We independently select everything we recommend.
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we → select → everything
Buying through us may earn us a commission, which supports our work.
uncertain
which → buy → work
BEATENBERG, Switzerland — “Keep running, even when the hill gets steep,” Mario Jost says as he straps me into the harness.
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he → keep → harness
We’re high above the Swiss town of Interlaken, with the snow-capped peaks of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau in the distance, and I’m about to take a massive leap of faith.
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I → ’re → faith
“Don’t sit down, don’t jump, just run,” the paragliding pilot cautions warmly, with the air of someone who’s done it a thousand times before.
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who → sit → it
“I can’t carry you, and it’s like a train, we need to speed up.”
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we → carry → train
But my life back home in Toronto is considerably less action-packed.
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life → pack → Toronto
A lump forms in my throat as I think of my husband and son still sleeping soundly in their beds down below.
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husband → form → beds
Heart pounding, I watch members of our group start taking off, two by two just ahead of us.
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members → pound → us
Jost gives me the signal, and we start to run full tilt down the hill.
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we → give → hill
I try to synchronize our steps while he focuses on pulling the glider up over our heads.
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he → try → heads
Within seconds, my feet lift off the ground, and a euphoric sense of calm washes over me.
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sense → lift → me
So this is what flying feels like.
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flying → feel → what
The turquoise waters of Lakes Brienz and Thun glisten under the morning light, and all is quiet except for the gentle hum of the wind.
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all → glisten → wind
“You did great,” Jost assures me as I loosen my grip and relax into the hammock-like harness.
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I → do → harness
Looking down at my feet, dangling over the treetops, I spy a few cars on the road — a sign the town is starting to wake up.
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town → look → road
There’s a reason Interlaken is known as the adventure capital of Europe.
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Interlaken → ’ → Europe
People come from all over to see the jagged peaks and glacier-fed lakes that have made the Swiss Alps world famous, and activities like skydiving, canyoning and paragliding offer a unique vantage point.
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activities → come → point
I came to retrace the footsteps of my parents’ honeymoon more than 40 years ago.
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I → come → honeymoon
For decades, I’ve heard them reminisce about the mountain views, quaint alpine villages and “unbelievable” cheese made from the milk of cows that graze high in the Alps from spring through fall.
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that → hear → fall
As a child, I imagined what it would be like to walk among the wooden chalets and wildflowers with a chorus of cowbells echoing nearby.
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it → imagine → cowbells
It’s something else to experience in person.
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It → ’ → person
On a two-week trip in June, I set out with my family to explore the landlocked country I had heard so much about.
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I → set → country
Landing in Zurich after an eight-hour flight, we eventually made our way by train to Interlaken and Montreux — two very different resort towns in the German- and French-speaking regions of Switzerland that stole my mother’s heart — spending days at several planned stops along the way.
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that → land → way
Serving as a gateway to the Jungfrau region in the Bernese Oberland, Interlaken boasts quick and easy access to scenic alpine villages like Lauterbrunnen, with its 72 waterfalls that cascade down onto the valley floor, and Mürren, a car-free community perched dramatically high on the mountainside.
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that → serve → mountainside
Beyond being extraordinarily beautiful, the two neighbours have had a lasting impact on pop culture, too.
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neighbours → have → culture
The former inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s vision of Rivendell in Lord of the Rings, while the latter’s towering Schilthorn peak served as the backdrop for the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
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peak → inspire → Service
At the summit, 2,970 metres above sea level, we toured a museum dedicated to the film before enjoying a boozy brunch at Piz Gloria, a rotating restaurant with 360-degree views of more than 200 mountain peaks.
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we → tour → peaks
But it’s the Birg cable car station below that offers the best look at the region’s three most famous peaks: Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau (the ogre, monk and virgin).
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that → ’ → peaks
While many have dared to climb Eiger’s treacherous north face — called Mordwand or “murderous wall” by locals — estimates suggest only several hundred or so have succeeded.
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hundred → dare → locals
In 2015, Ueli Steck, who earned the nickname the Swiss Machine for his quick ascent of the world’s tallest and most difficult peaks, managed to do it free solo in two hours and 22 minutes, setting a new world record.
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who → earn → record
Standing on Birg’s thrill walk, a 200-metre-long stretch of steel and glass suspended over a vertical abyss, was enough of an adrenalin rush for me.
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Standing → stand → me
Of course, speed climbing is just one of many sports that draws travellers to the area.
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that → draw → area
Widely credited as the birthplace of modern downhill and slalom skiing, Mürren has run the oldest, longest and largest amateur downhill ski race every January since 1928 (named the Inferno for its punishing and gruelling conditions).
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Mürren → credit → conditions
We witnessed that ingenuity firsthand on the world’s steepest cable car, which climbs 775 metres in just four minutes at a gradient of 159.4 per cent, making the storied mountain town accessible to people of all ages and abilities.
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town → witness → ages
My husband Mark was fascinated by the challenges Switzerland’s mountain terrain poses to infrastructure and the like.
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terrain → fascinate → infrastructure
Questions about construction, transportation and plumbing came like clockwork with every new setting, and he approached each one like a riddle he could solve.
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he → come → riddle
There were questions at Mount Titlis in Engelberg, where an industrial antenna tower standing more than 3,000 metres above sea level has been transformed into a tourist hub boasting the highest Rolex store in the world.
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tower → be → world
It wasn’t until we were en route to Montreux, watching a patchwork of alpine countryside transform into the palm-tree-lined streets of the Swiss Riviera, that the main topic of conversation shifted to: “I can’t believe this is still Switzerland.”
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this → watch → conversation
The velvet-lined Belle Époque train delivered us to the French-speaking town in early 1900s-style luxury.
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train → line → luxury
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
