Final Destinations: Gimmelwald, Interlaken, Grindelwald, and Frankfurt

The train ride from Cinque Terra included many interchanges and about 11 hours of traveling. I finally arrived at Gimmelwald at about 6pm. I was a little nervous that the hostel was shut down since there were not many lights on, but fortuently they were not. When I got in to the hostel a guy named Brian was there that was there last time I was there, I also met a guy named Dan from Minnesota.

My plan for this couple of days was to do nothing except eat, play pool, and chill with the other hostelers. I had brought up a lot of food from Interlaken, so I was set for a couple of days. The first two days I spent read books and talking to Dan and Brian. Later on a group of 7 guys from Westmont in California came up to the Mountain Hostel. They wanted to do a hike to the ice caves, they wanted me to come since I had done it before. I decided to go, it took us about 2 hours to get there. It was a lot more challenging than the time before because of all of the snow covering the trail. At one point we were following the stream and jumping from rock to rock above the water. I decided to get to the other side, when I jump I landed on a pile of snow I thought was a rock and splashed down into the water. I tried to get out immediately, but I could not get any grip. It kind of looked like I was on an exercise machine where you pump your legs and arms, but don't go anywhere. I thought for a little while that I would have to go back to the hostel to dry my feet, but I had good socks on that kept my feet warm even though my feet were wet. My time in Gimmelwald was probably my favorite place in Europe. I loved the beauty of the outdoors, the relaxed feeling, and the people I met there.

I would have stayed at the Mountain Hostel the rest of my trip, but they were closing down for the season, so I headed to Grindelwald. I thought Grindelwald would be great. I had read that they had a 15 km sledding course and some great places to go skiing. I figured there would be some places to ski because people were skiing in a town next to Gimmelwald named Murren, but there was not snow there yet. That was quite frustrating because the hostel was $42 and there was nothing there that I wanted to do. Since I didn't get to go skiing I met a German and we went to the local gym and went swimming and afterwards watched the girls skate at the ice rink in the same building. I wasn't going to stay here more than one night since there was nothing to do, so I headed to Interlaken the next day.

In Interlaken I bought a few Christmas presents for my family, which I cannot disclose yet since is has not come yet, but I think they were pretty good ideas. When I got there I ran in to an Australian that I had met before in Florence. He was a fun guy full of energy. It seemed like everyone was in the same mood because we all ended up watching 3 movies in one day. We watched Blazing Saddles, Snatch, and V for Vendetta. After one day in Interlaken I headed up to Frankfurt.

In Frankfurt I was planning to stay at the Stay and Learn, but they were filled, so I ended up at one that was about a 45 minute walk away. I was frustrated at first, but in the end it was worth it. The hostel had a great dinner for only 5 euros. The next morning I walked to train station and caught a train to the airport. I bought a few magazines and was headed back to the US.