September 30 – Interlaken

September 30, 2016 – Interlaken Switzerland
We met at 9am to meet Henry to learn more about Switzerland. He was very informative and funny. He had us boo each person who came in the room after 9am. He said in Switzerland the only thing ruder than arriving early is to arrive late. We talked with Henry for exactly 1 hour.
At 10:45am we took a walk around the town to get oriented. It is actually 2 towns separated by a river that is treated like one town.
We had free time from 11:30am to 3:30pm. Carol and I sat on a bench across the street from our hotel watching the parasailers land. We picked up sandwiches for lunch and sat on her balcony and then watched some more.
At 3:30pm we boarded our bus to go to the nearby village of Brienz to tour a local woodcarving shop and museum. Henry, from this morning, was the museum guide who greeted us on arrival. After touring the museum, we were taught how to carve a cow and then given a piece of wood that had the general shape of a cow already carved to finish. We had a sharp knife and a mesh glove to prevent cuts. After carving, we had to add a bell, horns, and ears. They brought out paints for us to finish our cows.
At 6pm we were divided into groups to visit the homes of and eat dinner with local families. There were 5 in my group. We met Veronica, our hostess, outside the museum. She lives in a rented lower level of a house high above Lake Brienz. There was a great view from the yard. She has lived in Switzerland for 35 years and is originally from Britain. She told us about her life and we asked many questions about living in Switzerland. It was a very good time.
Tomorrow morning we visit a farm and then have the rest of the day to ourselves. I have started a cold so I am not sure how active I’ll be.