Exploring Interlaken Day 1: Solo Mission.

Today was my first day exploring a foreign city on my own. I think the term "exploring" is a stretch, but it's the first day I've been left alone in a new city so far this semester. For months, I've known that Alex's only request for this semester is that he gets to go skiing. I did not plan to stand in his way, and considering as I don't ski, I expected to stay home whichever weekend he planned to do that - and that was fine with me! About a month ago, as he was was planning for his ski trip, he found that I could do a beginner ski class if I wanted. I hadn't considered this as an option, but everyone in our class who'd traveled to Interlaken thus far had loved it, and I decided to go for it! We convinced our couple friends (you know them from Amsterdam!) to join me for the learn-to-ski and it turned into quite the weekend!

Our friends aren't meeting us until late tonight (Friday) so that left me on my own all day while Alex hit the slopes. Leading up to this trip, I received much questioning from our friends on how I would spend my "free day." Would I hike? Go to a spa? Do a tour? Paraglide? When I answered "nothing," it was met with wide eyes, expressions of shock, and murmurs of "She's doing what?" and "...I don't get that." Here's how I see it:

I don't have a lot of extra money to spend. Interlaken is expensive. I'm already spending a lot on my beginner ski package. I'm also not sure I could navigate around the city to an activity on my own. Above all, unscheduled free time is the ultimate "vacation activity" for me right now. A lot of my peers have trouble understanding this, but my schedule is exhausting to me! Traveling at this pace wears me out and I'm not going to deny it! I guess I'm an old lady at heart. All of the traveling also makes me a little spazzy and I need some time to collect myself. Having unscheduled free time for a WHOLE DAY during which I can spend time in my nice hotel, take my time at breakfast, go to the grocery store, call my sister, catch up on homework and reading and other necessary things, and aimlessly explore the city is PERFECT. I rarely ever get free time here, during which I have hours to do what I want and that alone. I also don't get a lot of time by myself, which is important to me. While all of our trips have been amazing and I've loved each one of them, I don't mind not squeezing another activity in today, and I know that I won't have a single regret about how I spent my time here.

Our hotel is spectacular. It's small and family run, and very high quality (we're splitting the price of the room four ways which is why this is as affordable as a hostel). I hadn't seen anything outside when we checked in last night, because it was all dark. This is what I woke up to: 

I know. It doesn't look real!

I woke up early while Alex was getting ready for his long day of skiing. I'd had plans of sleeping in but had trouble falling back asleep, so I was up and going by about 7:30-7:45. I went right to breakfast, which was complimentary. In the breakfast room, I was waited on. I was surprised when a young woman came over and asked if I wanted coffee or tea. She brought me a pitcher of coffee and cream, and a cup and saucer and asked if I needed anything else! I spent about 45 minutes at breakfast; I nibbled on some granola and read for awhile, and kept getting distracted by the glorious view of the mountain out of the corner of my eye. When I was done I may or may not have swiped a hardboiled egg and some Nutella packets for later.

I really regret not bringing my running shoes. I deliberated over it, knowing I would have free time, but other than Edinburgh none of the places I've traveled have been conducive to me venturing out alone for a run (and I didn't even run on my own there, Alex was always with me!). I also had absolutely no room for running shoes (backpack and shoulder bag were both filled and very heavy) and eventually decided against it. Now I wish I'd found a way to squeeze them in...Interlaken is the closest to a small, American suburban neighborhood that we've been in so far, and there's a park with a loop around it that would've been perfect to run in!

Instead, I opted to do my hotel room workout and 2x8-minute abs and take a walk around the park later on. I took about 35-40 min total to do these. It's probably good that I spent my time doing this because I've done so little strength-training lately! Both of these were done on our balcony in the fresh Interlaken air. For much of my time here, it's been so fast-paced that I feel like I'm in a fog. This morning while doing dips, push-ups, and squats on the balcony while staring at that huge mountain, I felt very alive again. I also concluded that I need to do push-ups more often... my poor little arms are still shaking!

Our hotel room has stars on the ceiling!

Also...they put Toblerone on our pillows...

At first I was nervous/hesitant/procrastinating heading out on my own to poke around the town. I soon realized there was no need - Switzerland is a very friendly city! Probably the friendliest thus far. First stop for me was a grocery store; I need a salad for lunch and some dried fruits and nuts for tomorrow. I picked up the essentials and also some mango slices to go with my lunch! I eventually wandered around the corner to sit down and eat and ....

If you thought "Oh my word!" when you saw these photos, then we are on the same page! Now that I'm writing about it I still can't believe the beauty of the Swiss Alps. I am so lucky.

I sat on a bench right there ^ eating my mango and reading a book (The book was for school. Unbeknownst to some, I actually do have to do schoolwork during this amazing semester. The school is sure to emphasize that this is a study abroad and they don't let us forget it!). 

Every 20 minutes or so, paragliders would drop out of the sky like dandelion seeds and flutter onto the field pictured above. Sometimes a "WOOHOO! WOO WOO HOOOOO!" would precede them and I would look up and there they were! I stayed there for about 2.5 hours, bought some postcards, and headed back to the hotel! When I returned, more Toblerone had been replaced on my pillow...and someone had refolded the toilet paper and written "Have a nice day!" on it. My goodness, royal treatment!

Notes on Interlaken, Switzerland:

• Very, very friendly 
• Lots of rollerbladers 
• No runners (so far)
• Many Asian tourists. So far, I've heard a lot of Chinese. The 3 shops I went in looking for post cards had Asian salespeople in addition to Swiss salespeople. Same in the pharmacy! Do a lot of people from Asia immigrate here? Does anyone know? Found it interesting.
• Lots of recreational cycling
• They don't mess around with their fondue!

Right now, I'm just going to work on some homework on the terrace while I wait for Alex to come back. Only one room key, so I need to be here to let him in. I hate to pick favorites in Europe, because everything is so different that it's hard to compare (it would be like picking a favorite sibling or a favorite child), but today has been one of my favorite days here so far. I would be happy to spend several more days like this!