Advertisement
Published: October 21st 2010
Today was our excursion to Jungfrauhoch, which bills itself as "The Top of Europe" at 11,782 feet, although the actual summit of Jungfrau is a couple of thousand feet higher, but inaccesible. It's quite a production to get there, and we began early, hoping to have good weather and fewer crowds earlier in the day. We took the first cog-wheel train or funicular up the opposite side of the valley than the one we ascended yesterday. At Kleine Schedegg station, we finally came out of the fog to find ourselves up close and personal with the 3 peaks (Eiger, Monsch and Jungfrau) we saw yesterday from Schilthorn, across the valley. There we changed trains to a second cog-wheel train that ascends THROUGH the mountain of Eiger. During the ride through the tunnel we made 3 stops and got off the train at each for 5 minutes in order to view the glacier and mountains through viewing windows set into the mountain side. Incredible! But not as incredible as what awaited us...
About two hours after our start, we arrived at the final station at Jungfrauhoch, 400 feet below the "Sphinx" observatory and research station. We made our way through a
series of tunnels, stairways and elevators which led not only to the Sphinx, but also to the Ice Palace, the Plateau, restaurants and gift shops. During our several hours at "The Top of Europe", we soaked up the amazing views from the Sphinx viewing platforms, then took a hike out onto the Aletsch glacier for a couple of miles to the Monchsjochhutte, a small skiers' warming hut and restaurant for lunch. We returned to the complex for a visit to the Ice Palace and spent some time taking in the views not only of the mountains, but also looking back at the Sphinx complex, from the vantage point of the "Plateau". See photos.
When we descended back to Kleine Scheidegg, we considered hiking from there down to Wengen, the main village on this side of the valley's upper regions, but the fog had risen and the trail was fogged in. Why put in the effort if there are no views to be had, we reasoned. But amazingly, a couple of stops later we came through the fog and could actually see Wengen in the distance. We hopped off the train, and did the short 30 minute jaunt down the
hill to Wengen, soaking in the sights of the countryside and the charming town.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.714s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 11; qc: 61; dbt: 0.5779s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
