Taking the advice of locals and others who have visited the area, we ventured up to Jungfrau for our second day in Grindelwald, Switzerland. What is a Jungfrau? This mountain is one of the main summits in the Bernese Alps and combined with the mountains Eiger and Moench, they form a massive wall overlooking Grindelwald. The Jungfrau is considered one of the most emblematic sights of the Swiss Alps....and hence, the nickname Top of Europe.
The final destination would be Jungfraujoch, the saddle between the mountains Moench and Jungfrau and home to an impressive visitor center. At over 11,000 feet this visitor center proudly holds the title for having the highest railway station in Europe. Wait......railway? Yes those crazy Swiss kids bored a 7.3km (4.3 miles) long tunnel in the Eiger mountain and laid a track for a cog-wheeled train to take you and your friends all the way from Grindelwald, up the sometimes 25% gradient pitch, and finally to the summit of Jungfraujoch. The most amazing part: they began working on this track in 1896 and some 16 years later the tunnel was complete. Not only did they bore a massive tunnel in the Eiger, they also built a railway station inside the mountain of Jungfrau! In the early 1900's nonetheless. You can see I was a little impressed......
Our choice for heading up to Jungfraujoch was confirmed as the best choice when we arrived to the summit and saw that there was not a cloud in the sky. Another perfect day in the Alps.....meaning more great views.
During the train ride to the summit there are two stops where you can lookout holes excavated in the mountain that provide a great view of Eiger and surrounding mountains.
The Jungfraujoch is a series of tunnels and buildings that include a hotel, two restaurants, an observatory, a research station, a snow play park, and an "Ice Palace". We now understood the advice to "spend the day there". With no particular plan or agenda we wandered around the tunnels and found the doorway that led out to the snow play park.
We noticed on the map there was a hut located about an hour's walk from the Jungfraujoch. Although we didn't set out intentionally to find the place, we sort of stumbled our way to it as a result of enjoying the views. It's easy to see how we became so distracted.......
We found Moenchsjoch Hut with high hopes that they served up a mean helping of Goulash Soup. We were not disappointed.
Stopping for photo op before heading in for lunch.
The Moenchsjoch Hut will always be my favorite place to eat at Jungfraujoch....not that the competition is tough.
We headed back to the Jungfraujoch to take in more of the views offered from the Sphinx observatory (remember that part of the elevator located in the bored out rock?). The views were simply amazing.......
Next we headed out to find the Ice Palace. This was another great engineering accomplishment as they bored out a series of tunnels inside the glacier at the top of Jungfraujoch to create this Palace. Here Andrea tests the walls to confirm they are made of ice.....confirmed. The floor is also made of ice so there is no stepping.....rather long slides.
Some of the eleborate ice sculptures found inside the Ice Palace.
Some of the tunnels were more narrow than others.......
Our visit was a day before July 4th and the hosts made the Americans in the group feel very welcomed with this display (framed in a block of ice....of course).
Venturing out of the Ice Palace we found more great views and took countless pictures. If you ever have the chance to visit the Jungfraujoch, do it. But be prepared for the sticker price to ride the train to the top.....it's steep (no pun intended).
Instead of riding the train all the way down to Grindelwald, we elected to hike down from the transfer station at Kleine Scheidegg. Some of the views on our descent follow.
Looking down to Grindelwald
A good view of Schreckhorn (13,380ft)
Every time we looked up at Eiger we had to take another picture
Wetterhorn (12,143ft) and Schreckhorn (13,380ft)
One of many farm houses located in the shadow of Eiger
Most of the locals were busy cutting the grass in the fields and preparing to store it for the winter months (feed for the cows). It was amazing to see the process of "sorting the grass" by hand. The man on the right had to be no less than 75 years old and he was throwing around grass like it weighed nothing. I have a feeling he had been doing this for a few years.......
Almost to Grindelwald and stopping to look back up to Eiger
We made the nearly 4,000 vertical feet descent with no injuries...but we did work up huge appetites. Making our way back to the great place we ate at the week prior, we assumed the ideal table on the deck and enjoyed the view (and food). The view from our table.....
The following day was a bit of a sad affair: it was time to say good-bye to Grindelwald and hiking in the Alps. Before leaving we took in a few more pictures including our hotel and the view from the front deck looking up to Eiger.
It was a perfect trip with great friends, ideal weather, and wonderful food. I can see why the locals in Grindelwald, and much of the population of Switzerland for that matter, are content and happy. We loved visiting Switzerland back-to-back weekends and look forward to our next excursion there. Until then we will be saving up our Franc's for almost everything in Switzerland is expensive......we are talking over 6 Franc's for a small bottle of water expensive. Ouch. It may be an expensive place to visit, but the incredible landscape, tasty food, and generous people make it all worth it.
The final destination would be Jungfraujoch, the saddle between the mountains Moench and Jungfrau and home to an impressive visitor center. At over 11,000 feet this visitor center proudly holds the title for having the highest railway station in Europe. Wait......railway? Yes those crazy Swiss kids bored a 7.3km (4.3 miles) long tunnel in the Eiger mountain and laid a track for a cog-wheeled train to take you and your friends all the way from Grindelwald, up the sometimes 25% gradient pitch, and finally to the summit of Jungfraujoch. The most amazing part: they began working on this track in 1896 and some 16 years later the tunnel was complete. Not only did they bore a massive tunnel in the Eiger, they also built a railway station inside the mountain of Jungfrau! In the early 1900's nonetheless. You can see I was a little impressed......
Our choice for heading up to Jungfraujoch was confirmed as the best choice when we arrived to the summit and saw that there was not a cloud in the sky. Another perfect day in the Alps.....meaning more great views.
Arriving to the summit of Jungfraujoch
The Jungfraujoch is a series of tunnels and buildings that include a hotel, two restaurants, an observatory, a research station, a snow play park, and an "Ice Palace". We now understood the advice to "spend the day there". With no particular plan or agenda we wandered around the tunnels and found the doorway that led out to the snow play park.
Looking back at Jungfraujoch and the tunnel that leads outside. Note the observatory (referred to as the Sphinx) located on the top of the mountain. They bored out rock and built an elevator to reach this.....amazing.
We noticed on the map there was a hut located about an hour's walk from the Jungfraujoch. Although we didn't set out intentionally to find the place, we sort of stumbled our way to it as a result of enjoying the views. It's easy to see how we became so distracted.......
We found Moenchsjoch Hut with high hopes that they served up a mean helping of Goulash Soup. We were not disappointed.
Stopping for photo op before heading in for lunch.
The Moenchsjoch Hut will always be my favorite place to eat at Jungfraujoch....not that the competition is tough.
We headed back to the Jungfraujoch to take in more of the views offered from the Sphinx observatory (remember that part of the elevator located in the bored out rock?). The views were simply amazing.......
Next we headed out to find the Ice Palace. This was another great engineering accomplishment as they bored out a series of tunnels inside the glacier at the top of Jungfraujoch to create this Palace. Here Andrea tests the walls to confirm they are made of ice.....confirmed. The floor is also made of ice so there is no stepping.....rather long slides.
Some of the eleborate ice sculptures found inside the Ice Palace.
Some of the tunnels were more narrow than others.......
Our visit was a day before July 4th and the hosts made the Americans in the group feel very welcomed with this display (framed in a block of ice....of course).
Venturing out of the Ice Palace we found more great views and took countless pictures. If you ever have the chance to visit the Jungfraujoch, do it. But be prepared for the sticker price to ride the train to the top.....it's steep (no pun intended).
Instead of riding the train all the way down to Grindelwald, we elected to hike down from the transfer station at Kleine Scheidegg. Some of the views on our descent follow.
Kleine Scheidegg with Eiger in the background
Looking down to Grindelwald
More views on Eiger
A good view of Schreckhorn (13,380ft)
The cog-wheeled train making its way to the top
Every time we looked up at Eiger we had to take another picture
Wetterhorn (12,143ft) and Schreckhorn (13,380ft)
One of many farm houses located in the shadow of Eiger
Most of the locals were busy cutting the grass in the fields and preparing to store it for the winter months (feed for the cows). It was amazing to see the process of "sorting the grass" by hand. The man on the right had to be no less than 75 years old and he was throwing around grass like it weighed nothing. I have a feeling he had been doing this for a few years.......
Almost to Grindelwald and stopping to look back up to Eiger
We made the nearly 4,000 vertical feet descent with no injuries...but we did work up huge appetites. Making our way back to the great place we ate at the week prior, we assumed the ideal table on the deck and enjoyed the view (and food). The view from our table.....
The following day was a bit of a sad affair: it was time to say good-bye to Grindelwald and hiking in the Alps. Before leaving we took in a few more pictures including our hotel and the view from the front deck looking up to Eiger.
It was a perfect trip with great friends, ideal weather, and wonderful food. I can see why the locals in Grindelwald, and much of the population of Switzerland for that matter, are content and happy. We loved visiting Switzerland back-to-back weekends and look forward to our next excursion there. Until then we will be saving up our Franc's for almost everything in Switzerland is expensive......we are talking over 6 Franc's for a small bottle of water expensive. Ouch. It may be an expensive place to visit, but the incredible landscape, tasty food, and generous people make it all worth it.
