On our last day in Interlaken we decided to try to hike up to where there was snow on one of the trails that started near our hostel. We met two girls along the way that had the same idea, but they realized about 2 minutes into the hike that they were no match for Jeff and I so we left them behind. We hiked and hiked and hiked. A couple of times the trail went through a pasture and we had to lock the gate behind us as we crossed through, while side stepping ...

The van pulled in to pick us up right at 9, and took us to the landing field where we waited for the 8:00 tour to land. It was cool to see the first two land so we knew what to do, what to expect, and to make sure our guides weren't incompetent. They loaded up the gliders (which he told me they ordered special from the company because they were easy to disassemble... to which I replied 'oh, glad to see safety isn't the top concern...') and we drove up the mount...

We took a 6 hr train from Venice to Bern, the capital of Switzerland. Why Bern? Why not? That was the thought anyway, but we knew before we even got to Bern that that's NOT where we wanted to be. From Venice we trained through Milan and then straight up through the Alps to Bern. We spent about a half hour total in two loooong tunnels, longer than any tunnel should be. We surfaced in the heart of the Alps... unfortunately we headed straight out of the mounta...