Day 9 - A day in Grindelwald, Switzerland

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It was an early wake up for Ray and I today, as w were planning on taking the first train to Jungfrau, also known as The Top of Europe. The train takes you to the Jungfraujoch, site of the highest rail station in Europe. As he cog grinds steeply up the wooded mountain side, you are treated with spectacular views of the valleys and villages below, and the towering mountain tops. The train stops briefly for passengers to take in the icy views, through windows cut in the mountain. It continues upward until you reach the Jungfraujoch terminus At 11,333 ft.

After exiting the train, we took a high speed elevator up another 364 ft to the Sphinx terrace. From there the Eiger, Aletsch glacier, and Monch seemed almost close enough to touch. I'm not sure if the pictures we took can really give it justice.

The Ice Palace, an artificially created tunnel through the frozen glacier, is completely coated in ice. I could imagine many falls, as even the floor is frozen.

The Aletsch glacier is over 22 km long, and almost 1 km thick. It is the longest and strongest ice stream in the Alps.

We ventured out to the Glacier Plateau, which is snow covered 365 days a year. Fortunately for us, it was sunny and clear, so more picture taking could take place.

Another attraction was the Alpine Sensation which gave a history of how the Jungfraujoch railroad was built. We have seen many vistas over the years, but this will be one we will ne forget. Another check off the bucket list!

After a light lunch and gift shop browsing, we headed back down the mountain.

After a short rest at the hotel, we heade out for a walk around town. We visited the local grocery store where everything seems expensive except for the wine. We stopped and had a glass of beer at one of the sidewalk cafes where the service was terrible.

When we f tired of walking around, we had dinner in a very nice restaurant, took a cab home, and hit the sack.

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Comments

[Joan]

These pictures are breathtaking. That must have been an incredible train ride. You guys are Lewis and Clark of Europe. Awesome

[The Cat Herder Gold Rush]

Not quite, or we would be hiking through the mountains ?

[Murph]

Beautiful, and very impressive. What happened to the Cs?

[Jan]

Every photos I have seen are beautiful. The scenery and mountains views are awesome. What a wonderful trip you are having.