day 29: a promise

It was heart wrenching to say goodbye. A part of me would never leave Interlaken, now my favourite destination in Europe. It is the most romantic place I have been to.

The drizzle and gloomy skies in the morning reflected both Jerrain's and my reluctance as the train pulled off. We said goodbye to the beautiful surrounding and our hostel mates.

I promised the mountains and lakes that I would be back.

The only consolation was having Jerrain and Oyvind by my side. We drowned our sorrows in a shot of absinth and countless shots - one per bridge we crossed to be exact - on the pub crawl.

• Location: Venice, Italy
• Train: Interlaken to Brig 1 hour, Brig to Venezia S. Lucia 5 hours
• Cost: €1 ice cream, €10 Nussel "Marinara", €1.20 ice cream, €10 pub crawl, €38 hostel, €10 drinks
• Highlight: Yes! Finally Oyvind and I meet again, after almost half a year. It was good to be able to pick up where we left off. After travelling and meeting more people in the past four weeks, I have learnt to appreciate our friendship. It is rare to find a great friend whom I can keep in touch and travel with.

day 28: say cheese fondue

Our last full day in Interlaken. Jerrain and I were determined to keep it as relaxing as possible. So no more seven-hour cycling or heavy partying.

We skipped breakfast at our hostel for a full spread at the main square in town. Des Alpes, a restaurant recommended by our hostel, had seats facing the field where many paragliders land. We had:

• Cheese fondue with bread - 28.50chf
• Sirloin steak 180 grams - 35.90 chf
• A bottle of Ramseier's Apfel Schorle (sparkling apple juice) each - 4.50chf

We saw at least 15 paragliders while we had lunch. Paragliding is now on my bucket list, so is canyoning and sky diving! Especially after seeing Mike's video and photos of his dive over dinner.

The highlight of the day was discovering Tally Weijl! Jerrain bought a pretty black dress and a white top, and I could not resist a pair of white shorts.

We were all ready for bed about 9pm when the inviting 'Happy Hour' gong went off. (Actually I had been watching the time and wondering why the daily gong had not gone off yet). I had a last 10chf note in my wallet for emergency, and we concurred that it seemed like one. So we hurried down to the bar in our pyjamas for our final two vodka cranberries.

As we were heading to bed (again), Dan and the guys came by with their 1chf beer. Xport pizza just next door was celebrating its second birthday and offering beers at this crazy price. Stocks were out by the time we got there so the boss gave us a 0.50chf discount off our 3.50chf local beer. We shared a salami and cheese pizza with the guys before (successfully this time) going to sleep.

• Location: Interlaken, Switzerland
• Highlight: Hard to believe, but it was shopping at Tally Weijl and trying all the pretty dresses! And drinking at Metro Bar in our PJs.
• Cost: 1.90chf postage per post card, 36.70chf lunch, 15chf white shorts, 8.35chf chocolates and shower foam, 9chf vodka cranberry, €10 chicken cordon bleu, 3chf beer, €4 pizza.

day 27: extreme cycling

Hearing our hostel mates boast about their paragliding and canyoning experience, Jerrain and I decided a little adventure could do us some good. Most would not consider this extreme sport, but this seven-hour bicycle ride left us exhausted with two very sore buttocks.

Lake Brienzersee, a 14 kilometre lake stretching between the village of Brienz and Bönigen, was about 20 minutes away by bicycle. Gustevo (our roommate from Argentina), Jerrain and I rented bicycles and set off at 10ish in the morning.

After a few lucky turns, we were face to face with the magnificent lake. The wind was strong, stirring up currents across the lake. We had a quiet short stretch to ourselves, took photos and dipped our feet into the cold water till they got numb.

The journey to Iseltwald, a small village by the lake, took much longer than we expected. The never-ending up slopes meant we had to push our bicycles for quite a distance. But it was all worth it. The views of peaceful cottages lining Lake Brienz and the 2137 metres tall Augstmatthorn in the background were amazing! We rewarded ourselves with carbs-heavy lunch at a small restaurant in Iseltwald.

All that adrenaline-pumping action in the day left us yearning for more. Fortunately, Balmers hostel housed one of the most popular clubs in Interlaken. Thursday night was quieter than Wednesday 'Beach Party' themed night. But we had a blast playing Kings with our three roommates from Washington DC - Dan, Zac and Adam.

• Location: Interlaken, Switzerland
• Highlight: Feeling the cold water of Lake Brienz in the morning. I am deeply in love with the mountains and lakes. I definitely want to come back!
• Cost: 25chf 4-hour bicycle rental, 20chf sausage and rosti for lunch, 32chf drinks at Metro bar
• Injury: I can hardly feel the pain when I walk. It hurts a little when I apply gel to the injured area. 8/10
• People: Big Mike who is always friendly and never fails to say hello; Gustevo, my neighbour from Argentina who took the bed right next to me; Dan, Zach and Adam from Washington who taught us the best drinking game ever!

day 26: i am in love

I am in love. Today, the lucky guy is... Interlaken! Here are the reasons why:

1. I woke up in the middle of the Bernese Oberland Alps and the magnificent view melted my heart.
2. I took a nap by Lake Thun, a beautiful Alphine lake which is 17.5 kilometres in length.
3. Everywhere I looked, there was blue sky, dotted with fluffy white clouds.
4. Drivers always gave way to padestrians. Always.
5. The bus drivers and local people were amazingly friendly and helpful. And the bus trips were free with my visitor card!
6. At 27 degrees celcius, it was warm enough to be in my summer dress but cool enough to walk a mile without perspiring.

Ask me again tomorrow. I might still be deeply in love.

• Location: Interlaken, Switzerland
• Cost: 15.80chf hooters wings for lunch, 4.45chf chicken caesar sandwich, 1chf choco milk, 1.20chf moisturiser
• Highlight: Waking up in the tent right in the middle of the mountains. I would do that again any time. Only short of wifi.
• Injury: I was no longer limping and could walk at regular pace. The injured foot only hurt slightly when I walked for more than 45 minutes. 7.5/10

day 25: camping in the alps

Balmers Tent Village is right in the heart of the Swiss Bernese Oberland Alps. It had a row of twelve tents - each housing two to six beds - and a lawn with hammocks and sun chairs to relax on.

Jerrain and I enjoyed sleeping in the tent at Mount Ophir so much we could not resist another opportunity. We booked Mexico City, one of the twelve tents, for the first of four nights in beautiful Interlaken.

Mexico City had two comfortable big beds, a full length mirror (which was the first thing Jerrain noticed), a table, two chairs and a gas heater I could not seem to operate. Common hot showers and toilets were just a few tents away and the main tent had free coffee and tea all day.

Situated 800 metres from the main hostel, the only hassle was the need to take a bus for breakfast, free wifi or the famous Metro Club at the hostel. After a few drinks (too many), Jerrain and I trekked two bus stops in the dark and cold at two in the morning. Fortunately, we did not get lost and found the Tent Village quickly.

Only thing we missed was Siew Huey - the third blonde tent buddy to reenact our Mount Ophir night out under the stars.

• Location: Zurich and Interlaken, Switzerland
• Cost: €1 hot chocolate, €1 salami bagette, €10 burger and fries, 4.50chf wine, 28.50chf per night at balmers, 14chf drinks at Metro club
• Train: Munchen hbf to Zurich 4 hours, Zurich to Luzern 40 minutes, Luzern to Interlaken 2 hours
• Lost and found: Grey Cotten-On scarf and Blondi. I cannot believe I left Blondi behind at the train station! I hope he finds a good owner.
• Injury: Walking with the backpack is still a struggle. I can feel that the injured area on right foot is still soft and sore, it hurts a little when I am applying the prescribed gel.
• Highlight: The scenic two-hour train ride between Lucern and Interlaken is extremely popular. Today we saw why. Passing mountains and lakes, we were not the only passengers in the cabin snapping away.