Yesterday we went to a ropes course in Interlaken. After missing our first train and taking several trains we arrived in Interlaken Ost. Unfortunately our directions were from the other station Interlaken West (!) but we did not realize that. We started towards the middle of the city looking for a quick snack. Eventually we stumbled upon a greasy little hamburger place but we were too hungry to care. After our snack we followed my Dad as he TRIED to find the ropes course. As we traveled in endless circles of misery and exercise around the city, my mom and I amused ourselves by watching the paragliders flying and landing in the park. Now, for most other countries you would be jumping off a tall tower or structure, in Switzerland you jump off the top of a mountain. We asked for directions to the Ropes Park, or Seilpark in German. The lady we asked pointed in the right direction and soon we were at the front desk of the ropes course. The man gave us each harnesses and gloves and we put our stuff in storage, we then got in our equipment and went outside for the safety demonstration. The instructor told us about the rules of the park, the different courses, and how to use our harnesses. Each harness had two carabineers and a bulky zip line attachment. The instructor said, “When you need to take off your carabineers, take one off and clip it in the new location, then take off the other one. Also, when you are attaching your carabineers, make sure one faces one way and on the other one that the metal bar that goes in is facing the opposite direction, this gives more support. Now, to explain the zip lines: cord that is marked red at the beginning is a safety line for carabineers and can be used to help keep your balance. Cord that is marked yellow is a zip line. Take off your zip line attachment and attach it to the line like this. Then just zip over in this position.” When the lesson was over we quickly completed the warm up course and decided which one to go on next. Everyone else wanted to start off at the beginning, difficulty wise, and we all went on the Mountain Goat. The courses were in order of difficulty: Butterfly, Mountain Goat, Grasshopper, Flying Fox, Squirrel, Woodpecker and Eagle. When we were done with the Mountain Goat we went on the Grasshopper, (we- as in everyone except my mom, who had decided that she wanted to man the camera instead of climb). As we finished the Grasshopper, Katherine was proud even though it was scary and made for taller people. She stuck to the Mountain Goat and Butterfly after that. My Dad and I were still in the mood for adventure, and so we decided to go on the Squirrel and Flying Fox to end things off. About seventy-five percent through the Squirrel I was convinced that I had stumbled upon a course only possible for actual squirrels. The obstacles were hair rising and being 60 feet in the air didn’t help either. I do admit though that not all the obstacles were that bad. One really fun obstacle had you swing like Tarzan, except on a rope, from platform to platform. Anyhow, we were seventy-five percent through the squirrel when it intersected with the Fox. My father and I made a heat-of-the-moment decision and zipped down on the Flying Fox zip lines. When our feet finally touched the ground we congratulated each other and went to find the girls. My sister was still climbing on the Mountain Goat but my mom was talking to a couple who lived in Colorado and flew planes. I said hello and they introduced me to their son, Thomas. Their daughter, Peyton, was climbing with Katherine. Peyton was 9 and Thomas was almost 12. Thomas asked me if I would take him up on one of the courses and I happily agreed. We started "rope"-ing, and I led the way while he followed behind. Since I had already done the course I was able to explain the complicated obstacles to him and we both had a good time. Meanwhile our fathers were both taking pictures with their massive cameras below, well my dad was actually using my small camera but that didn’t really make a difference to the experience. When we touched ground once more, we headed for the Flying Fox but our parents wouldn’t let us go on another one, for time was short. We dropped off our equipment and retrieved our stuff. As we prepared to walk back, the mother kindly offered to drive us to the train station. We got out of the car and said goodbye when we were at the train station. Before we went home we picked up some chocolates and gifts. The chocolate was delicious and we arrived at the hotel with big bellies and full smiles.