Interlaken

I’m just going to come right out with it in the beginning and I know it’s not what you want to hear, and it might turn you off, but if you’ll let me explain, I think we will it get through it just fine. Here we go: Interlaken was not my favorite. Before you click that X in the upper right-hand corner, hear me out: Interlaken is still great and we had a fabulous time, it just wasn’t my favorite. I think it suffered from the lack of a Lake Geneva and just generally not being Montreux, which I had already fallen head over heels for. Okay, whew, now that that is off my chest, let’s proceed. But as we go, please understand we really did still have a fabulous time and created some amazing memories.

Ice Skating-

Have I mentioned that this winter Nora was all about ice skating? Now, being all about it does not necessarily translate to being good at it, but don’t tell her that. It doesn’t faze her a bit that she requires the assistance of both Paul and me to keep her upright. That being said, she loves it, and Interlaken’s ICE Magic did not disappoint. It was a massive ice skating complex and we spent hours skating (or skate-walking as was the case with some) around the multiple rinks over and over.

She has no clue that she’s really an awful skater.

Happy Hours on Mountains –

Look, I really, REALLY enjoy a drink in the pool, but I have to admit happy hours in ski clothes at the top of mountains is something I could get used to. Talk about a view! And bonus, your beers never get warm.

Playgrounds –

Okay so this is our specialty everywhere we go but we visited some pretty epic playgrounds during our stay in Interlaken (I will save the best for last, so make sure to read to the end).

Thun –

We just happened upon this little gem one day after booking a boat ride on Thunersee Lake in Interlaken. The boat ride was a bit of a bust because the whole lake was clouded over and you couldn’t see a thing (a big disappointment when the whole point of the ride was to take in the views), but it stopped in Thun and instead of turning around for a boat ride back, we decided to take a walk around and see what we would see. And we loved it! Thun is a big (compared to tiny Interlaken) city with a tiny, old town feel. It was absolutely picturesque as we walked along the town. We toured the Castle overlooking the city and then we found a surprisingly good Mexican food (oh how we miss Mexican food) restaurant for dinner. Come to think of it, maybe the Mexican meal did a little to help to bump Thun up on our list of favorite places.

Thun – I really recommend checking it out if you’re near Interlaken.

Thun Castle – Built around 1200. Also, what setting is this photo? My family does not have some giant stretch leg disease in real life.

Have I mentioned we miss Mexican food?!?!

Sledging –

I have saved the absolute best for last. If you do anything that I recommend on this blog – this should be it. Okay, that might be an exaggeration – there is no way I could actually pick a top recommendation, but this is definitely way up there. If ever near Interlaken – GO SLEDGING! And before all of you think that I have a really fat finger and keep misspelling “sledding,” no, it actually is called “sledging.” But yes, in fact, it is basically sledding. But regardless of what you call it, it is a blast!

We took the train from Interlaken to Grindelwald and in Grindelwald we hopped on a Gondola up towards First. The gondola ride alone is worth the trip. It’s 25 minutes up to the top so you have plenty of time to take it all in. You can rent your sledges (sleds) at the gondola station and then off you go. A little warning – the walk to actually start the sledging is pretty intense. It’s a long walk (at least 45 minutes) and very uphill and definitely exhausting at times, but don’t let that deter you, it’s absolutely worth it.

But before I get to the actual sledging, I have to tell you about the First Cliff Walk. I can’t tell you firsthand about it, because my heart wouldn’t have survived it (I was literally nauseous to the point of gagging just watching Paul do it), but I can tell you it is spectacular. Spectacular in an absolutely terrifying way, but still spectacular. While Nora and I waited, Paul walked out along the mountain cliff and then out onto a platform overlooking the mountain valley. It was absolutely insane looking.

Look carefully, my husband is on that cliff walk.

Check out that curve. Nope. No thank you.

Once he was done we set off on our long, exhausting trek to the start of the sledging runs. Luckily, the path up the mountain was jaw droppingly gorgeous, which kept my mind off my exploding lungs.

Okay, so I realize that I’ve complained a bit about the hike up, but truly, once you get to sledging, you forget all about it. Sledging is so fun!! To be honest, it started off a little freaky. I think the first runs are just way up at the top of the mountain with wide open, above the tree-line views, which can be a little disconcerting as you race down the path with just some rope in your hands as breaks, but once you get used to it, oh it is just so much fun!! We could have stayed on the mountain for hours having so much fun sledging around. This is an absolute must-do if you’re anywhere around.

**Bonus: Best playground of all time –

You guys, after our sledging adventure we were treated to the surprise of a lifetime: the greatest playground ever! Once we sledged down the mountain to the Bort gondola and were shocked to find the absolute most picturesque playground we ever could have imagined. Honestly, I was stunned when we saw it sitting there with it’s gorgeous glacier background. Legitimately, there were three glaciers visible from the playground. I was in awe the entire time Nora played. We’ve seen a lot of playgrounds on this trip around Europe, but this one took the cake. It was just so beautiful.