Rolling into the weekend of January 27th
31 JanThis past weekend was all about Interlaken and Naples. Two polar opposites, but all in all two amazing trips. Between the night sledding and hot chocolate in Switzerland to the most perfect pizza slice in Naples, the heart of Italy, students had the time of their life.
As far as Interlaken goes it was a great weekend in the Alps yet again. Clear weather made for scenic wonderlands on Friday and Saturday. It’s hard to find flaws in a place so wonderfully enchanting. Joey, the Bus2alps guide from Barcelona, took a few rookies up to Männlichen and made a few runs to shake the rust off. They had a blast and really got the hang of it. When it was time to chow down… students and locals alike smashed the Teepee, a local eatery on the mountain, for a banging Teepee Club Sandwich, then headed out for some adventure. On Saturday a few of the brave hiked The Tsuggen Couloirs…. Bad ass Bus2alps’n right there…. Friday and Saturday evening were also the time for night sledding. It’s literally like playing Sherbet Land on Mario Kart 64. The only thing missing were some banana peels and turtle shells. It took a a few minutes for everyone to get the hang of it but by the end we were all flying down the mountain. The party scene was also alive and well this weekend. It’s clear that Balmers Metro Bar is your rage-home away from rage-home, nestled gently into the Alps…Overall an excellent weekend.
On the other side of the spectrum we had a day trip running from Rome to Naples. Known for it’s unique and chaotic personality, Naples is everything that epitomizes stereotypical Italy. The pizza, the people, the music, the passion. Our day began with a perfect pizza, the perfect wait staff, and the most perfect music. Four simple words, “pizza margherita, per favore.” And the pizza was delivered. Red and white and green and delicious. A mouthwatering masterpiece, as one would only expect from the Napoletani. One bite and we all knew instantly that this was pizza margherita to perfection. Just when we all thought life couldn’t get any better, in came the music man. “Tu vuo fa l’americano, -mmericano, -mmericano!” He played his guitar, he sang with his soul, and the music came straight from his heart. This is love. This is Italy. This is living. This is Naples.
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- Jungfrau Region; Interlaken, Switzerland
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- Night Sledding Gondola; Interlaken, Switzerland
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- Piazza Plebiscito; Naples, Italy
Jumping on the new semester in Interlaken
25 Jan
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- Interlaken is bliss!
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- The best powder is at the top!
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- Getting excited for a nightsledding adventure
Jumping out of an airplane, cruising down the mountain on sleds at night, carving fresh tracks on some of the best terrain this planet has to offer, sailing through the sky with a paraglider, leaping off a suspended platform and flying through a canyon, exploring the views and local fare of Switzerland, and capping it all off each night at the local hot spot in town (located directly below our accommodation). Yeah, I’d say we had a lot of fun this weekend.
Over one hundred study abroad students from across continental Europe traveled with us to Interlaken, Switzerland, this past weekend to engage in the world’s greatest winter wonderland. It’s hard not to fall in love with the town of Interlaken, and even harder when you get conditions and weather like we had this weekend. There was fresh powder begging to be thrown through the air by a board or skis, and the skies had cleared up to offer us majestic mountain vistas, whether seen from the chairlift, the windows of our hostel, or even the bus ride home.
Bus2alps Featured Blogger October 13 – Beatrice in Italia
13 OctSo the first half of the Fall semester has more or less wrapped itself up. Beach time is winding down (with the exceptions of the upcoming Croatia and Greece beach trips), and the sun has set on some great trips to Amalfi Coast, French Rivieria, Cinque Terre, and the rocking Oktoberfest. Our last featured blogger for this half of the best four month of your life comes from the blog, Beatrice in Italia. The blog has been cut down a bit from its original form. You can check out more of her experience and the full blog entry here.
Navy waters, Rocky cliffs, Clear skys, Sail boats…AMALFI COAST
Thursday evening around 7:30pm my roommates, Jessica, Lauren and I headed to the train station where we met our trip leader from Bus2Alps. Getting there nice and early, we scored some pretty sweet seats on the bus, which is prime considering the bus trip was 7 hours long. Yes, the joys of traveling as a poor college students. But after all the bus trips I’ve taken in Italy, I’m starting bear them a little more.
My roommates and I booked our trip with Bus2Alps, which was great because they took care of all the accommodations, traveling, and activities which makes EVERYTHING so much easier because you don’t look like the American trying to speak Italian at the train station trying to pick the CORRECT train to where you would like to go.
The hostel we stayed at was actually really really nice. It had this beautiful roof top terrace that had the most amazing views.
After grabbing lunch a boat waited for us at the dock and we managed to get seats right at the tip of it. (They weren’t quite seats but nothing blocked our view, who could ask for more) First stop: CLIFF JUMPING!…Best experience yet. As you fall, you think you will hit the water much faster than you do. Its the craziest thing. I felt as if I could do anything after that.
Second Stop: CAVE SWIMMING!. It was incredible. (enough said)
FEATURED BLOGGER OF THE WEEK
28 SepThis week’s Bus2alps featured blogger is Katherine Moran whose blog “Katherine Around the World” highighted this experience with Bus2alps in Munich titled “Blondes, Braids, and Bus2alps.” The entry has had some photos and contents removed. To check out the entry in its entirety, and read up on other experiences Katherine has had studying abroad, check out her blog here.
“Blondes, Braids and Bus2alps” by Katherine Moran
Thursday afternoon my friend Megan Bolan (from USD) flew all the way from Ireland, where she is studying abroad, to embark with Lindsay, Kaitlin, and me to Munich for Oktoberfest. We left at midnight with Bus2Alps for the 9 hour drive. I liked leaving that late because I slept the whole time and was ready to go when we got to Germany in the morning. We camped for the weekend, which was bittersweet… Being from California, I have never slept outside in temperatures under 70 degrees (after the first night I learned how many layers were needed). The campsite had lots of cool Aussies who ran “Stoketoberfest” who we also got a few perks from… including breakfast and unlimited beer and sangria for 5 euro… What more could a college kid want?
When we first got to the campsite, we took a scenic 6 hour bike tour of Munich where we made a ton of amazing/historical stops…
First stop: Theatinekirsche. Our witty bike tour guide told us that we could remember the name by “Tina Turner”, hehe. This church was built by the royal family because the king and queen had six daughters and needed a son, the king prayed that if he had a son, he would show his gratitude by building the most beautiful church. Hence, he had a son and began building this-
which of course carried into the next generation.
2. We made a quick stop by a piece of the Berlin Wall which came down in 1989.
3. We then rode through an English Garden and rode all around the park, ending up in a Bier Garten for some snackies.
After all that riding, we needed some snacks…
Kaitlin and I shared this! We had sausage, country potatoes, and shared a weissbier. Yummm. Trying to gain my adult taste buds by drinking beer. All this for 10 Euro! I love massive pretzels, they are so much cooler than average sized pretzels… I don’t know why, we Americans love to supersize!
3. Surfers in Munich?
Saw something I will probably never see again…. surfing in a river. It’s like those fake waves that you can ride at water parks for $5 extra. One kid would hop in the river and surf till he or the one girl fell. Then another kid would jump in. It was really fun to watch. They must have been freezing!
1st Day at Oktoberfest:
3. Reasons Why I love the world’s largest carnival….
1.Beer and Schnitzel Galore!!!
We went to the Hofbrauhaus. Our Bus2Alps tour guides took us there because they knew it would be the easiest tent for us to get beer. Thanks for the tip Joey! There were so many people inside but we wanted to make sure we got a table because you can’t be served standing up. So we ran outside and snagged a seat quickly. We were lucky and got a table by the parade!
A few minutes after they opened, we got served.
A full liter of beer!
Prost! Look each other in the eyes, or you will have bad sex for seven years? . . . crazy Germans.
Lindsay and I got weisswurst with sempf for 1 euro….My German friend Luisa says that it’s brain, Wikipedia says it’s finely minced veil…. but it looks like brain. Idk what to believe… But I also got my favorite, SCHNITZEL!!!!! I love me some crusty German bread.
I wish we had a pretzel castle back at home!
3. Dirndls and Lederhosen Everywhere!!!
Sooo many dirndls on so many different aged people… from the babies to the grandmas. And I’m surprised so many boys wore lederhosen, even teenagers. Wish I brought my dirndl, then again I might have froze in place…
Lots of Hansies and Heidis….I love, love, love how all around the world, whenever locals see tourists taking pictures, they give the peace sign.
Oktoberfest Day 2!!!
Megan and I shared this little tent, conveniently located next to Kaitlin and Lindsay. We didn’t do much sleeping because the campsite was a party in itself every night. Such a deal with breakfast and unlimited wine and beer for 5 euro. The sangria was delish. I’m beginning to memorize every beat to “Papa Americano”. One of the leaders, Joey told us about all the trips he’s been on and the different options Bus2Alps has, so now Kaitlin, Megan, Lindsay and I have the travel bug. Yay for my diminishing bank account!
Kaitlin, Lindsay, Megan, and I all went on the ferris wheel. We loved sitting in our cute little German gingerbread houses. Germans aren’t cheap, we got a lot for our money with this in that the wheel went around 6 times. Before coming to Oktoberfest, I didn’t know how big the carnival actually was. It’s massive.
Lindsay and I went on “Play Ball”…. more like “Puke Ball”. These buggies would spin in the opposite the direction of the spinning platform. Then the whole platform reversed. We were going sooo fast and screaming “Oktoberfest” the whole time. Good thing we only had a little bit of schnitzel before we rode. Barffff.
Ready for the long drive back to Florence… at least we have the countryside in Bavaria to look at, reclinable seats, and multiple movies to watch! Thank you Bus2Alps for planning this inexpensive 4 day trip for us, including some transportation and fun activities, without us having to lift a finger… Now back to my rough three day school week..
A Fresh Coat of Pink
10 Mar
Winding through what could be perceived as the barren wasteland that is Corfu, Greece, the sense of anticipation really sets in. I think the drive from the port of Corfu has anticipation that is insurmountable by any other trip I have been on. The barren wasteland I describe is actually not so barren after all, but it brings me joy to say that I am trekking through a terrain that at first glance looks like it can barely sustain a livable environment, but on second glance is home to flourishing array of supple olive groves and fantastically green, starvingly tall and slender trees that let your know you truly are in the cradle of Western civilization. So in other words, Corfu is a extraordinary case study for what true beauty is. They say Corfu is the most beautiful of all the Greek islands. I dare to argue this point as I have trouble finding anything not beautiful about the backdrop that looks as though Spielberg green-screened Jurassic Park and placed in the backdrop of Agios Gordis. So here I am, winding my way down the cliff that slopes into the blue-green waters of Agios Gordis, paraglider at eye level drinking up the breath-taking views, and smack right in front, finally is this vivid Pink blob, portraying all that is stereotypical of Greece. The Pink Palace had a fresh coat of pink, and I was embarking on a fresh coat of a new season here. I was greeted by my Greek and ex-pats working at the Palace buddies on first step, with hugs, kisses, war-stories, all the works. The staff here has, and always will be incredible, one that I have trouble comparing to Balmers Herberge because they both sustain the two friendliest staffs of any hostel I have ever had the pleasure of slumping my body into a bed. If it were not for my job being as awesome as it is, I would be on the waiting list to throw Pink Palace Cabana Boy (really just I clean up after you and get drunk with you) as my most recent job on my resume. However, I find it slightly more enjoyable to come here because of my job, not because it is my job, but I digress. The partying was quite delightful and incomparable by any other standards, especially with the always fun, and sometimes comical Pink Toga Party, the dinners included in the stay blowing away any pre-conceptions you may have about hostel food, and the experience paramount. Anyway, I am sitting here on my balcony grasping the awesomeness that has been the last two days, and will be the coming weeks of returning here, the smell of Gyros, Souvlaki, and Greek love in the air. I can not imagine what my life would like had I never stepped foot onto this sanctuary, but I am pretty sure there would be a whole in my physical and spiritual soul that could not be filled by any other material being. Today, I went on a hike up to the top of this cylindrical rock that would not have been inappropriate or unbelievable to find Velociraptors prancing around up there. Result, some of the most unbelievable scenery I have witnessed. In other words, all I am saying is you have to go to Corfu, you have to go to the Pink Palace, and there is no question about it.
Paris to Interlaken – Weekend incl. Transport and Accomodation from EUR 230
1 FebSPECIAL: What Included? Luxury coach transport with W/C, DVD, 3 nights accomodation, activity pre-booking service and a guaranteed good time!
INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND– Welcome to Europe’s Adventure Sport Capital! Interlaken is a must see while in Europe! A traditional Swiss village nestled in the Alps between 2 unbelievably blue mountain lakes, Interlaken is breathtaking and is guaranteed to be one of the highlights of your study abroad time! Bus2alps offers you one FANTASTIC weekend at an UNBEATABLE price!
Skiing, Snowboarding, Night Sledding, Snowshoeing, Skydiving, Paragliding, Hanggliding, Canyon Jump, Scooter, Funcars, ATV’s, Mountain Bikes, Mountain Hikes, Lake Hikes, Chill. Interlaken has it all!
Weekend Highlights- The Unbelievable Beauty of The Swiss Alps and the Berner Oberland Region. Being ‘On The Mountain’, Skydiving (just ask anyone that goes), Partying at Balmers Metro Bar, Night sledding.
Barcelona to Interlaken – fantastic snow weekend from EUR 250
1 FebSPECIAL: What Included? Luxury coach transport with W/C, DVD, 3 nights accomodation, activity pre-booking service and a guaranteed good time!
INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND– Welcome to Europe’s Adventure Sport Capital! Interlaken is a must see while in Europe! A traditional Swiss village nestled in the Alps between 2 unbelievably blue mountain lakes, Interlaken is breathtaking and is guaranteed to be one of the highlights of your study abroad time! Bus2alps offers you one FANTASTIC weekend at an UNBEATABLE price!
Skiing, Snowboarding, Night Sledding, Snowshoeing, Skydiving, Paragliding, Hanggliding, Canyon Jump, Scooter, Funcars, ATV’s, Mountain Bikes, Mountain Hikes, Lake Hikes, Chill. Interlaken has it all!
Weekend Highlights- The Unbelievable Beauty of The Swiss Alps and the Berner Oberland Region. Being ‘On The Mountain’, Skydiving (just ask anyone that goes), Partying at Balmers Metro Bar, Night sledding.
Bus2alps Trip Photos
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