Friday- June 17th

Good evening, well I guess good morning to everyone back home! Today was one of the best days we have had in Europe by far. Last night we managed to find a restaurant and get some ice-cream since our first dinner was a fail. Everything was so expensive so people got beer and ice cream. The rock hard beds sucked and a lot of us tossed and turned most of the night but most of us managed to get a few hours of sleep. Thank God we checked out of that hotel! We were up at 5:45am ready to go. We had breakfast in the lobby as usual and then loaded the bus. We left Bern and drove about an hour to Interlaken Switzerland where the amazing views began. We drove along Lake Interlaken with the view of the Swiss Alps in the background. If we only knew this morning that the views we were seeing this morning wouldn't even compare to what we saw as the day went on.

We drove a little past Interlaken to smaller town to park the bus. We got off and boarded a Cog train that began to take us up the mountain. The cog train locks as it goes up so it does not slide down the steep parts of the mountain. We started out at an elevation of about 2,500 feet. Our final destination at the top of the Swiss Alps was 11,782 feet. We started up the mountain and saw all the greenery and the trees with the cows and sheep that roam the grounds. It was beautiful with the mountains in the background. As we continued up we made a stop at 6,762 feet to switch trains into a more comfortable train that was enclosed because it was getting so cold. We made two additional stops on the way up to take pictures before we finally reached what is called "The Top of Europe" . It was so cool starting at warm weather with green grass and sunny skies and slowly making our way through the different terrains eventually to cold, snow covered tops high up above the clouds.

When we arrived we went to the top of the viewing deck that had a see through floor and you could see way down off the mountain. It was awesome because I love heights. You could see 360 degrees above the clouds, and it was actually sunny. It was around 30 degrees and windy so we did not spend a lot of time out on the looking deck. After the looking deck Michelle, Devon, Ridge and I wanted to look into snow activities. I was bummed we did not have enough time to ski or snowboard because that would have been amazing. I am coming back someday to ski out here for sure! We did find the zip line and we decided to give it a whirl. The zip line was so fun and the views were again even more amazing that what we had seen before. I tried to take a video during it but it did not work, I think I was enjoying the views too much to bother with my camera. At the end I landed on my butt instead of my feet because I came in to fast it was a rough landing, should have been paying attention. Michelle did the same thing and got her pants full of snow cause she dragged through it ha. It was comical to watch everyone landing on the other side. A few more people in or group showed up to zip line and then we went off to explore again.

After the zip line we went to find the Ice Palace to see where the ice bar was. We found the ice place which was made of all ice and had really cool carvings. It was fun to walk through and we skated through the crowds of Chinese people on our shoes so it was entertaining. It must have been an Asian holiday or something because literally trains full of people from Asia or someplace like that were in Switzerland today at the top of the Alps. I thought I take a lot of pictures until I saw them…they take so many its unreal and they travel in packs of like 50 and never leave each other's sides.

After the Ice Palace, we still could not find the ice bar, a bunch of us looked everywhere. Michelle and I want to find some food. Switzerland is not a cheap country and they take Franks, so when you pay in Euros they give you change in franks which are useless to us after today. Plus at the top of a mountain it is ridiculous prices. Water is 5 Euros! Food at a cafeteria was like 20 Euros! Michelle, Ridge, and I split a Swiss chocolate bar to help tied us over (you can tell we are nearing the end of the trip, we are a little more frugal with our spending because many of us are running out). We had not eaten since 6am and dinner was not until 3pm so we struggled a little bit in the afternoon. After the chocolate, we went to check out the ice plateau that extended up over the mountains. It was another great view and place to see.

After a couple hours at the top of the mountain, we headed toward the train. We started down the mountain and it was hard to stay awake. The altitude makes me so tired. I managed to stay awake and so did Michelle because there was of course more views to see. We switched trains again half way down and continued to the bottom. We made to down around 2:30pm and headed back into Interlaken. Interlaken is a gorgeous small town. It has a lot of character and shops and restaurants that line the streets. There was a yodeling festival going on so there were lots of people dressed up and festivities going on. We shopped for a while and then all met up at Bebbis, a traditional Switzerland restaurant. The restaurant was a lot of fun. The interacted with everyone and even brought out an American flag and played country music to make us feel at home. Some of us got to try and play the Alpine Horn. Dinner was okay, it was salad, bread, and cheesy potatoes just like last night. I was a little apprehensive to eat it since I got sick from it last night and most of the other people were to because so many people felt horrible from the food last night. We did get chocolate fondue with fruit for dessert so that was good.I was still pretty hungry after dinner but we had no time to get any other food. We all; miss meat so much, we just all want a good steak (take me back to Ireland!). Since it is getting so close to us going home, we talk about all the time the first place we are going to go and eat at when we get back in the states. Most people seem to miss Mexican food and Buffalo Wild Wings the most. Michelle and I are still missing our diet coke and bloody marys :)

After dinner we walked next to the river for a little bit before getting on the bus. We are headed out of Switzerland now and have a long bus ride to Como, Italy tonight. We have been on the bus now for about an hour. Some people are sleeping but most of us are laying around watching Twilight. We have about four hours before we get into Italy. I did not want to say goodbye to Switzerland. It was honestly the most beautiful place I have ever been to. The waters are crystal blue from the glaciers and the mountains are all filled with grass and trees that stay so green. It is like Colorado, Glacier Park, Yellowstone, and Lake Tahoe combined and on steroids. It is another one of those places in the world you have to see with your own eyes to believe actually exists. I am excited for the next three days in Italy. Tonight we will be in Como, Italy. We are going to grab food and then head out to explore and get some drinks. I can't believe it already the weekend again. Hope everyone has a great weekend!