Paragliding in Switzerland

Interlaken, Switzerland @paraglidinginterlaken

I’m afraid of most things. Small spaces, being underwater, going too fast.

So much so, that being at ease feels…unusual. However, I am inexplicably not at all afraid of heights. The expanse of sky feels like freedom. Air lifts me up toward the light, buoys me - weightless, lets me breathe, and offers the opposite of everything I am afraid of.

I love watching birds on windy days, as they catch an updraft and coast through the sky. I always think, That bird is having the time of its life. That looks like so much fun.

On the day we went paragliding in Interlaken, Switzerland, my guide, Richi adjusted my harness, and attached mine to his. “Do you like roller coasters,” he asked. I nodded as my belly did a tiny preemptive flip. We gently trotted down the unbelievable scenic hill and like a kite lifting off the ground, our parachute took flight..

There was no jumping off a cliff. No falling. No lurching back. Just lifting up. Higher and higher.

It was exhilarating…and silent…except for my oohs and ahhs. And my occasional involuntary squeal of joy.

“See that swallow?” said Richi. “We follow him.”

Richi pulled gently on one of the handles and we caught a pocket of air, lifting higher still.

“Swallows don’t want to work too hard,” he explained. “They find the rising air that will carry them, so we follow them to do the same.”

Swallows. Us. All flying in the same sky above a gorgeous map of fields, streets, and houses.

At one point we found ourselves even higher than we started, far above the cows and pasture we departed from. How easy it seemed to be swept away, to fly toward the sun, to get lost in the clouds.

But after a few turns we eased a bit lower. Teasing rooftops with our toes.

We were one with the wind. At ease in the expanse of air. Blue sky above, green grass below. Passing church peaks and clock towers like Peter Pan and Wendy when they left that open window and headed toward Neverland.

So that’s how they did it. Happy thoughts are easy to come by in that space.

A few more photos and adventurous spins, and we adjusted for our landing in a spacious grassy field. Parachutes relaxing onto the grass. Resting after their flight. Like swallows.

And I. I remember that this was not my first time flying. And it certainly won’t be my last.