Dressed in our warmest clothes, we purchased our tickets up to Jungfrau; which in the end totalled 137 CHF (or 100 GBP)! We then boarded the trains to the highest station in Europe from 796 m (Interlaken) to 3454m (Jungfraujoch), the journey takes about 2 hours; despite being able to see Jungfrau from our hotel balcony! As 2012, is the 100 year anniversary of the opening of Jungfrau, there was a special DVD played when we passed through the tunnels of the Eiger mountain; which was always designed as a tourist attraction and took over 16 years to build. I’m sure that today’s environmental impact statements would never see this built!
The views from Jungfraujoch include the main mountains of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, the glacial fields, the meteorological station called the Sphinx and the valleys of Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald. Despite some of the terraces being closed due to recent snowfalls, we braved the snow, cold winds and hordes of other tourists to get some good pictures! The Ice Palace had quite a few ice sculptures and more opportunities for cheesy pictures! The best way to describe the experience is AMAZING!!!
After a hearty lunch of wurst and rosti at Kleine Scheidegg, we attempted to walk it off with a walk down the mountain to Grindelwald, however the paths were closed to walkers due to the volume of snow; so another train journey awaited us!Grindelwald is a small town, larger than Lauterbrunnen however, most of the shops were also closed; luckily for us the chocolate shop of Läderach was still open! I definitely suggest the Champagne and Congac batons if you are anywhere in Switzerland.
The limited food choices of Lauterbrunnen saw us back at Hotel Oberland and the mystery of the Australian flag was solved when the owner spoke and revealed himself to be a fellow Sydney sider….
Travel date: 27 April 2012
Reflections 