Zip lining, rappelling, rock climbing and hiking were just a few of the highlights of Laura Klinck's tour through Switzerland earlier this month.
She was the only girl from Alberta who accompanied other Girl Guides from across Canada on a two-week visit to the European country for an international guiding experience. The Canadian group met up with a group from the United Kingdom, while volunteer leaders from the U.S., Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland and Slovakia also accompanied the girls on the trip.
Laura, 14, who is a member of the First Olds Pathfinder group, said she had an excellent experience.
“It was a really great time. It was an amazing opportunity and I learned new things about myself,” she said, noting she would do it again if given the opportunity. “In a heartbeat. It was really awesome.”
The group from Canada left on Aug. 6 and returned home on Aug. 20. They spent the first two days in Zurich, before travelling to Adelboden, where most of the activities took place. The group also visited a chocolate-making factory during the two-week excursion.
Laura said the best part of the trip was a nighttime hike 2,500 metres up Bunderspitz mountain.
“After supper, we hiked up a little ways and then we got to, they called it the cheese maker's hut. We got up at like two in the morning and we hiked up the rest of the way to see the sunrise over the peak of the mountain,” she said.
Laura went on the trip after receiving an email from Girl Guides of Canada encouraging her to apply for the program. After her application was reviewed by the Guides' provincial association, it was forwarded to the national association, which selected her application as one of eight. She was selected in May, after about a month-long process.
