all so worth it. It was- Oktoberfest.

Affectionately referred to by the French as "the Beer Party" and by many Americans, including Brett, as "Beerfest," all of these are pretty much dead on. My friends and I got to the Oktoberfest grounds around 7:50am on Saturday to make sure that we could get a table in one of the Beer Halls. After standing in line at the Lowenbrau tent for about an hour, there were probably a few hundred people in line behind us with the same idea as us. The doors opened and all hell broke loose- it was like the running of the bulls. All notion of organization thrown to the winds, everyone made a mad dash through the bottle-necked doorway. Pushing, shoving, doing anything to get inside, everyone had their eyes on the prize inside the Beer Hall. One of my shorter friends at one point started getting swept underneath the torrent of people, so after seeing her getting clotheslines, I grabbed her around the waste and pulled her along with me. We finally got to a table where we sat down and watched the rest of the commotion settle. In order to be served, you had to be at one of the hundreds of tables set up inside, so they were probably the second hottest commodity of the day, behind the beer.

Shortly after the rush, the waitresses started bringing out liter steins of the home brewed Lowenbrau. From then on, it was singing, cheering, talking with people from all over Europe who had come to the festivities, and enjoying the authentic German atmosphere. Considering the thousands of people drinking in one location, the whole system is surprisingly organized due to the sit-down rule, but there was still a ton of fun to be had. We somehow got surrounded by a bunch of Italians who kept starting their own chants and drinking songs, in addition to the Bavarian band that played throughout the day. All in all, incredible experience.

And on top of that, I stole one of the steins I used as a little souvenir. After planning our escape route the entire day, we decided to just go for it and see what happened. My friends and I stuffed two steins in my backpack and headed for one of the doors, where the security guards were too busy trying to keep the mob out than trying to check bags on the way out. I smiled, waved at the guards, and strolled outside into safety.

Besides the Beer Halls, Oktoberfest is like a giant state fair, complete with rides, games, prizes, and food. The pretzels they served which were the size of my head were delicious, as well as the roasted chickens and roasted nuts that are staples of the festivities.

The day before this madness, I also made the journey two hours south of Munich to see something I've looked forward to since my Senior year English teacher had a poster of it in her classroom. Neuschwanstein Castle was built in the 1800s and was the model for Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland. It honestly feels like you're in a fairy tale when you get to the town of Fussen and see this and the other castle set into the mountain side. For those of you who know about the castle, you can attest to its beauty. If you don't, check out these photos I took of it from an overlooking bridge and around the grounds.


I hope this finds all of you doing well. Keep on keeping me posted of what you're all up to and I'll hope to here from you soon.

A bientôt!

"I have wandered all my life, and I have also traveled; the difference between the two being this, that we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment." -Hilaire Belloc