As our train rolled out of Italy, our intense sweating finally began to subside. The only thing that could make me happy at this point would be to lie naked on a glacier in the middle of blizzard for 24 to 48 hours.

Only about 3 hours into Switzerland, we had a 20 minute “layover” on a train platform. Exiting the train we were overjoyed at temperatures in the mid-50’s. Literally, a 40 degree drop in no more than 3 hours. It was bliss. I was giddy. Now, the only thing on my mind was Swiss chocolate.

Benny hadn’t shaved in about 2 weeks. Being Romanian, (Side Note: Romanians are actually considered to be more of Latin decent than anything else. Although no one really knows exactly where we (I’m 50% Romanian) came from, most Romanians trace their lineage back to Roman soldiers somewhere between 100-300 AD made their way into Romania and made babies with the “locals”), Benny – unfortunately for him – looks like a terrorist with more than 8 days of facial growth. There’s really no other way to say it. Even though I’m half, I look like I’m straight off of the Viking ship. So when the guards came walking through the train to stamp our passports, I handed mine over, gave a little half-smile-grin-head-nod type of delivery; the guard stamped my passport and moved on.

As I peered two rows up as the two guards stopped to question Benny, the guards said something on their radio in German…translated “Call in Larry for reinforcements, we may have a terrorist on our hands”. A third guard appeared through the door. (Another Side Note: The Swiss take National security very seriously). Here’s the situation: one guard studying Benny’s passport; the second guard intensely questioning Benny about everything except the type of cheese he ate for dinner; the third guard locked and loaded with his hand on the holster.

Yes, they racially profile in Switzerland.

As our train motored through Switzerland towards Interlaken, our faces were glued to the windows. If you’ve ever been to the Yosemite Valley – picture the 5,000 foot sheer granite faces of El Capitan and Half Dome. Now multiply those and place them all over Switzerland. Then add lakes everywhere. Then add massive snow-covered alpine peaks on top of all of the sheer granite walls. Then add traditional Swiss mountain homes separated by vast lush green valleys. Welcome to Switzerland. The pictures will not even come close to doing justice to what we saw.

Our final destination: The Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald (Gee-mel-vald). The transportation to the Hostel was equally charming – the Swiss are masters at transportation, details and logistics. The route was as follows:

Take the train to Interlaken Ost – change trains to Lauterbrennen

Exit train in Lauterbrennen – take bus to the end of the Valley

Exit bus at the gondola tramway.

Take gondola to the top of the cliff (This part is equivalent to taking a gondola from the Yosemite Valley floor to the top of El Capitan in about 5 minutes)

Exit the gondola – walk about 50 yards to the entrance of the Mountain Hostel, perched on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the valley. This would be our home for the next four days.

Reasons to come to the Mountain Hostel:

• Switzerland is gorgeous and the Mountain Hostel is right in the middle of it.
• 23 Franks per night
• 50 Beds in a small mountain hut = meeting lots of people from all over the world
• Petra & Walter – the owners of the hut are supposedly really cool people – they were on holiday while we were there...so Veronica manned the hut – and fell in love with Benny (more on that later).
• Trails into the Alps begin as you walk out of the hut. 30 minutes to Interlaken – which is second only to New Zealand in adventure sports. Anything you want is right there: Mountaineering, Canyoning, Mountain Biking, Skiing, Hiking, Climbing, Bungee Jumping, Sky Diving…the list goes on…

Here’s how it works in the hostel:

You wake up at about 9 o’clock, either because: 1) The melodic hum of 10-15 dudes snoring has ceased (bring ear plugs), 2) You see the sun, or 3) The air is so thick with the night’s breath that suffocation begins to set in. You then take to your activities for the day – hiking to the top of the Schilthorn (as featured in Bond 007 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), taking a trip down to Interlaken, or some other mountain activity. After everyone has completely spent themselves from a day in the mountains, everyone reconvenes at the hostel. The night sessions generally begins with a soak in the hot tub. Then the food, drinks and games begin. Some of our best times of the whole trip were our nights in the Mountain Hostel – waiting in line for the internet, talking with people from all over the world, and pounding on the tables at 1 am in the midst of an intense game of BS.

Veronica ran the place while Petra & Walter were on Holiday. Veronica loved Benny. One night (morning) about 2 am Benny, Seth and I had finished a night of table-pounding, card-playing, wine-drinking fun…and we retired to the bar to talk to Veronica. Veronica posed the question to us, “what do you guys really look for in a girl?” We kind of looked at each other. “Well, I guess it’s kind of hard to really sum up”, I said. “I mean, there are a lot of things…” I said. She was looking for a synopsis that we just were able to provide.

“It’s easy”, she said. “You just need to find a girl who you can steal horses with.”

Silence.

We all looked at each other. Then we thought about it for a while. More looks at each other. We were all thinking the same thing. “She’s right.” In order to steal horses, you have to be fun, smart, adventurous, be able to work together as a team…you’ve just gotta click with someone. “Stealing horses.” Who would’ve thought? Thanks to Veronica and her German wisdom, the three of us came back to the States looking for a girl we can steal horses with.

We learned a lot in that little mountain hut and we vowed we’d get back there some day.