To the Top of Europe

- June 04, 2022

We had one goal for the day: get to the top of Europe, aka Jungfraujoch. It is home to the highest railroad station in Europe, taking visitors far up into the Alps. Our journey for the day would involve several trains and a gondola--and making all of them required spot-on timing. Luckily, the Celtics won their game seven, so Penn--who had been up from 2:30 am to about 5 am--was tired but happy to go. We were off.

The train climbed higher and higher, eventually dropping us at a transfer station to catch the Eiger Express. This gondola--as the name suggests--zips visitors up the mountain and alongside the Eiger, which rises over 13,000 feet in the Bernese Alps. The views--as we had come to expect in the Berner Oberland region--were beautiful as far as the eye could see, made even moreso by the absence of any obstructions as we floated along. You can see the shadow of our gondola in one of the photos below.

And here we are inside:

We sailed up among the very tops of the pine trees and then above them.

And, as promised, our gondola passed right alongside Eiger, itself, and dropped us off at the way station where we'd catch the train to the top. Because of the heights you're reaching, you're advised to drink at least a half a liter of water on the ascent, and as we rose, we could feel the pressure increasing.

Our small red train took us through the mountain to the highest railway station in Europe: Jungfraujoch.

From there, we climbed slowly up ramps and stairs through tunnels, becoming accustomed to our almost 10,000 feet of elevation. When we emerged, our breath was taken aways by more than the height. We were on a platform in the midst of the Alps!! In and above the clouds that floated by like spun cotton, the sun was almost blindingly bright but offered no warmth; the sky was ridiculously blue and clear, signaling the icy cold and thin air.

We took so many pictures, trying to capture the extraordinary beauty, but none of them did. Still, they're not bad!

Standing on the platform, we could feel the winds pushing against us and knew that clouds were swirling past us, either obscuring or revealing a true blue sky.

Ned's expression says it all: unbelievable!

As we stood outside, shiny and friendly Alpine blackbirds (Alpine Chough) would swoop down, clearly accustomed to treats from the staff and visitors. Their color makes them immediately visible, making me think that they must not face many predators this high up.

Back inside the Jungfraujoch center, we toured the spaces carved out of the mountain, walking through low tunnels with appropriately winter-y decorations. It was all very well done, and a good way to walk off the chill.

We learned that the original Jungfrau Hotel (shown in the snow globe) burned to the ground and was not rebuilt. So many fires in Switzerland. Surprising. In trying to learn more, I found out that wildfires are common in the Alps. Who knew.

We shuffle-slid through the Jungfraujoch Ice Palace, as we made our way back to the train that would take us down the mountain.

To get the full experience, we decided to descend on the opposite side of Jungfrau via train rather than gondola.

As beautiful as the views were, it had been a long day of traveling, climbing, and some thin air.

On the trip back down, I found a great gf Mexican restaurant in Interlaken, El Azteca, and made a reservation to ensure we could get a table. It was down a street we'd not yet explored, and the food and atmosphere were both wonderful. Plus, we got the bonus treat of watching a young boy drive up and down the cobblestones in his little electric truck, parking it at his parents' shop, and then driving away again. This, and so many other street scenes, just cracked us up--likely because we were exhausted and travel-silly. It was a lovely way to end the day!