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Adventures in the Alps

By Liana Salehian, age 15 | September 1, 2016

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Liana Salehian, a sophomore at Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, enjoyed a family vacation in Europe this summer. She’ll never forget her time in the Swiss Alps, especially since she is afraid of heights.

I had always wanted to go to Europe, and this summer, I finally had the opportunity to go there on a family vacation. We first spent time in Kirchzarten, a small border town in Germany, then crossed over the German-French border to stay in Colmar before arriving in Switzerland.

When we arrived in Lucerne, Switzerland, my family decided to go to the Swiss Alps during our stay. My time in the Swiss Alps was the most memorable part of my stay in Europe. This is probably because I was freaking out. I’m afraid of heights, and, at the time, it didn’t really hit me that the Alps were that tall (15,781 feet!). I also didn’t know I had a fear of telecabines, a type of lift which is pulled by cables in the air. I could feel the cable that was slowly pulling us up closer to the peak of the Alps, and then that was when I made the mistake of looking down. Somehow, I managed to sweat through all my clothes in 50-degree weather (I was that anxious.)

Though the ride was 15-20 minutes, it felt like 15 years to me by the time we got to the top. But, when I was there, I could finally take in the fresh air and the amazing view the Alps had to offer. I had never been to a place so breathtaking in my life. In the distance you could see Lake of The Four Cantons, the city of Lucerne and beautiful fields of green under the foggy clouds.

Something else I found quite interesting was the diversity of tourists with me. While climbing up icy, steep stairs to get a better view, I could hear languages from all over the world being spoken. French, Spanish, English, German, Chinese and even Persian were some of the languages I could pick up.

Do I recommend visiting the Alps? Definitely. Will there be a next time for me? Maybe, if I can get over my fear of telecabines. Bis spöter! See you later!

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