Top of Europe

The following is from a daily journal during a June 2015 trip to Switzerland with my wife, Cindy:

While all of days have started with breakfast, today was interesting.  The hotel is host to at least two other groups, both nearly twice the size of ours.  Our group wanders in for breakfast , couple by couple, over a two hour window so the staff and food selections are not overwhelmed.  These larger groups eat as a unit and if you arrive just after they do, there is very little food or service available until the kitchen can catch up.  So, we adjusted our breakfast choices accordingly to what was left.

We walked over to the train station for our morning cog-rail train ride up to Jungfraujoch, the highest train station in Europe at 11,333 feet.  We changed tracks at a nearby village of Grund.  I find it interesting how a railed train can change tracks, but fascinating how a cog-rail train does it, transferring to a different set of cogs.

 

The ride up was steep and beautiful as we passed fields and hills covered by the deep green grass and wildflowers.  The air turned cooler as our altitude increased, and the mountain views grew more wonderful.  

 

 

Twice we passed through "half-tunnels" - open on the downhill side - where the tracks hugged the edge of the steep hillsides, but don't go through the hill.

 

We changed trains at Kleine Scheidegg, a very crowded station as many groups were waiting for transfers up or down.  We eeked our way through the other groups and reached our loading area. At least by traveling in a group, we had a private car (well, 1/2 a car).

The final leg up was 50 minutes long and most in a long tunnel through the Monch Mountain.  Much of the tunnel is only one track wide, but in two spots it widens to two tracks for passing.  The uphill track is on the siding, and additional tunnels allow the passengers to disembark, use the toilets within the mountain (an interesting travel claim), or view the snow, ice, and peaks through large panoramic windows. 

 

At the train station beneath the Jungfraujoch visitor complex, we exited to a special dining room for a lunch of bratwurst, rosti, and ice cream for dessert.  The views were the real treat where we could see the beginning of the glacier surrounded by the mountain peaks, and five brave souls crossing the ice field.

 

 

Our excursion through the complex started with the elevator to the top of the Sphinx, the enclosed glass structure atop the Jungfraujoch.  The complex is built in the saddle between the Jungfrau and Monch peaks in the Bernese Alps.  Snow & ice are common year round.  The outdoor viewing platform encircles the building and there isn't  a bad view in any direction.

 

Next we got to play in one of the outdoor snow areas, at least play with snowballs. 😊. Sadly, we didn't have time to enjoy the snow bobsleds or zip line of other structured activities.  But throwing some snowballs at friends (and wife) was sufficient.

 

Other sights within the center included a panoramic film on the mountain, a tunnel describing the building of the train route and station (including a memorial to those who died in the process), and an ice palace - tunnels made of ice and filled with ice sculptures.  

 

The three hours up there went far too fast, and by 5 pm we were back in Grindelwald.  Later that evening, Cindy & I and two friends walked through town and explored the village cemetery.  It was well taken care of with flowers on nearly every grave.  Many graves marked those who had died by avalanche or lightning strike atop the nearby mountains.

 

As fun and as beautiful as this part of God's creation is, it was a reminder that humans can enjoy and use the earth, but we cannot control it.

Up and Down in the Alps

The following is from a daily journal during a June 2015 trip to Switzerland with my wife, Cindy:

Today, everyone was pretty much on their own.  We chose a mid-morning start on the gondola to Grindelwald First (pronounced with an "eh" sound for the vowel - it means little summit). The Grindelwald-First cable car line takes 20 minutes to ascend to the top station, passing through two others).  We had great views of Grindelwald below us, the mountain peaks becoming more dominant across from us, and the beautiful green of the hillside beneath us.  

 

 

 

Once at the First station, we replenished our water bottles, got out the hiking poles, and set out.  This particular trail is 3 Km long (1.8 miles), and considered "easy".  Easy is apparently a relative term.  The beginning of the trail, nearly a third of its length, is a continuous ascension of 200 of the total 400+ foot gain.  Cindy has improved a lot in her ability to walk long distance and handle stairs, but without the hiking poles I'm not sure she would have made it.

 

But she did great, and we both got to enjoy together the spectacular scenes of creation displayed in the multitude of wildflowers, fresh snowmelt streams, and rocky hillsides.

 

 

 

Our destination was Bachalpsee, a small lake sitting in the mountains over 7400 feet above sea level, and over twice the elevation from our hotel this morning.  The lake is fed by the snowmelt.  It easily reflects the surrounding hills and serves as a beautiful foreground for the peaks of Wetterhorn, Schreckhorn, and Eiger.  You may have seen it before - gmail uses a scene from Bachalpsee as part of its mountian theme background.

 

 

 

  

We spent time there resting, and watching the people and often their dogs enjoying the mountain air and water.  One dog we had seen going up really seemed to have boundless energy.  He would roll in the snow, run well off path down fairly steep inclines, and swim in the lake.

 

 

 

At the end of our hike, we had lunch back at the First station, then prepared for another thrill - the First Flyer.  This is a zip line between the First station and next station down, a drop of about 600 feet.  We were hooked up to our harnesses, and soon zipping down at over 40 miles per hour.  We covered the distance in 45 seconds.

 

 

We continued the day relaxing back at the hotel - massage for Cindy and a swim in the pool for me.

Grindelwald may be considered "touristy" by some, but that does not make it any less beautiful.

A fun day with my favorite traveling partner.

 

 

Into the Bernese Alps

The following is from a daily journal during a June 2015 trip to Switzerland with my wife, Cindy:

Our Sunday began as we left Luzern and headed southwest to Grindelwald.  The drive was lovely with photo opportunities right & left.  Sometimes the best you could do while the bus was moving was to just put your camera against the window & click away.  

 

We stopped at an overlook of Lake Lungren and enjoyed for a few minutes the spectacular views of the lake and hills beyond.  

 

Returning to our drive, we passed a Swiss military airport in the valley below.  I've rarely seen such a photographic military location.

 

Our major stop for the day was the open air museum of Ballenberg.  Set on 164 acres of the countryside, the museum features over 100 buildings representing 11 different regions of Switzerland.  We only had time for maybe about 1/2 of the regions, but thoroughly enjoyed seeing the cattle grazing (and ringing their bells), and watching the artisans making pottery, wood carving, spinning thread, and making cheese.

 

 

 

 

After a quick lunch at the park, we headed for Brienz, a small town along Lake Brienz,  the easternmost lake either side of Interlaken.  In Brienz, we were fortunate to see two steam powered locomotives preparing to push their passenger cars up the hills.  Also we walked along the shore a bit, up a lovely residential street which surely must win Brienz's yards of the month judging (if they have one), and some shopping at a wood carvers shop.

 

 

 

 

Finally, it was off to Grindelwald, our home for the next three days.  Grindelwald sits in a valley at 3300 feet, surrounded by several peaks of the Bernese Alps.  It is a hub of mountain sports activities year round.  Our hotel is near the train station, but very quiet.

Sunday evening, several of us broke bread together in commemoration of the Lord's Supper, then broke bread as a meal with all of our group.

Tomorrow, the mountains.

 

Sights and Heights around Luzern

The following is from a daily journal during a June 2015 trip to Switzerland with my wife, Cindy:

Our official Swiss trip tour has begun.

 

Our only full day in Luzern began with a overview walk by our tour guide, Goobi.  It covered much of what Cindy & I had already seen on the previous day, but of course with a Swiss flair in story telling.  

 

The walk climaxed at the Dying Lion monument with Goobi telling of how the loss of so many Swiss soldiers impacted the families in this area.  It was much more peaceful this morning, as the garden was intended to be, than when Cindy & I visited yesterday.

After lunch, we walked to the Lake Luzern waterfront to catch the ferry on the Steamship Weggis across the lake to village of Stansstad. It rained a bit as soon as we set sail, but we had wonderful views of the homes along the water, the hills and mountains, and the other boats plying the waters.

 

 

 

From Stansstad, we went to nearby Stans and boarded the funicular to reach the cable car to the Mount Stanserhorn station. The cable car is a new design, the CabriO, with a second, open air deck above the main enclosed cabin. This was by far the most popular deck on the cable car.  Feeling the wind, smelling the fresh air (and sometimes cows), and hearing the bells of the cattle was quite an experience.

 

 

 

We reached the station, 6000 feet above sea level, but the admiration of the great views had to wait as a thunderstorm moved in just after we did. We ate lunch there, waiting for the weather to clear, and it did pretty quickly.  Later, several of us climbed the path of the last 227 feet to the summit.  The views were awe-inspiring, and ample evidence of the Creator who gave us this beauty.

 

 

We took a longer but less steep path back to the cable car station for more great scenery and lots of wildflowers.  

 

 

 

Two signs along the route quoted two Psalms.  Psalm 66:5 & Psalm 111:2.  Very appropriate.

 

 

This evening, Cindy and I dined at a riverside cafe for a good meal of chicken and fish, then topped off with Toblerone mousse.

 

We were tired, but before bedtime, were entertained by s French horn street performer in the courtyard outside our room.  At 9 pm.  

Tomorrow, heading into central Switzerland.