In the summer of 2016, I headed off for a trip to the Swiss Alps with my family. I couldn’t wait to get to Switzerland and fill up on chocolates and the breathtaking views. The itinerary did include Zurich, Lucerne and Interlaken. But, in this blog, I will be exclusively talking about my trip to the top of Europe, Jungfraujoch!
We started off on an early morning bus ride from Zurich to Grindelwald. It was 3 hour trip with a lot of clouds and a little of bit rain along the way. This was concerning because when we decided to go to Mount Titlis earlier, the rainy weather dampened the views from there. It was a relief when we got to Grindelwald and the clouds had receded to give the much-needed warmth and light of the sun.
The first train ride towards Jungfraujoch started from Grindelwald station. We had to stop at Kleine Scheidegg to catch the connecting train towards Jungfraujoch. The ride lasted for about 20 minutes and we slowly moved around the postcard view of Swiss cottages on plush green hills and the picturesque Alps in the background.
Kleine Scheidegg is the central mountain station. It is by far one of the most scenic railway stations in the world. Here is where we changed our train from Grindewald to Jungfraujoch. The entire train journey lasted for about 40 minutes and was a treat to the eyes. And this is where we begin our journey along the cogwheel train tracks. Experiencing the ascension on a cogwheel train was fun. It enables visitors to really soak in the beautiful landscape.
Here’s a video from the train. Dad was delving into the engineering of cogwheels and explained that the wheels of the train are designed in a way to align with the toothed rail rack. He also said how the train can scale steep heights within a short span of time thanks to this engineering marvel. And this was designed way back in the 1900s.
And, the train arrives at the highest railway station in the world at 3,450 meters above sea level, Jungfraujoch. Jungfraujoch connects Jungfrau and Monch. The Ice Palace is hands down one of my favourite attractions there. I remember walking down long hallways constructed from ice and the sculptures made using ice were simply awe-inspiring. There’s also the option of walking right on the snowy surface of Jungfraujoch and see the Jungfrau mountain and the observatory in the background. And! the warm hot chocolate from the cafeteria right after the snow photoshoot was top-notch.
We spent a good 2 hours at Jungfraujoch and then headed back down the cogwheel train route to Grindelwald. I hope to go back to Jungfraujoch again and take in the fresh mountain air into my lungs. Alp me, please!