I'm on Top of the World

---

INTERLAKEN Day 34

The next day I headed for Interlaken, which is winter sport central. It is also the location of Jungfraujoch Mountain, 4158meters. And near the top of this mountain is Europe’s highest train station. Since I hadn’t skied in years I decided that it wouldn’t be the best time to try it out again after my fall out of the shower I figured the risk of falling off a giant mountain would be too great. But I did decide that taking the scenic train to the Top of Europe was well worth the extra money that I had to pay.

While waiting for my bus to take me to the train station a gorgeous hawk/eagle kept flying overhead. I saw it, or another one, three times today. I got to the train station and got on the first little train up the mountain. It is so funny to see all these people walking around in their ski boots and hoping onto trains with their skis. I am so used to having to drive far to go skiing that you would never wear your ski boots straight out of the house and down the street to the train station.

The views from the train were breathtaking, albeit it was a little cloudy. On the train I met a fellow traveler from Korea. He was also heading up the mountain on his own so we agreed to assist each other by taking each others photos as needed. He was very nice and even gave me a Korean pen. When we finally made it to the third train we met the guide who was hilarious. I swear he must have thought he was some sort of swiss comedian. He was cracking jokes nonstop. The final train actual goes inside of the mountain and makes 2 stops where there are viewing points to see down the mountain, Eigerwand 2865meters and Eismeer 3160meters. The first was a decent view but the second stop was very snowy and was a complete white out.

We made it to the top station, 3454meters, where the view was better. You could see mount Monch clearly, 4107meters, and most of mount Jungfraujoch. We went outside and it was freezing and snowing so we didn’t stay out too long. It was strange to see so much snow again since I haven’t seen anything more than an inch in over a year. I kind of missed the big snow falls.

Back inside the train station is an ice palace. It is a really neat ice cave with ice sculptures. So I had a lot of fun sliding around on the ice and posing with the penguins. Although the trip up the mountain was outside of my daily budget allowance I am still glad that I did it because it was worth it for the experience. But it must be beautiful in the summer.

We made our way back down the mountain but the snow was worse so it was much harder to see. Back at the base I went to have some dinner. I had Capunets, which is a spinach dumpling with glazed onions, apple sauce, and cheese. It was delicious but so filling.

---