Up, up, up in the Alps

On arriving in Innsbruck, it is striking how everywhere you look are mountains. Every which way you turn looks like this. Wanting to get up in those mountains, I signed up for a mountain biking excursion and then spent the evening strolling around the town. It's all cobblestone street and lots of shops and you can see how it must be so beautiful in the winter when it's a ski resort.

 

 

 

Dinner spot

As it turned out, the biking excursion was cancelled because the forecast was calling for a 90% chance of thunderstorms. It was beautiful and clear and hot in the morning so I was filled with frustrated skepticism sipping my coffee and debated renting a bike on my own and exploring, but in the end decided to go to the top of the Nordkette mountain range partially on foot and the rest by cable car.

By the time I was 2/3 up the mountain, it had started to cloud up a bit and had turned brisk. I stopped for lunch at a lodge (cheese dumpling soup and a pretzel) and chatted with some folks from Oklahoma, then hopped the cable car to the summit.

It had now started to rain (no thunder, just rain) and the wind was gusting such that the birds were having trouble flying forward. It was absolutely magnificent. The mountains themselves, brutally jagged and majestic, but also watching the clouds roll in. They were moving fast in from the sky and up the side of the mountain, crashing into each other and flowing further and further down into the valley. It started raining in earnest and the few other people that were up there left but it was so beautiful and peaceful that I sat down on a rock, broke out some chocolate and watched the storm clouds for a bit.

At the top

This was my roommate in Innsbruck. Very friendly and much more considerate than others I've shared rooms with on this trip, though he did have a habit of climbing into my bed at night.

Onto Switzerland! Interlaken is a small town that is a starting point for everyone exploring the Swiss Alps. I stayed at a tent hostel a bit out of town, which was really just a campground in a field though they did have showers and a bar. Very low key and everyone was fun to hang out with. Free coffee, too, so mornings were spend hanging out, looking at the mountains and planning our days.

So, with only one full day to spend in Interlaken, what to do? Canyoning? Maybe. Rock climbing? Love it, probably the winner. Rafting? Eh. Bungee jumping? Hell no. Swimming? Can fit that in. Paragliding? Paragliding. Along the path of doing things that scare me just a bit (quitting job, traveling around on my own, etc.), running off the side of a mountain at 800 meters harnessed to a parachute seems about right. Except that it was not scary at all - it was incredible, over the top fun and the view was amazing! Crystal blue water, green mountains, red roofs of the town below and the majestic snow-capped Jungfrau in the distance.

In the afternoon, I decided to rent a mountain bike and head up a recommended trail to Lauterbrunnen, the next town up the mountain, where there are then a lot of hiking trails. The ride out was a solid hour up, up, up the mountain. Not a bit of flat, but I did take a break at this gorgeous spot. The ride down was crazy fun.

Lauterbrunnen

 

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