Thrill Seeking Switzerland

Interlaken, Switzerland is famous for attracting adventure and thrill seeking backpackers from all over the world. Although I am not much of a thrill seeker I decided to go purely for the scenery and adventure. With a magnificent mixture of mountains, lakes and thick woodlands the geography of Interlaken is perfect for exploration and facing ones fears. Interlaken was originally settled by the Celts but later taken over by the Romans around 58 B.C. who gave it the name “Interlacus” meaning between two lakes. The Romans later over ran Switzerland a few hundred years later giving the area a Germanic language and culture. Hence the name, Interlaken is located in the Swiss Alps between two large lakes giving the town a beautiful scenic view in all directions. The two large lakes were formed by a glacier which used to fill the entire valley. When I decided to visit Switzerland I had no idea what to expect or even what to do. Some more information on the history of Interlaken can be found at: http://www.eurotravelling.net/switzerland/interlaken_history.htm.

Upon arriving in Interlaken my friends and I immediately looked at a few brochures of tourist attractions in the area. Due to the majority of Interlaken’s income coming from tourists we figured almost anything would be worth the money. We decided on going to a high ropes course located in the woods a short walk from the town center because it was the cheapest. When we arrived we saw tall trees with an arrangement of obstacles and wires about 20 meters in the air. We went through a brief instructional course and then we were set free to climb anywhere we wanted. We began to climb up the starting platform high into the trees and once I looked down the fear set it. Each course was a mixture of obstacles, balancing, and zip lines that stretched above the tree tops. All I was given was a safety harness used to prevent me from falling but it did not make me feel safe enough. None of the five courses available were simple; they all involved a mixture of strength and balance along with coping with the fear of being 20 meters up in the trees. The entire time my adrenaline was pumping from the fear of falling or any mixture of events that could go wrong. After about two hours in the trees we finally finished and my hands didn’t stop shaking for about ten minutes.

Although we had a great time on the high ropes through the tree tops we failed to take advantage of the different package deals which had been going on. The following is a great link which shows and explains the many different tourist attractions Interlaken has to offer: http://www.balmers.com/en/activities/high-ropes-course.html. The link explains the individual activities but one will have to look upon arrival for great package deals which are different through the changing seasons. Some of the deals involved high ropes, white water rafting, and an all day bike rental for a reasonable price. Overall Interlaken was an amazing experience that I would recommend to anyone traveling in Europe. Apart from the thrill seeking and adventure, the relaxing scenery was extraordinary.