Christine on the Rope Course

Face your fears head on.  I'm sure that's someone's advice.  That is not my advice, mind you, but someone's.  Some friends mentioned going to a rope course.  I thought that might be fun.  I did not know what it was exactly.  I figured it was a zip line.  Go up a ladder, stand on a platform, and ride across for a while and call it a day.  Yeah, I was wrong.

We visited Abenteuer (Adventure) Park at Schloss Lichtenstein (Castle Lichtenstein).  http://www.abenteuerpark-schlosslichtenstein.de  The Abenteuer Park contains 9 courses.  Courses 1 and 2 are for Kinder (kids).  The park kindly provides a briefing for course 9.  I'm saving 9 for another day.  Or another life.  We'll see.

First they provide a crash course on how to use the carabiners.  You have two and one is always attached to a line.  Then they just let you go.  We chose course 6 because there was no line.  This ended up being the "Münchhausens Flug" which meant flying course.  Lots of zip lines.  I actually enjoyed those.  It was balancing crossing that were hard.  And the heights.   But there is no exit once you start.  You just keep going forward on to the next challenge.  After we finished course 6, we did course 5.  This course was like cake compared to 6.  I think they are exponentially harder as you go.  Also, there were these annoying kids in front of us that took forever on course 5.  Plus you have to climb a rope ladder to start.  This is not a simple task (though standing there you think how hard could it be?).  Navy Seals climb those rope ladders for training.  It is hard work.  Just skip it.  Some friends did course 7.  This was like a circus, with a trapeze and tight-rope walking.  I think I would have enjoyed it, had we chosen this one first.  We didn't though.  And the trees on the course do not seem very thick.  I want them to be so large my arms won't fit around them.  And trees give as you swing on to them.  Letting you know in advance.

Probably the bravest thing I have ever done was this course.  You zip lined across the way.  You climbed up and down poles.  You walked between platforms on unstable steps/platforms that hung from a line to get to the next platform.  My braveness:  one of the challenges was swinging from one platform to a rope net.  Yes, you had to jump off (or step off) the platform and you swung over to a rope net that you then Spiderman climbed up.  I, of course, just held on to the tree at the platform.  They were like the rope will just pull you forward and you go.  I was like, it doesn't pull you if you are holding on to the tree.  The way it is set up is to pull you forward.  But I finally mustered up all of my courage and let go of the tree.  And then I went off the platform (I have no idea how) and I screamed.  I'm sure everyone in the park heard me.  I was the only person that screamed as they did it as far as I know.  And I screamed the whole flight over.  And it was not ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  And then I held on to the net for my dear life.  And climbed it so fast.  Like Spiderman.  Only faster.

It was only later when I went back to take a picture did I see that they had a cheat zip line so you could skip that part.  When I told Megan this, she said we talked about this before we did the zip line to the platform.  I had no recollection of this conversation until she said that.  I have no idea how I missed that.  But I survived.  And I would go back.  We will have to wait until another cathedral tour to see if I am cured.  I doubt it.  But I'm hopeful.

Someone flying to the rope net.

Another part of the course.

A zip line

The course is at the Schloss Lichtenstein.  Does it look familiar?  I visited this castle when I first arrived.  In the snow.  It was freezing that day.  And foggy.  But go back towards the beginning of the blog...

Schloss built on the rock on side of the mountain.  Literally.

View from the Schloss grounds.  

Christine