Saturday 22 August 2015

Our First European Road Trip - Day 5

Day 5 - To the Top of Europe!


The entrance to the Ice Palace
OK, so this was the big one, this was the main reason I wanted to go back to Switzerland. The town of Interlaken is dominated by three mountains, the Eiger, the Monch and the Jungfrau. The Jungfrau is the highest of them all and it can be accessed by a funicular railway that passes through a 4 mile tunnel carved through the Monch and the north face of the Eiger.

There is no doubt about it, this is an expensive trip. This is the reason that we had to watch the weather forecast like hawks and get up at the crack of dawn on our chosen day to make the most of our day to justify the cost.



Our journey began by bus from our campsite. This was the only part of the trip that was entirely free! We caught an early bus into Interlaken where we caught the first train from Interlaken Ost and journeyed to Lauterbrunnen. The journey was very pretty as we climbed up through the Lauterbrunnen Valley with mountains on both sides to a height of 2,686 ft. From Lauterbrunnen we boarded another train that took us up to Kleine Scheidegg, at 6,770ft. The train passes through the attractive village of Wengen before reaching its' destination. At Kleine Scheidegg we swapped trains again for the incredible ride up inside the mountains to the top of the Jungfrau. Despite the exorbitant price of the tickets there is no guarantee of a seat on the train. When we went it was very busy and we had to stand for the final 45 minute ride in fairly cramped conditions. In recognition of our suffering, the Swiss ticket collector gave us a voucher for a free cup of tea!!



The final train ride takes about 45 minutes, passing through the Monch and the Eiger. It stops twice inside the Eiger for passengers to get off and take photographs from vast viewing windows that are set inside the north face of the Eiger. The views over the glacier are breathtaking. The station inside the Eiger was completed in 1903 but it wasn't until 1938 that the North face of the Eiger was finally conquered.



The train finally arrives at the Jungfraujoch Station at a height of 11,333ft. There is a complete underground complex here with restaurants, an ice palace, a museum tour with information about the creation of the railway and an outside ski, toboggan and zip-wire area. There is also an opportunity to visit the highest Lindt chocolate shop in the world if you feel so inclined! Once you are at the top you can go out onto the snow-covered plateau for wonderful views over the mountains.

The only thing left to do after all of this is to take the lift to the Sphinx (11,723ft) for the highest panoramic view of the surrounding lakes and mountains. This really is the top of Europe. If you are bothered by heights you will struggle with this bit but the rest of the trip is fine. My husband decided to sit this part out! I gave it a go and I was fine for the most part. The only section I had to concede defeat on was the walkway that goes around the outside of the Sphinx. It is made of open mesh grating bolted to the sheer rock face and it moves as you walk around it! I made it half way round before my legs stopped working!

The Sphinx viewing tower just visible
Note the walkway of terror on the right hand side of the picture!
The children loved the outside 'play area' where, for a small additional cost, they could toboggan, ski and go on the highest zip-wire in Europe. My daughter opted for the zip-wire and my son kept his feet firmly on the ground with a bit of tobogganing. We sat in the sunshine and watched!

We all enjoyed the ice palace - everything apart from the handrails (which are there to stop you breaking your neck as you walk around) is carved from ice and it is all very beautiful.



The total journey time for the return trip, allowing time to visit all there is to see and do at the top, is around 6-7 hours. It is a long and tiring day but one that you will never forget.

All of the guide books tell you to take warm clothing, sun cream, hat, scarf and gloves. Having said that the teenage boy spent the day in shorts and a t-shirt and complained of being too hot! To that list I would add camera (obviously) and binoculars if you own any. I would also add painkillers - the altitude may not agree with you (it didn't agree with me and I spent the rest of the evening with a splitting headache). You may also want to take some food and drink with you for a picnic in the snow.


No comments:

Post a Comment

I would love your feedback but please keep it polite!