One of my favorite seminars was with the Innsbruck Tour Group. They spoke to our group about how to market a destination such as Innsbruck. It was really interesting to learn about various marketing campaigns. I learned that not only can you market and sell goods and services but places and vacation destinations as well. It was really eye-opening.

During the presentation, they spoke about how people come to Innsbruck for fun outdoor activities such as white water rafting, canyoning, skiing, bike riding, bungee jumping, paragliding, and many more. After the presentation, they gave us the opportunity to sign up for some of those activities. I opted to go paragliding in the Austrian Alps for the first time in my life.
When the day arrived to paraglide we were advised to wear warmer clothes since it got cold at the top of the snow-covered mountain. I was feeling a little apprehensive since I am afraid of heights but I was glad I was going with all my new friends. We met in the hotel lobby where our tour guides picked us up in a van. He drove us to the foot of the mountain where we put on our flying suits and boots. After we got dressed we went up to the peak of the mountain in the gondola lift.

The views from the top of the mountain were indescribably beautiful. Once at the top, we met our flying guide and got all strapped up in the harness. We were all ready to go when my guide instructed me, “Run!” So we started running off the side of the mountain when the wind caught the parachute and lifted us up into the air. I was so nervous but it was truly an exhilarating experience.

While in the air, I could see the clouds above and valleys below. The air was cold as it blew on my face, but there was also a sense of stillness like I was floating in the air. I could see my friends gliding down the mountainside not too far from me. My tour guide then pulled out his GoPro camera and took a few pictures and videos of the experience. We eventually made our way down to the valleys but not without doing some air spins in the paraglide.

We stuck the landing and I was a little relieved to be back on the ground. We were in flight for about 15 minutes. When we all landed in a large grassy field and my group and I got to share our experiences with each other. Then the van arrived and took us back to our hotel. Paragliding was a super fun experience and something I would definitely do again!