'you let a STRAY cat into the room?!'

buffalo chicken sandwich @ hooters.

Waking late after an intense night of sledding, we woke hungry and ready to eat. Craving american we bundled up and headed out to the local HOOTERS. Yes you read that correctly, we were in switzerland and ate at a hooters. Sadly the swiss do not take pride in the 'uniform' like americans do, lets just say 'they let it all hang out' (but in a bad way). I ordered the usual, a buffalo chicken sandwich -hot. One thing that was better about the hooters was the fountain coke! I am not a soft drink fan in the USA- but the recipe that coca-cola uses in europe is totally different. My tastebuds tell me that they use less carbonation (not as many bubbles) and probably cane sugar vs the high fructose corn syrup crap.

The scenery in switzerland is UNREAL.

being our last full day in interlaken, we decided to do another activity that was 'snow related.' Ice skating won- being the most 'franc friendly' activity. We met up with our friend matthew and headed around the corner for 1.5 hours of me falling (that is what we initially thought might happen).

all laced up and ready to go.
WAR EAGLE! HEY!

When I made it to the rink I was extremely nervous. My personal coach, AKA michelle kwan, helped me onto the ice and surprisingly I did better than I expected of myself. I was obviously wobbly trying to figure out this foreign activity.

cydney. aka michelle kwan

balmer's ice skating crew.

After a few 'laps' around the rink I really thought I was getting the hang of it, until norton asked if I was liking it. Seriously the SECOND I answered I busted. And not like 'oops I fell!' but like landed with one leg bent behind me and one leg straight. Basically imagine falling into a herky on the ice. I was laughing so hard – I could barely get myself up.

post action shot from the best ice-skating wipeout.

I felt like I was finally get the hang of the whole skating thing, and I could even manage to pull out a few tricks (like skating in a circle – or accidentally 'figure-8ing' in between a couple). But if anyone else would fall I would pull out my sympathy card and fall with them (I didn't want cydney or matthew to feel bad...) and then when I would try to be adventuresome and attempt new tricks (like skating on one leg) I would fall. Better luck next time!

skating finale!
cydney- showing off her olympic moves

One we closed down the ice skating rink we headed back down the street for a treat :) I decided on a homemade brownie with almonds and white chocolate chips baked in served with a scoop of ice cream and drizzed with the most amazing chocolate syrup (EVER) and then dusted with cocoa powder. Whew. So many flavors and textures. So good, I thought a brownie was a good fit for wrapping up an 'american' food filled day.

best brownie EVER!

when we got back to the hostel we began packing for our departure for ITALY! While we were in the midst of packing we heard a 'mewing' coming from outside the door. I opened the door and saw a black and white cat that had been in the dining hall earlier. I let the cat in and we began playing with our new furry friend. After realizing it was very friendly we assumed that it was a cat that belonged to the hostel. Running back from getting my camera battery I stepped on something sharp, I didn't think anything of it until cydney brought to my attention that I was dripping blood all over the floor. Whoops. I started to clean up my 'scratch,' and realized it was a little more than a scratch. I had gotten a foreign object stuck in my foot. After an intense session with some tweezers I managed to grasp the glass that was stuck straight into my toe (with cydney being a trooper and touching my 'smelly' feet). Then I used my vast knowledge of medical skills to clean and prep my wound, and returned to the room. Our friend who we named 'Oreo LaFonda Davis of Interlaken' was appreciating all the love we were giving him.

i am 'lougy cat.'

Eventually we learned this cat has no affiliation with the hostel...he was just a really friendly stray. :)