An Alpine Getaway...my power boost

Hey all!
This weekend, I met up with my old Canadian buddy Mac and traversed a bit of the Swiss Alps. It was a great 3 days. Trains, cable cars and walking was the name of the game as we got to the ceiling of Europe despite the weather forecasts. I had seen, with great disdain, that there was a heavy chance of rain this past weekend, which would thus result in clouds and fog covering the beautiful snow capped mountains at that altitude of about 10,000 feet. We woke up early on Saturday in Interlaken, the gateway to the central Swiss mountains, and looked out the window. The sun shone on a snowy peak far in the distance; a good sign. So we got moving, a 20 minute train ride, a 15 minute bus, and then a 30 minute, harrowing cable ride. As we went up through the first two stations, we could see green hills and houses. Once we reached Muerren (a town about 5000 ft up the mountains) however, everything dissapeared. For a good 15 minutes on the final 4000 meter leg, we were surrounded only by white nothingness and cables. Nothing else. Once a returning car was passing by us, but that was just a small glimpse of hope in an otherwise vast emptiness. It was only when we got to the top did things appear again. And did they appear. As we stepped out onto the viewing deck, the clouds, as if they knew we had arrived, decided to part and give way to a breathtaking view of the Swiss Alps. It was a beautiful day, with a 57 degree temperature not even warranting a jacket like it would in Texas. It only seemed proper to do UTD proud and whoosh at that height. And so we did.
George Lazenby, the least famous James Bond, shot a scene of his only movie atop Schilthorn. It seemed very 70s in nature, this Alpine station; inside was a wood paneled revolving restaurant, with mirror ceilings as you ascended the escalators; very classy. I could see James killing some Dr. No type here and then jumping off the mountain with some Swiss Bond Girl.
Nevertheless, there was more. We thought it was over for the weekend; now just a chance to relax. But no; we ran into a hotel with the most character I have ever seen. It was a building housing a hostel and hotel; the hotel was a reasonably named "Mattenhof". The hostel was called the "Funny Farm". The name fits. When you walk in, you see a ridiculous mix of people. Huge dogs populate the stairways and Mariachi bands are serenading a wedding party outside. A regal drumline proceeded down an old hallway at 10 pm to greet a bride and groom. This place was insane. However, the room was one of the most entertaining things I have seen; it was because of the TV (the oldest I have ever been in the presence of: I think Mac has a video of us trying to figure out the buttons), the bathroom (best, tackiest shower curtain and tiling) and the location (right above the Mariachi Band and wedding reception).
If this was not enough, we wandered into a wonderful little surprise. We decided to take a 20 minute, partly lost walk to our hostel from the West train station and encountered a crowd of people congregating in front of some fun looking building. We were immediately intrigued. Upon arriving, there was a crossbow shooting game, a Dulcimer quartet and all things medieval. We approached an information desk and immediately bought tickets to the premier open air reenactment of the story of William Tell, the father of Switzerland. It was a great performance, with the players acting right through torrential rain, so as to add more emotion to the situation. I could not help but be proud of this country as the cast sang the national anthem. I am not Swiss, but it felt great to be a part of this nation, at least for a short while.
More than anything, I got to reunite with a familiar face from back home. We talked about anything and everything on trains and buses and in the hostels. We reminisced and looked to the future. It was an escape I needed, a wake up call to be motivated to drive through my last month here in Europe.