Well Saturday was our last day in Interlaken and we made the most of it starting with Gavin and I doing a paragliding ride from the top of the hill (3,000 ft higher) down to town. We then proceeded to find a great hike along a lake and finished above the town at a dinner that ended in a rain storm. Now sitting at the hotel in Munich, Gavin is back in Berlin to start his internship and we’re flying back to Denver / Raleigh.

So paragliding is sort of cool – initial 2 minutes for me were great, you’re about 100 ft above the ground have gotten situated then are starting to realize you are flying. For me I then quickly started noticing that the ground was about to drop away and looking down is well a long way down. I’m pretty comfortable with heights in general although I then found myself thinking about the strap holding me into the seat, taking a quick look around and mentally saying to myself that everything is fine and you’re locked in. My “butt cheeks” were responding appropriately and we flew down successfully. My mild panic lasted for about 90 seconds, then settled down and it was a great ride.

Gavin’s ride was great, he enjoyed every moment, no “butt cheek” issues for that kid – now turned 21 last week. But from the photos you can see he definitely enjoyed the ride…

We spent the rest of the morning doing a great hike around to a different lake and with a ton less tourists. It’s definitely nice to get off the main tourist path and be out in nature. We found a great hiking trail, ended up at a golf resort where we then caught the boat/ferry back to the start of the lake (and our hike) so we could trek back through town.

For our evening activities we had a recommendation to go to a quiet spot overlooking the city for dinner. Casually we strolled to the entrance of the tramway (cog tram) that takes you up to the top of the hill (3000 ft higher), about 10 minute ride. As we turned the corner you then see that other people had been told the same thing (!) this was not our secret spot as about 200 other folks were standing in line waiting to get on the tram. Oh well, tourist land we are in for sure… The wait didn’t take too long and we quickly proceeded for more human sardine packing into the tram (which Cindy absolutely loves) and whisked away to the top.

Once at the top we proceeded quickly to cut away from the herd and identified a spot for the evening feeding. We were quickly ordering while the rest ran out to the overhang to take pictures, etc. Briefly noticing the clouds and rain that was in the distance and heading our way. After ordering we then noticed all the staff moving things around, and then quickly putting up very large umbrellas over the tables (including ours). Note: when getting off the tram we noticed that there were already about 200-300 people in line to come back down off the mountain – other people “in the know” I guess…

Well there we were, dinner had arrived and we felt a slight sprinkle… looking back noticing that the clouds were a bit bigger and the rain more like a curtain coming towards you. Of course other less informed folks standing on the overhang taking photos with their selfie sticks, etc. They also noticed the rain – good time to take out the umbrella and continue with your 4’ long metal stick to attach your camera to.

Next thing? A slight cracking noise from above – was that lightening??? Yes indeed. Are people still standing out there? Yes indeed. The sprinkling quickly turned to a downpour and into hail and rain/lightning/thunder combination. All while people were standing out with their metal lighting attraction devices held high (sigh!). We sat while it poured rain, thinking very briefly about all the people who were standing in line…

You could see the clouds moving and the rain moving off, however I did see some people in sort of a panic. This trip Cindy did not bring a rain poncho (finally!) but I noticed other people had donned their $1 plastic bags with some words on them and were walking around and trying to figure out what to do. We sat at our table and ate, then ended just standing under the umbrella as the weather moved through.

We ended up waiting for the rain to stop, then walked without being rained on to the line. In line we were followed by five young girls who are at KU and visiting Florence Italy for 6 weeks. (Study abroad program). Three were doing a creative writing program, the other three were doing an intensive “wine and cheese” study abroad program. Not sure of the cost of the wine and cheese program but absolutely sure that student loans should be used to pay for that curriculum. They were having fun and we chatted them up for fun.

Made our way back to the hotel, packed and then took the train (6 hours) yesterday all the way back to Munich. Now heading towards the airport and our flight back home.

So long Europe/Germany… Gavin will be here until mid July so take care of him.