Breakfast was at 8.45 this morning which was a refreshing change to what every other day had been. We then walked down to the train station to board the train which would then take us up to jungfrau – the top of Europe. This is the highest point on the mountains in Europe at 3454 meters. We were given a little passport sized book which gives lots of information about the construction and things to do when at the top. We then boarded the train for what was going to be a 2 hour trip up the mountain to reach our destination. The train ride takes a long time because the train has to stop for other trains through some of the tunnels as there is only one train track to pass through, you have to swap trains half way up the mountain and it stops at 3 viewpoints towards the top. The train is also quite slow as it is going up lots of windy roads and tracks and on a big ascent.
Once we reached the top we could feel the very low temperatures which we were warned about. We walked though the station to the main inside section which had a cafe, restaurant, gift shop and information booth. We looked at the signs for where we wanted to go, we had worked it out on the train by looking through the booklet. We went to the sphinx terrace which is the highest point you can go to at jungfrau and this is where they do lots of air and snow testing. We got lots of beautiful pictures up there! We then went through the ice palace which was absolutely freezing and into the Lindt cafe and onto the snow fun areas which was outside. They had activities which you could do including skiing, tubing, tobogganing, snow bikes and a zip line. I went on the zip line which was so much fun. Your connected by a harness to a long rope that goes from higher than the snow then down and land in the snow. You get a wonderful view of the mountains while your on the zip line. After the snow activities it was time to head back to the train to board and descend down the mountain. The trip down took nearly as long as the trip up the mountain.
When we got down the mountain we walked through the main street of the town and had a look at some souvenir shops and there was also a Swiss Army knife and watch shop which we also stopped at. We then stopped at the cafe and had a wonderful hot chocolate and used their wifi quickly coz we hadn’t been able to get any for the past 2 days. Then we rushed back and got ready for dinner.
For dinner we walked to a local restaurant where we had a garden salad and I had a plate of mixed steamed vegetables and a potato rosti. The others had a sausage instead of the vegetables that I was served. The meals weren’t the greatest and the bar was extremely overpriced, but I guess that’s what they can charge in a small town that’s mainly only populated with tourists. We also got a cheese fondue which we shared between about 10 people. It is a small saucepan type dish which was sitting over a small flame which was keeping it warm. The cheese fondue was served with lots of bread pieces which you dip into the melted cheese alone with a shot of schnapps which is supposed to be sipped before eating a piece of the bread. It was nice and creamy as well as a different but good kind of cheese taste to your standard melted cheese. I’m not actually sure what sort of cheese it was but all I know is that I enjoyed it. We headed back to our accommodation and went to bed.
Tillie x
That Bow Girl 