Zug and Zürich: Switzerland Part IV

Here's another delayed posting. I wrote this in the airport leaving Switzerland (to give you some context). Enjoy!


            I started missing Interlaken as soon as we headed toward the train station, but I had a flight out of Zurich and we wanted to see the city before we left. Zurich hostels were insanely expensive and we’d been told by someone at the Geneva hostel that we should see Zug, a little lake town outside of Zurich, so we decided to spend our last night in Zug. We left Interlaken on the 11:00 train with a plan to train to Zug, check into the hostel and put down our stuff, then train back into Zurich for the rest of the day. Erin’s train left Monday at 3 and my flight wasn’t until 9:00pm, so we could spend Monday morning either walking around Zug or back in Zurich. It seemed like a perfect plan: not too structured with plenty of flexibility, while ensuring we could see at least part of both places. I now refer you back to my earlier post about my trip to Italy, and my magnificent track record of “perfect plans”.

            We reached the Zug hostel around 2, aided by a French tourist who barely spoke English but helped direct us down the hostel street, which was completely unmarked and almost blocked by construction. We walked through the door and were greeted by the empty reception desk and a sign saying that they would be back at 5. Now we had a dilemma. Option 1: Haul our bags back to Zurich, pay for a locker in the train station and spend the day walking around the city. Option 2: Lug our stuff around Zug, which as of yet gave us the impression of being tiny and closed for Sunday. Option 3: Try to find somewhere new to stay. Option 4: Sit in the hostel kitchen swapping pictures and watching downloaded episodes of Castle and Glee. And the winner is…Do you have a guess?...Is the suspense killing you?...Well here it is…OPTION 4!!!

            Yep, that’s right, we spent our 3 hours sitting in what looked like a personal kitchen watching tv on a computer, and it was the best way I could imagine spending the time. We checked in at 5:00 and then tried to find a grocery store, but everything was of course already closed, so we settled for the pasta and sauce we’d bought the first night in Geneva.

            After the amazingness that was Balmers and Interlaken, a relaxing night was welcome and, in our opinions, deserved. This morning we woke up insanely early to see the sunrise over the lake, which was made difficult since the lake turned out to be to the west. Still, it was a goal of ours to see a Swiss sunrise, and it got us up and out early. We made a longer-than-expected stop at Starbucks since the Zug Hostel’s promised free-wifi was MIA, then headed into Zurich. People had been right to say it was insanely expensive, but we walked around and saw most of the sights featured on tourist postcards and had lunch at a guidebook-recommended sausage stand (delicious!). Erin and I then parted ways. She headed to the train station and headed to Italy. I caught a showing of Black Swan, thus successfully shortening my wait time in the airport and checking another 2011 Oscar Nominated Movie off my list.

            My flight is boarding, which means it’s time for this post to be over. I love Dublin and know I need to be home studying and writing papers before Mom and Dad come to visit Friday, but I had no idea I would be this sad to leave Switzerland. It’s dangerously close to Australia (maybe even above?!) on my list of favorite places that I want to (semi-unrealistically but you never know) move, and I can’t wait to get back. If anyone’s heading to Interlaken and needs a bunk buddy at Balmers, let me know!

Balmers and Interlaken: Switzerland Part III

I know this post is late in coming, but I just couldn't forget about it completely. It's been written since April, I just didn't find the time to upload until now.


            I’m not sure how to write this next post about Interlaken, so forgive me if I ramble or it seems like I’m writing an extended, repetitive love letter. I assure you, Interlaken deserves it.

            As I realized in a flash of genius on a hike, the name “Interlaken” refers to the town’s placement between two lakes. The city is known as a hub of extreme sports from snowboarding and skiing in winter to skydiving, rafting, paragliding and canyoning in summer. The town is wonderful, the lakes are spectacular, and hiking trails through the mountains deliver spectacular views of the surrounding alps. Rather than trying to tackle Interlaken chronologically, I think I’ll break down the days more into category: active, daytime social, nightlife. We’ll see how much things overlap and I’ll probably fail at any sort of categorizing. Balmers is too amazing to separate and categorize. Everything meshes together to create a mecca of fun and the most amazing hostel experience that I (and everyone else I met there or know who has been) have found.

The Hostel

            Practically everything about Balmers is amazing. The staff is incredibly friendly and helpful, suggesting hikes and offering pictures they took from a few days before, scheduling adventures for excited residents, chatting, checking in, generally making it a fantastic experience. You know it’s a great place when you can refer to some of the desk staff by first name after a few days. We had booked Wednesday and Thursday in advance, and finally forced ourselves to leave Sunday morning after extending for an additional 2 days. Beds were comfortable, free breakfast was decent, and large open lounge areas made it easy to meet and chat with people. There’s something about this hostel that just brings friendly, fun people together. It’s impossible not to find someone to chat with, whether a roommate or random person sitting in front of the tv. Just sit near a group, and before long you’ll be swapping stories about traveling around Europe, continuously adding new locations to your already long list of intended destinations. But before I get too ahead of myself, it’s probably time to switch topics.

The People

            As I began earlier, there’s just something about Balmers that brings together friendly people. We had 4 sets of roommates over the course of our stay who were all incredibly fun and friendly people that we could chat with during the day, swap adventure stories with in the afternoon, and unwind with over a drink at night. Our roommates included 2 Canadian sisters on a 3 month Eurotrip; two Florida med students on a two-week hurrah before graduating, beginning residency, and (for one) getting married; three teaching students traveling for a few weeks after student teaching in Germany; and an Oklahoma state meteorology student on break from studying abroad in England. It’s too much to try to explain about all the people we met, or attempt to detail there stories, so instead here’s a little flavor: brothers on break from work staying at Balmers on either side of a spring ski trip, study abroad students on break, people traveling Europe simply because there’s no better time than the present. The Balmers community is everything I could want in a hostel. I’m proud to say I have quite a few new Facebook friends from those days, and, let’s be honest, White People love Facebook. Some were already booking trips to Dublin and we made plans to meet up. One guy may be working at a hostel in Croatia this summer and could give me info. Meeting so many people from so many places with so many stories was unreal. At Balmers, you never have to spend a breakfast, day, dinner, or night alone.

The Days: Key point—I WENT PARAGLIDING!!!!!

            Again, there’re too many highlights. Day 1: incredible hike UP (as in, switchbacks directly up) a mountain to a gorgeous views of Interlaken, the lakes, and the mountains in the background; meeting someone at the peak that we’d seen on the train and chatting about travel and plans for Interlaken. Day 2: Cloudy, so perfect for a day trip to Lucerne; walking across the bridge, posing in front of the stone lion monument, touring a glacier garden, eating cake while looking at the alps across the lake; chatting with 2 Mormon missionaries on the train who are stationed in Interlaken, one of whom is from near San Francisco. Day 3: Horseback riding to the lake in the morning, paragliding (yep, that’s right, PARAGLIDING!!!!!) early afternoon, walking around Interlaken later afternoon. Day 4: Train to Lauterbrunnen, hike through a gorgeous valley, then up a mountain to Gimmewald, a tiny town that finds fame in Rick Steve’s travel guide; cable car, gondola, and train back to Balmers, exhausted but exhilarated from the amazing beauty and intensity of the place. Day 5: Buy souvenirs, say goodbye to friends, wish the staff goodbye, and board a train to Zurich with a new friend on his way to Munich.

            I will elaborate on a few points, because you may be impressed or at least interested in paragliding. And if you’re not, it’s my blog so I’m going to talk some more anyway. As mentioned previously, Interlaken is a hub for extreme sports. I’d decided against bringing my snowboarding clothes since it’s no longer peak season and the friend I was traveling with isn’t an avid skier, but we knew we wanted to do something. Two sets of roommates had gone paragliding separately on the two days before, and everything they said sounded incredible. We were the only 2 going with the tour company during our time slot, but paragliders had been floating through the sky all day. If you’ve never been paragliding and aren’t too afraid of heights, it’s probably worth going if you have the chance. It was much less intense than I anticipated. It was…relaxing. The guide is behind you and you’re both strapped to this massive chute at the top of a hill. You start running; there’s a tug behind you as the ropes tighten and chute begins to lift. Then, your feet lose contact with the ground and you’re running on air. The chute straps are outfitted with a seat, and you just float around, finding thermals to take you higher, higher into the sky, closer to the peaks of the mountains surrounding you. On one side, rolling green hills dotted with scattered houses and clusters of forest; on the other, the snow capped behemoths: Jungfrau and its too neighbors; Interlaken spread out below, flanked on either side by the clear blue lakes that trail off into more mountains. I remarked about the clarity and blue brilliance of the water to my guide, who told me that the lakes are actually too clean and fish populations are suffering because they have nothing to eat. America is filled with toxic rivers producing mutant fish, while Interlaken’s lakes are too clean. The ride finished with roller coaster-esque spirals. It’s amazing how high you can go and how much you can see using only natural power of air. Definitely an unforgettable experience.

Me paragliding with a Balmers parachute: how perfect!

The Nights

            In addition to my already extensive list of what makes Balmers amazing, it also is the location of The Metro, a star of Interlaken nightlife. Balmers guests, tourists from other hostels, and Interlaken locals mingle at night to enjoy happy hour, swap stories, and dance the night away. Erin and I liked the Metro because happy hour started at 9, which was much more compatible with our Dublin clocks that the hyped-but-non-existent Bern nightlife. Plus, being Balmers guests meant we didn’t even have to pay for coatcheck. Win for us.

            If you’ve never been to Interlaken, go. If you’ve already been, go back. I’m already looking at a way to get back in the summer when more of the hiking trails are open. Well, let’s be honest, I’m already looking at ways to move to Interlaken. Snowboarding in the winter, hiking in the summer, all amid the most gorgeous landscape I’ve ever seen? Yep, I think it’s safe to say I have a new favorite place, so here’s hoping I get back to Interlaken.

An update: Since writing this, I met up with the Canadian sister roommates in Dublin and booked rooms at Balmers June 10 and 11. 21^st Birthday in Interlaken here I come!!!!!

Interlaken: my favorite place in the world

Starbucks and the Invigilators

            It’s exam time at Trinity College. The final 3 weeks of April are dedicated “study time”, and then exams hit with a vengeance. The library is packed from opening to close, and pubs see a considerable drop in student visitations. All modules for the year are assessed in the spring, so some students have 6 or even 8 exams. Since I was only here for a term, I only had 4: Linear Algebra II, Biology 2, Counterpoint I, and Rudiments of Music. Of these, 3 are happily over. I have my last exam Tuesday, my final musicology paper to finish, and then I’m done!

            The first major difference was the time I had to study. Back at home, class transitions instantly into finals. I may have a weekend to study, or only a day between exams. Here, even with a week vacation to Switzerland and having my parents visit for a week, I still had another week before my first exam. This led to a special challenge: where to study. As previously mentioned, the library was packed. I’m not a fan of the library anyway because it’s way too quite and there’s no place to get coffee. Add to this the need to spend 40+ minutes searching for a seat, and it was a situation I’d rather avoid.

            I’d had success before studying at the food court in the St Stephen’s Green mall. It has free wifi, a coffee shop (though all espresso based, so not my favorite), and a good background volume created by enough conversations to create white noise without letting me focus on particular voices. Unfortunately, there aren’t any outlets, and it’s not the best place to sit alone for hours. What I needed was coffee.

            On the recommendation from a friend, we decided to try a Starbucks across the canal just off Baggot Street. I’m a fan of Starbucks anyway, so it wouldn’t have taken much to make me happy. This study space exceeded all expectations. First off, apparently Starbucks Gold cards are valid in Europe, which meant I got reduced price coffee AND a free refill, an obvious score. Next, this Starbucks had a second basement level with tons of outlets, comfy chairs and tables, little pedestrian traffic or disturbances; in short, the perfect atmosphere for extended studying. Once discovered, there was no chance I was letting this space get away. Consequently, I’m now known by multiple baristas, one of whom started bringing frappuccino samples down to my group of friends studying, and then let us pick the next sample flavors. If I managed to pass or do well on my biology exam, I dedicate that success to this Starbucks.

            Did I mention White People love Starbucks?

            You now understand part of this title. But what are invigilators, you ask? To explain, let me describe an examination experience at Trinity.

            Exams are conducted in large rooms throughout campus and on certain off-campus locations. Multiple modules are assessed at the same time. Before entering the room, each student must find his or her name on a huge list of seat numbers to know where to sit in the room. Visiting students have their own sections separate from the rest of the class list. It probably would’ve been nice to know this in searching for my own name. Really, it would’ve been nice if I’d heard of these “seat numbers” before my first exam. But now I’m basically an expert on exam protocol, so no worries.

            You can’t take anything into exams except writing instruments, an eraser (known as a “rubber” in Ireland), a non-programmable calculator (if required) and a bottle of water. Pencil cases are not allowed. Calculator covers are not allowed. Professors do not proctor exams. And it is here that we come to the second part of the title.

Invigilator: someone who supervises candidates during an examination.

That’s right, we don’t have proctors, we have invigilators. And if the name isn’t enough, they wear robes. They actually wear black robes to supervise our tests. I couldn’t decide whether I should have flashbacks to 8^th grade graduation or start imagining I was taking my OWLs. It probably would’ve been my best decision to just concentrate on the exam, but where’s the fun in that?