It was a beautiful view that can only be seen in person to really appreciate the verdant scenery. It was the Swiss Alps, a unremarkable sight that kept me on my toes. It sheer rolling verdant hills and jagged rocky slopes looked like a dream that was being lived. It was a nice relaxing gondola ride up to the top of the mountain we went to that day. It was sunny with a nice cool breeze to cool the temps down to about 18 degrees Celsius. Once we got to the top we had the choice to Zipline down to the next checkpoint or you could take a very rocky and exciting hike down the loose rock and dirt to meet the people on the Zipline. Taking the rough terrain hike that seemed like it took hours. I realized that once I met up with some Zipliners the next stop was the Scooter rental. The hike down to the next checkpoint was rough and hard on the legs, but we were able to find some paths that made it easier to walk on. Once we got to the scooter rental stop we were surprised that these scooters looked like new. The scooters were described as old and brake failure prone. I remember back to Frau Elsen mentioning to us that these scooters had terrible brakes and that some people bailed off into the grass to stop, but once me and a couple of people got moving it was the most fun that I’ve had yet.

Once we got the scooters and found the right path, we started our way down. I lead the pack and flew on ahead to scout out and be sure we are on the right path. I felt like I got too far ahead so I decided to stop and wait for the others to catch up. I thought it would be good to stop on a somewhat steep corner. Once I stepped with my left ankle I felt the worst pain in my ankle I have ever experienced. I dropped to the ground, and then moments later stood up and got onto grass. I was still alone by the time I rolled my ankle. Once the others caught up they had no idea what just happened, so we continued down the mountain until we decided to stop and take some film of the small group riding down the road. I volunteered to take the camera and fly ahead to get the footage. It was a amazing sight seeing them all ride so quickly and have the fun they did, but once they all made it passed I stopped the recording and caught up quickly. It didn’t take me long to catch up with the others, despite the pain that I just noticed when I was riding. The path that we had to take was long and winding, but with the speed you got on the straights was adrenaline creating. The speed I took most of the corners was insane, but later on another small group of New Prague kids came sailing past us with no sign of braking. I was persuaded by myself to catch up and beat them down but don’t hurt myself in the process.

Once we got down to the bottom of the fast paced and long winding path of the Swiss Alps, we went to return our scooters at the area we started that day, the gondolas. We roll these sparkling new scooters up a somewhat steep hill. We get the to the return lane and bring the scooters in all in a neat line. Once we all got out we were wondering what we would do next. We all decided to get something to eat when I hear my friend Richard comment something. “Lucas what happened to your ankle?”, he said with curious yet worried tones in his voice.

I reply, “What are you talking about Richard?” Knowing that he was probably talking about my ankle but I look down it was an interesting sight.

He warns, “It’s the size of a softball.” Knowing that he might be right I look down to see that it had indeed swollen to softball size and after finding this out it became harder to walk as the pain set into motion by my mind thinking about it. One of the girls that was with us asked if I was ok. Reassuring that I didn’t need any special attention I told her and the other students that I was fine.

“You need to sit down and get off that ankle!”, one of the girls says. “That doesn’t look good.”, another said with a worried tone.

Repeating that I would be fine Frau Elsen arrives to return her scooter with the other adults on the trip. “Lucas hurt his ankle badly Frau!”, says one of the students.

“How bad is it?”, Frau asks waiting to see how bad it could really be. I lift up my leg a bit so she could see my ankle a little better. Once she fully sees how swollen it is I am ordered to sit down and get the ankle elevated so the swelling can go down. Being “hurt” doesn’t really please me. I’m not a person who likes to be treated specially. I told Frau that I would be fine and I just need to walk it off. Frau was not going to have that she told Richard to get me to the other side of the street so that we can get a nice piece of ground that was flat and was shaddy. Once I got my ankle elevated on my backpack Richard and one of the girls went to get ice to stop some of the swelling. Once they got back we quickly put the ice on my ankle and wrapped it with a raincoat to prevent the ice from falling off. After about an hour of sitting waiting for the last students to show up from the hike on the Alps, the bus arrives to take us to the next stop which happens to be some nice waterfalls. When the other students go on the tour Frau comes back to talk to my parents to see what we should do. The decision was either to take me to the hospital or see if the swelling goes down before we head to the next stop before going back to the youth hostel.
After a long phone call, it was decided to take me to a hospital to get it checked out to make sure I didn’t break it or tear a tendon. Once everyone was back on the bus we headed back to Wilderswil and Lucerne. We stopped in Lucerne to bring me to the hospital and let the other students shop for a bit before going back to end the day. Once inside the hospital I’m brought down into the E.R to get some X-rays and a walking cast for my ankle. I was honestly surprised on how clean and white the E.R was in Switzerland. The doctors and nurses were all so young and nice. When me and Frau got into the E.R a nurse asked some easy questions then prepped me for X-rays. When I got my X-rays the nurses taking them were really nice and could speak english so I didn’t have to try and understand Swiss-German. After getting the X-rays that seemed a lifetime, I was once again brought back the E.R where an older nurse got a walking cast to help the swelling and my ankle heal.

After that experience the class returned back to our Hostel for relaxation and time to spare for dinner. What seemed like an eternity pass the long weird day passed with the only thought in my mind of how will the rest of the trip be with an injured ankle. Knowing that the last leg of the trip will be a lot of hiking and traveling from city to city.