Zipfelbobing down the Alps
Saturday
Let me start off by saying I decided not to go to Switzerland because 1. it is too freaking expensive, 2. I couldn't find anyone to host me on couch surfing, and 3. I'll be going in May anyways, so no point in spending all of my money, twice.
During the day my friend Cortni and I decided to go into a town called Weilheim and go shopping for a little bit. Or really, window shop and check out all the things we can't afford to buy :) (good ole au pair salary) I did actually come away with some nice winter gear for a good price!
Once we were finished and getting bored with shopping, we decided to head back to the house for some lunch and to get ready to go sledding!
Now, I am in Germany, and when Germans say go sledding, they don't mean down a tiny hill where you can walk up and sled down several times before you get tired. They mean hike up the Alps, (over 5,000 ft to be exact) and sled down on a tiny sled called a zipfelbob, and pray you don't die (last part was all me).
So, not really realizing what my friends host dad had suggested for us to do, we were all in the car and ready to go! He had suggested that we hike up during the day, and then we can sled down once its dark. Sounds pretty fun right?
WELL, this hike, took us (probably because of my out of shape butt) over an hour. Hiking during the summer is one thing, but when you have layers on layers of clothes on, and you are walking in snow, some parts knee deep.. it is a whole different playing field. You are also hiking up the Alps, so the incline on this bad boy is NOT fun.
However, the scenery is absolutely gorgeous! Unfortunately, we did the hike when it was dark out, so pictures of the scenery really didn't turn out.. sorry!
Once we finally and painfully made it up to the hill aka mountain, we saw where we were supposed to sled down, and let me just say, I almost died. Cortni and Lingling wanted to go up to the very very top.. I went ahead and said no ( I was kind of a chicken.. but also terrified that I was going to damage my hand even more after having surgery just a few weeks ago) so I stayed and waited for them. After sweating from climbing up the mountain, and then being standstill for a while, you start to freeze. Since I had to wait for the other two, I started to do jumping jacks and jog in place.. got a few awkward stares from some people but oh well.
Finally, Cortni and Lingling started coming down the hill.. at tremendous speed I might add! They zoom into where I am so I can grab my jacket from Cortni and we can all ravine down this mountain together!
This has got to be one of the most terrifying/thrilling things I have ever done.
It is a very hilly mountain, and you are up so high that once you come up to another part of the hill, you see nothing but city in the distance.. so pretty much it looks like once you go over that hill, you are going to drop off the face of the earth.
Once you start going though, it is sooo much fun! It took us about 20 minutes to sled down this mountain.
I freaked out a couple of times though because in order to not go 100 mph, you need to keep your feet on the ground as you are sledding, but when you do this, snow gets in your face and eyes, and therefore you can't see where you are going AT ALL. Terrifying.
But I am here, and alive and well, and loved the entire experience. So much so that Cortni and I went again on Sunday :)