I often call myself lucky because no matter how many struggles and moments I face in life, life always gives me the opportunity to make my dreams come true. For example, I had always wanted to fly like a bird or jump from a plane to experience fear and freedom. Last year, when I was in Jungfraujoch, Switzerland; I saw paragliders and wanted to have that experience. Since then I have been saving money for such activities because I have believed that one day, I would jump from the plane for "free-fall" or do paragliding. So, this time while planning for the Swiss trip, the first thing I did was to gather information of doing Paragliding and Skydiving.
These kinds of activities are not for everyone especially those who have severe height phobia and believe it or not, I have height phobia. Because of my height phobia, I can't even look down from the rooftop of a building even though the building is only a 5-story building. I never couldn't climb a mountain so easily. The last time when I was in Grindelwald, I couldn't walk on the First Cliff Walk properly due to height phobia, I had to return and sit back somewhere where others were exploring the cliff. So, for an individual like me, paragliding is just a nightmare rather than a dream. But I took it as a challenge to overcome my height phobia.
So first thing first, when I arrived at Brienz, Switzerland; I started looking for the paragliding options nearby. My first choice was skydiving. Skydiving is scary, especially for the first timer and it takes a lot of courage to do that even though you will have a personal pilot/trainer with you. I easily found skydiving options in Interlaken which was very close to Brienze, only 15 minutes drive but the problem was the diving height would be 4000 Meters/ 13000ft which was too much for me who deals with height phobia. I was not so sure even whether I wanted to do it or not even though the opportunity was right in front of me. Even though I knew that I would be enjoying the breathtaking view of the Swiss Alps Mountains, the falling height didn't encourage me at all. So, what I did was I chose the Paragliding option instead.
The booking option was easy, I booked my paragliding date a day before my flight from the Skywings website. I chose the SUMMER PARAGLIDING THE GOLDEN EAGLE package which was 10 to 20 minutes flight duration time. Altitude was 4450ft to 6570ft so I was worried about altitude sickness. Anyway, I booked the paragliding date without any further hesitation and went to the location/meet-up point on the desired date and time.
After reaching the meet-up point, I waited and later we were taken to the Beatenberg, Interlaken, mountain area from where the flight will take place. On our way, our pilots gave us some instructions. Well, I was excited as well as nervous but when I saw that an 8-year-old Korean kid would be flying with us in our group, I tried to act brave even though I was so nervous from the inside. It was an act I was trying to do to express my bravery but somehow my nervousness was showing on my face.
In the photos, I was trying to laugh for the good photo's sake but I was super scared and nervous.
When I reached the paragliding flight location and saw how others were flying, I was not only nervous but scared. My heart was beating faster when I heard that it was windy and paragliding would be bumpy and shaky. My personal instructor asked me if I wanna take photos and videos and I instantly said yes. Anyway, when it was my turn to jump from the mountain, my instantly parachute pulled me back and I couldn't control the weight and strength of the wind so I fell down on the mountain instantly, started gliding horribly and my pilot grabbed me instantly and jumped without any disclaimer or any information. Within a second, when I came to my senses, I saw I was flying.
Yes, I was flying...
I wish I could explain in words the moment when I realized I was flying. That time I forgot all the scary thoughts and nervousness. The pilot was trying to comfort me, talking about the view I was seeing right in front of me. I mean we always see things according to our height but not everyone can witness the bird's eye view of the city, lake, and mountains in person. It was something, an exclusive lifetime moment that would only stay for 10-20 minutes.
It's a feeling that you own this beautiful world and nothing can stop you now. I was feeling free, and excited and was enjoying the panoramic view in front of me.
Astounding view of The Lake Of THUN from the sky...
Of course, there will be Alps mountains and green pasture views...
It is advisable that when you do paragliding and have height phobia, it's better not to look down straight, pilots who fly with you will always suggest looking straight front. Obviously, I had a height phobia so I can't even recall how many times I looked straight down which was really a bad idea. The wind was strong so at some point our parachute was dancing/ flying here and there recklessly. At first, I didn't realize the force of the wind but when we tried to go in near to the lake, the wind was pushing us back. We tried to manage to go near the lake but the force of the strong wind was pushing so hard that I felt like we were going to either fall or would crash over the mountains.
My pilot was French but he has been living in Switzerland for almost 20 years and paragliding is his profession now.
Well, back to the story. When I realized that the wind strength was not good, my fear came back and I started feeling sick. My stomach started hurting so badly and I felt like my body would crush and body parts would be separated. This kind of feeling was not only scary but also not good during the flight especially when you are flying freely in the sky, in the middle of nowhere.
Anyway, I told the pilot about my feelings and he suggested that I should look straight, not down. To change my mood, he showed me a couple of birds flying around me. It was so nice to see that I was flying with the birds.
Unbelievable height, I still cannot believe I was over the city and mountains, flying like this.
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After 10 minutes, we started flying over the Interlaken city and that experience was on another level. Seeing those small houses, rivers, and mountains, I thought humans are so small so probably birds don't see us until they fly near the ground level. But after 15 minutes of flight, I started feeling sick especially when we were flying over the city. I don't know what happened but I was not feeling like flying and got scared. Anyway, nothing actually happened because when I told the pilot again about this, he started talking about some random kinds of stuff. His TED talk helped a lot.
Our landing point was another location, it was in the Interlaken city called the Center of Interlaken, Höhematte. We landed at the 1800ft, very slowly. Despite safety, I crashed during landing time and didn't get hurt because of safety gear. My sister was nearby waiting for me at the landing point and when I crashed, she ran to me and started laughing at me. Well, she knew I was scared so she was just trying to lighten my mood and anxiety. 🤣😅
I definitely have a perfect young sister who never leaves a chance to laugh at me. 🤣
I realized that I was having altitude sickness when I was flying over the city. After landing, I took time to calm down, relaxed on the grass a little bit, and then started looking at the pictures that the pilot had taken during our flight.
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The sickness or phobia I felt during our flight didn't matter to me because finally, I overcame my phobia and won't be so afraid of heights anymore. This was my achievement. Not only do I feel proud of this challenge and achievement but also, I have unforgettable lifetime experiences. This challenge was bigger than I expected and I am really proud of myself that I did it and fulfilled one of my reckless dream.
What's the next plan, well probably skydiving somewhere nice... Because now I have courage and I am brave enough to fly high.
Few Tips for Paragliding:
- Wear proper shoes
- Winter Jacket or Windbreaker, comfortable clothes
- Don't eat lunch or heavy food before the flight
- Sunglasses are a must.
- Do not keep your phone or any gadget with you.
- Keep cash to purchase photos from the pilot after landing.
- Be ready for the weather
- Enough courage and prepare yourself mentally
- Enjoy each and every second...
Love
Priyan...
I am
.... An architect, a dreamer, and a passionate writer who loves to write about life. I try to present my own perspective and experiences. Please leave your feedback and criticism because it's the only way I can know and reach your mind and thoughts easily...
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