September 22nd 2024
Day 9.
We had decided before we left the UK that we would splash out on our journey and take the trip of a lifetime by travelling to what is known as “Top of Europe.” The Jungfraujoch.
We pre booked the tickets the night before to avoid any queues when we arrived at the terminal, it was a whopping CHF211 (swiss francs) each for the return fare and CHF30 for Layla. That translates into a total sum of £399 a rather expensive day out however when you experience the feat of engineering to get you to the top then you understand the price.
We travelled up to the first level on the worlds most modern tri cable gondola that whizzes you up in just 15 minutes, giving wonderful views , and takes you past the North Face of the Eiger.
At the terminal you transfer immediately to the rack and pinion train that takes you to the terminal almost at the top of the mountain.
In the 1890’s whilst out hiking Swiss industrial magnate Adolf Guyer Zeller came up with an ingenious plan. The “ railway king” wanted to blast a tunnel through the sheer rock of Eiger and Monch and construct a cogwheel railway right to the summit of the Jungfrau. Locals recognised how this would boost regional tourism and backed his plan. Work began in 1898 but sadly Adolf Zeller died of pneumonia in 1899 however his descendants carried on with the work. It was a long hard job tunnelling through the rock and there were deaths amongst the workers however in August 1912 it opened after 16 years of construction costing 16 million francs twice as much as estimated. When you travel on this train it feels like being on the London tube as you travel inside the rock of the mountain although there is a 5 minute stop part way up for you to see the glacier.
When you arrive at the terminal you are directed to walk through another internal tunnel with a variety of exhibits, you also walk through an ice palace created in the 1930’s. It has to be constantly recut as the warmth generated by thousands of visitors means that the labyrinth has to be cooled to minus three degrees, there are ice sculptures but sadly my photos didn’t do them justice.
Eventually you can emerge onto a snowy area where you can have wonderful views of the glacier and the mountains around.
To reach the level of the observatory Switzerlands fastest lift whizzes you up in just 27 seconds the views from here are amazing and on very clear days you are supposed to be able to see the Vosges in France and Germany’ s Black Forest.
We selected today to visit as the weather forecast was for fine weather which thankfully was the case, the next few days rain is forecast which would have given the trip a different feel.
We travelled back down to the first terminal and Alison and Peter decided to take the Gondola again whereas we opted for another rack and pinion train down the mountain which was much slower but gave a different view.
taraabit 