It was on October 2013.
"Babe, Interlaken is not far from here. You wanna go?"
Suehanna nodded with her big smile. The late autumn season looked ethereal in Besancon, with temperatures kept ranging under 10 degrees. Later on, we went to KemWel that was owned by EuroCar for a rental. Blessed with an international license, it was easy for me to just go, showed them my license and voila, there's your rental. We need to pay around 150 USD to rent the car for four days. I would say that it was a sweet deal since we got automated-gear Ford Focus as a rental.
We took off from Besancon around noon. The journey was supposed to take three or four hours. But we went through some problems and we arrived in Interlaken at night. Driving in Europe is much easier than in Cairo. The people were extremely polite and no honking. In Cairo, one has to honk for one to go through their journey. It was devastated. I'm dreading the moment whenever I have to drive in Cairo.
At the border between France & Switzerland
When we arrived at the Swiss border, I expected the security there to inspect us and went through our car like when I was driving in the UK. But, Alhamdulillah, we didn't even have to show our passport and even license. I just cracked my window, put a small smile and stop the car. The guards came up at me and they thought I was an Arab. They looked into the car and waved, signalling me to just went on. Thank you Swiss border.
Our journey took almost 350km in one way. As soon as we crossed the border, I took a highway from Lausanne and Payerne to follow the route to Geneva and Zurich. Suehanna took action as my co-pilot whereas Mia and Halimatun were resting on the back seats. We went for a stop near Payerne to pray and took coffee break.
I resumed my driving in silence as I monitored the route. In Europe, one has to monitor the car's speed to avoid in getting a speeding ticket. And in Swiss, the highways didn't have many lamps as Malaysia did. I even have to used beam light of the car. But all in all, we finally reached Interlaken by eight pm. And I was slightly exhausted.
Welcome to Happy Inn Lodge, Interlaken
We spent our days in Interlaken with exploring the town and we did some activities. To get to know a new city, I like to wander through the streets and public spaces using all of my senses to absorb my surroundings. I went to Geneva and Zurich a couple years back, the cities were awesome. But Interlaken brought the standard much higher. In Interlaken, I was particularly struck by the sights of the absolute picturesque nature.
The next day, we went paragliding.
"Who will be riding with me?" A Japanese man by the name Miki suddenly asked. He began the process of untangling the ropes attaching to the parachutes to the harness.
I had gone paragliding in Prague, two years earlier, and wanted my friends to experience the same thrills : flying through the air, wind whipping our faces, eye to eye with the Alps. I personally wanted to go for skydive just like I did in Dubai but our budget was quite tight, so paraglide will just have to do. Seeing Switzerland from a different perspective was entirely refreshing, yet unnerving.
"We walk, and then run!"
Miki and I tethered together, and Miki held the parachute ropes in his hands, ready to take-off. On his count, we walked, and leaped skyward ; pulled by the parachute that caught in the wind as we flew.
As we flew over the valleys and mountain, unease gave way to dubiety and later, quiet joy. There was a pure glee surged inside me as we flew. The sunlight illuminated the Alps and the farms, homes, hotels and livestock that dotted under my feet.
After almost 40 minutes in the air, we were getting ready to land. The land downward seems closer, the homes and the surroundings getting bigger in proportions.
“Feet up!” Miki shouted. I kicked my legs out in preparation for our landing. Touching down, they raced of their own accord, trying to catch up with the speed at which we were landing.
We spent the rest of the days by wandering around town, getting to know the locals. We also went up to Piz Gloria, the place was widely known as James Bond's set and there was an exhibition inside the restaurant that displayed posters and things that related to the James Bond's movies.
"Let's go back home. I have class the day after tomorrow."
"Alright."
- 12:01
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