On our trip to Switzerland, we decided it would be good to see the beautiful scenery through one of these relatively low stakes adventurous activities and chose to try out the region’s famous trotti bikes. For those who’ve never seen one, imagine an extra-large scooter but with large wheels like a bicycle. 

We headed to the bike hire place where we were promptly handed our funky bikes and told to head on out. Now, when we asked the instructor (he clearly was not one) on how to use the new contraptions, he said: “Stand on it and then go”.

Sounds easy? It was not...

The instructor failed to mention that the route we were about to take was ridiculously steep and down a mountain for a fair while. And unlike a traditional bike, these bikes were much harder to control. Mortified at the prospect of riding these out-of-control bikes down the hill, we like the other poor tourists around us, decided to slowly walk with the bikes instead only to realise it was getting dark very fast and we were still a good two hours away from the end of the route. 

Spurred on by the fear of being stuck on a mountain in the dark and after encountering some flat terrain, we managed to figure out how to ride the trotti bikes and actually had an absolute blast riding them back to the city centre, weaving in and out of residential streets and beautiful farm blocks and realised that the instructor was not wrong after all.

Upon arriving home to our beautiful and cosy Airbnb, we treated ourselves to a warm homecooked meal of instant noodles (what else?!) and for a moment, pretended like we knew no other life outside of the one we were temporarily living in this tiny Swiss town.

And if you thought that journey down a mountain was enough for a day's work, you're wrong! Earlier in the day, before our biking adventures, we did a hike from First to Lake Bachalpsee. We got a beautiful cable car from Grindelwald to First Station from where we embarked on a two hour round trip to the stunning lake. 

The path to the lake is not particularly strenuous and while the vast view of the mountains can be repetitive, it did not once lose its novelty. After an hour, you will start to see the stunning waters of the lake which are so clear they reflect the sky and give a mirror-like effect. 

The lake is cocooned by hills where many happy campers were sitting on with snacks and drinks to enjoy.

To reward ourselves, we ate a delicious Nusstorte, a Swiss walnut cake which was the perfect sweet finish to a beautiful day.