Hiking Jungfraujoch, Switzerland |
Written by Debra C. Argen and Edward F. Nesta | |
After gazing at Jungfraujoch from the vantage point from the legendary VICTORIA-JUNGFRAU Grand Hotel & Spa in Interlaken, we decided that the time and the weather were perfect to visit the famous Alpine mountain, Jungfraujoch.
Back on the train, we arrived at Jungfraujoch at 11:37 am and immediately started to plan our discovery, as we would depart Jungfraujoch at 2:45 pm. There was so little time and so much that we wanted to experience!
For our next adventure, we took the elevator to the Sphinx viewpoint (3,571 meters/11,760 feet), and had a remarkable view of the Alpine mountain Mönch (4,107 meters/3,475 feet) from the Sphinx terrace.
Since we were already covered with snow from our angel experience, we decided to try what the Swiss call "sledging" (sledding), only without a proper sledge, we used our coats! Debra went first and found that her leather coat worked quite nicely as she slid down the valley of the eternal snow. Not wanting to be alone down there, she convinced me that I should follow. Misery loves company, or something of that sort. I was wearing a Nautica windbreaker, and I found that perhaps it was not the best material for sledding, but lo and behold, although in slow speed, I soon found I was at the bottom next to Debra. Okay, folks, now we had to climb back up without falling too deep in the snow! Laughing like idiots as the snow reached above ankle height, we raced each other to the top, and when we reached our destination, suddenly we were a bit out of breath and perhaps just a shade bit dizzy. We wondered what was the matter, and then remembered "ALTITUDE!"
We found perfect places to rest and reflect on the magnificent sights in front of us from the vantage point of a snow bank, and on a red helicopter sitting in the snow. Ah, this was what we were looking to discover as we hiked Jungfraujoch - absolute perfection in nature.
Playing in the snow for an hour under bright blue sunny skies was truly a lifetime memory, but enough of a good thing for the moment. The snow had started to melt on our pants, clearly not meant to be used for sledging, and it was time to come inside, warm up, and have lunch at the Crystal Restaurant. With 360° restaurant views, we could warm up, still experience the mountain, and enjoy a lunch of Zartes Rindsstek, Pffersauce, Glasierte Karotten, and Berner Rösti (Beef steak, pepper sauce, glazed carrots and hash brown potatoes), and Gemüselasagne (Vegetable lasagna).
Alas, it was time to say goodbye to Jungfraujoch and depart on the 2:45 pm train to Klein Scheidegg. From there, we took the train to Grindewald, followed by another train to Interlaken OST, where we arrived at 5:10 pm. Visiting Jungfraujoch had been an experience that we will not forget.
For information on Switzerland, please visit: www.MySwitzerland.com. For information on Lucerne: www.Luzern.org. For information on Interlaken: www.InterlakenTourism.ch. For information on Bern: www.BernInfo.com. For information on Zurich: www.Zuerich.com. For information on Swiss International Air Lines: www.swiss.com. For information on Swiss Pass: www.SwissTravelSystem.ch. © December 2006 Luxury Experience www.LuxuryExperience.com All rights reserved. |