Day 25

Why couldn't coming home be easy?  First a 2 plus hot delay in Zurich.  Now a automatic rebook for 6 hours later AND going to DC. Hanging in the airport while USAir comes up with a better solution.

Day 24 - our last

Today may have been the toughest challenge we've seen the whole time we've been gone. We all hiked up Elsigen. Some of us took the high road and some the low but we all did it. On the alp was a man-made lake, which many of us swam in. I heard it was quite chilly. Tomorrow we head for home and while part of each of us is glad to be returning home,  there's also a part of us that doesn't want the adventure to be over. It was certainly a trip I will always remember. Thank you for letting me take your daughters so far away for so long!  See everyone tomorrow afternoon. .

Day 23

Here we are at the top of Niessen after a ride in the funicular. The view from up here was phenomenal!  Alps in every direction,  some covered with snow. After we rode back down the mountain,  we hopped in a bus for the ride to Thun lake and a short ferry trip.  Some of us visited Oberhoffen castle, and some continued into Thun for some shopping and sightseeing in this medieval town. We participated in the Special Agent Storrow competition, racing all over Our Chalet to earn points while solving puzzles.

Day 21

Today we went to the Reharti Adventure Park. Every one of us had the chance to overcome one or more fears. We all took turns ziplining across the gorge on lines as high as 80 feet. We crossed a high ropes course and then abseiled off the side of the bridge as well. This was followed by rock climbing up some pretty challenging rocks. We ended the day with a long uphill hike back to the Chalet.

Day 19

Day nineteen, finally! We all want to come home so bad by now. We woke up at 7:45. Breakfast  at 8. And then we climbed into a bus heading an hour away to a town called Interlaken. We climbed out of the bus after being fOrced to sit next to strangers, and walked down the street to a Chocolateir and watched a short 20-minute tutorial of chocolate making.  It wasn't very interesting for us though after the 5-hour chocolate tour in Brussels, but Ms. JEN enjoyed it.  We split up after that and munced on our lunches and splitting up into white water rafting or hiking. Almost all of us chose the rafting, and so we headed to the rating place. The cute little hut run by all New Zealand, shirtless,  men was very quaint and cozy.  We got dressed in our wetsuits and shows and climbed in the van to the river.  For the next hour we were being instructed and "fun-facted" until our wetsuits were soaked with sweat. Serving ourselves out in safety gear and slipping down the bank to our rafts. Seven people were in our boat plus the guide; Sarah B. Alina Morgan Cat Emily Ms. Loriannn, and me (Mikhaila). For the next 3 hours we fought through the ice cold rapids, laughing and learning and listening to instructions from the guide.  At one point we were at a war with the other rafts. And Sarah B. turned out to be in every boat at one point. We finish with a dip in the lake and leave tired, aching, but happy. We finished the day with shopping at chocolate shops and a long bus ride home.

Day 18

Okay so yesterday we went on this really long hike,  and it was fab! Some people didn't like the uphill but It was worth it. We got to this big gorge and we had to repel down the huge hill thing into the deep gorge and it was foul. It was cool but so scary!  Then we went into a wood carvers and saw a bunch of neat stuff! It was all made by hand. Then sarah and I shared a plum cake and it was delish!  Then we hiked back to the chalet and took showers.  Then we had Swiss night where we ate fondue.  It was a fun day.

Day17

To start the day off, we ate breakfast and participated in morning flag. We then split into groups and started our stations. The first station I did was to make a campfire in the traditional swiss style by cutting tinder and kindling off of blocks of wood with knives. We had a contest to see who could build a fire and burn through a string the fastest. The second station was learning about how to separate different types of recyclable materials and trash and then to wrap an egg in the different materials and see if it won't crack when dropped out of a window. After the second station, we ate a barbeque lunch and took a break before starting the last two stations. The third station was about different swiss crafts including woodburning, papercutting, and snowflake making. The fourth station was orienteering. We learned how to use a map and compass and had a scavenger hunt to find points. After stations we ate dinner and had an international night to learn about where all the troops at Our Chalet came from.
-Elizabeth