Grindelwald, Swiss Alps, Switzerland Sunday, August 19, 2012

Why We Took Off

Today, we have decided to take a day off from hiking. There is quite a bit of soreness going on and Carol is really nursing too many Swissters at the moment. We go down for breakfast around 0815. It is better than we were expecting after the whole no dinner thing last night. Some cold cuts, cheese, bread, coffee, and juice. Cereal is also available. Elias, Kai, and Daniel are eating and planning their days hike. It almost makes me want to try and hike today, almost! I know the smart thing for us is to rest a little today.

Train to Interlaken

We say our goodbyes to the boys and get ourselves packed up. We walk to the train station and not finding a bus schedule for Grindelwald, we catch a 1046 train with a change in Interlaken. On the way, I talk to Carol about going up the Jungfrau, which we were originally going to try tomorrow or Tuesday. It is a beautiful clear hot day and we decide to do it.

Jungfrau

                                              The Jungfrau is a high mountain peak served by the Jungfraujoch railway. This cog railway opened in 1912 and just celebrated its 100 year anniversary on August 1st. It goes through the Eiger Mountain as it climbs through a long tunnel with several windows that you can get out and look through. The Eiger wall is a famous climbing rock wall on the North side. I haven’t seen it in a while, but there is a Clint Eastwood movie called The Eiger Sanction which I will now have to rent and watch. Swiss punctuality doesn’t work on this railway as we are delayed twice going up and the 50 minute ride from Kleine Scheidegg takes 90 minutes.

In the Ice Palace

Once at the top, we choose to do the ice palace first. This is a tunnel carved in the glacier. Not knowing what to expect, we enter, and are quite amazed. It is a tunnel with several offshoots carved right out of the glacier above. The floor is pure ice and slippery and our poles help as we still have our full packs on. There are small caves carved out with ice sculptures in them. There are no nuts, bolts, wood or steel, just a tunnel of ice. The whole thin moves a few centimeters every year with the glacier. It was a pretty cool experience which is why we wore our down jackets!

Wow

From here we found our way to the elevator which whisks you up to the top of the sphinx, an observation platform. We step outside with a 360 degree view of a winter wonderland. The glacier below the peak extends for miles down a valley, with other high glaciers right next to it. You can ski, snowshoe, and hike in the snow below. There is also a park with tubing, downhill skiing, and other fun where you can rent equipment to play in the snow. The views are great in every direction and we soak them all in. It is so vast and white that it overwhelms the eye trying to take it all in.

The Eiger

We head down to the station and get on the next train to Kleine Scheidegg with no waiting. From there we switch to the train that takes us to Alpiglen where we are staying for the night. I almost forgot to mention that we meet a lot of people when we travel on trains especially when they see the packs. On the way down from Jungfrau we have an interesting conversation with Budi from Indonesia. He is interested in our hiking and our equipment. He tells us we should visit China and Mongolia. He has recently returned from a business trip in Mongolia and said it was very nice and beautiful. He shows us a few pictures. Budi has a daughter who lives in Omaha. He also tell us that not many Americans travel like we do, showing an interest in the culture and people, that they just want to see the big sights. Of course, he is traveling through 6 countries in 14 days, so not exactly absorbing the cultures. We also meet two people from Australia as we descend to Alpiglen. They are in their late fifties and had just paraglided here in the Alps. He had a Go video camera in addition to his regular one. He said he loves it and got to film their whole experience. Maybe Australians are crazier than us.

The Wetterhorn

We get off at Alpiglen for a very short walk to our guesthouse. It is beautiful here right below the North wall of the Eiger and looking down into the valley at Grindlewald and up across the same valley to the Wetterhorn. Just phenomenal.

I Like It Here

                                                                              After we shower, we go outside and sit on the patio for dinner. Cream of potato soup, salad, beef roast, broccoli, croquets, and ice cream for dessert. Eating under the Eiger. Priceless!
We can see the windows in the tunnel we took on todays excursion. I also spot a fox that sits like a dog and stares at me. He hangs around for some pictures but there is a fence partially blocking the shots. Another patron spooks him and he ducks into an escape route under the building he is sitting by. We also meet Massimiliano from Vercelli, Italy and an Englishman, both hiking different trails that all converge here. It gets cold enough for us to put on our down jackets before retiring for the night.
CNC
“Our happiest moments as tourists always seems to be when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else”- Lawrence Block
Expenses
241.20SF-Jungfraujoch round trip for two
10.40 SF-2 beers
154 SF- Berghaus Alpiglen with half board

Miles Walked – 2.5 Mikes