Yesterday was a day off. We were surrounded by clouds so we spent the day reading, resting, and shopping. One of the books Ross is reading is Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains by Jon Krakauer. We checked out a couple of the many sporting goods stores in Grindelwald for hiking, skiing, and mountaineering gear. And with a forecast of eight hours of sun, we got ready for a big day today.

Set for hiking, we caught the cog train to Kleine Scheidegg, then got tickets for the Jungfrau train to the Jungfraujoch. This red train climbed 4,600 feet in four miles through the Eiger to emerge in the saddle between the Mönch and Jungfrau. 

The trip took 30 minutes and was mostly inside rock walls. There was one brief stop on the way where you can get off the train and look through a window in the side of the mountain. The train moved much faster than we expected for such a steep climb and we soon found ourselves at Jungfraujoch station.

It has several floors including snack areas, souvenir shops, an ice cave, etc. But we focused on soaking in the views. For that we went to an outside balcony.

This one had a great view of the Aletsch Glacier which runs between the Mönch and the Jungfrau. 

We saw people walking and climbing well below us, just to the right of the lowest gray rockface.

Then we took the elevator up five more floors to the Sphinx, a combination indoor and outdoor viewing area. This looks up at the Sphinx. 

From here we looked down and took a photo of Kleine Scheidegg. 

We found a sign that told us our altitude. 

Then we went outside to check out the Mönch up close.

The wind was blowing fairly strong and a Swiss gentleman we saw at lunch told us the wind had once been recorded here at 200 mph. Today, the prayer flags were whipping in the breeze.

This is also considered the coldest spot in Europe and I had packed gloves, long underwear, a heavy fleece jacket, and a warm hat, as recommended on various travel forums for this time of year. Fortunately I did not wear those items today and I certainly didn’t need them. Just a long-sleeved shirt and a lightweight fleece pullover were fine for early morning. The fleece pullover quickly gave way to a lighter pullover.

We then went around the balcony and took photos of the Jungfrau.

Advertised as the top of the world, we felt like that was true. From here we also had a view back down to Grindelwald.

We took a few more photos before going back inside.

On our walk back to the train, Ross met a friend.

There were also photos showing the building of the tunnel.

And, commemorating the loss of lives in the process.

After the train took us back to Kleine Scheidegg, we walked up to the Zimmer Restaurant for lunch. A bit busier than yesterday. 

We had a great view of the Mönch and the Eiger Glacier from the Zimmer deck. 

My lunch was rosti – hash browns – with tomatoes and cheese. We ate lunch with a retired Swiss couple from Basel who had driven to Wengen, a two- hour trip, just to have lunch at the Zimmer and look at the mountains. He spent five years in New York working and had very good English. He said he spoke seven languages, partly due to his need to travel with his job. We discussed climate and immigration issues and monetary policy and from the questions he asked and comments he made, it was clear that he still followed American politics. Before leaving the Zimmer, we took a photo in front of the Eiger.

Same place in 2001.

These photos show the north face of the Eiger or Nordwand and the one that has challenged climbers the most because of its concave face which leads to avalanches and abrupt changes in weather. First climbed in 1938, 64 climbers have died trying to reach the top since 1935. It’s one of the most coveted climbs in the world and has a mythic and dangerous reputation.

We were planning to hike down the valley to Alpiglen to catch the cog train into Grindelwald and figured that hike would take about three hours. Already afternoon, we had to be cognizant of when the cog train stopped running for the day. Instead, we decided to hike the Eiger Trail, below the north wall, into Alpiglen which might require less time. We started by taking the Jungfrau train again but only up to the first stop at Eigergletscher and then walked down the trail along the tracks. In the photo below Ross is looking at the Eiger Glacier. 

The trail is narrow and although it has some good climbs, has some really steep downhills.

We hiked for about an hour and knew we still had some steep downhill sections ahead. I wanted to keep the rest of my toenails so we switched to another more level trail, went back to Kleine Scheidegg and from there, took the train back to Grindelwald.

Our hike left us more tired than we expected, but mainly because we were roaming around at 8,000 and 9,000 feet. But we got some great photos sitting and resting at Kleine Scheidegg. Here, we are looking up at the Eiger and the Mönch and the Eiger Glacier.

This photo shows the Mönch and the Jungfrau and in the saddle between is the Sphinx at Jungfraujoch.

This has to be one of the most beautiful views in the world and to get the chance to see it, magical. Supposedly the Jungfrau, which means maiden, was named for a groups of nuns who lived in the area. Mönch mean monk and Eiger means ogre. Although the Eiger is the shortest at 13,000 feet, it is still the most imposing and this area is the most glaciated in the Alps.

The cog train to Grindelwald was standing room only by the time we got back. It had mountaineers, hikers, and sight-seers on it.  

We had dinner at the hotel restaurant. There was a special buffet feast of wild game but we didn’t have reservations, nor did we want them, and instead, had a nice combination of regular German food. Those at the feast got to enjoy – as did we  – this small band which included two accordions.

Still daylight, we went out on our balcony to take one more look at the Eiger, then packed up, because tomorrow we say good-by to this fabulous area.  

We will travel by train to Paris, stay overnight there, and meet our Country Walkers group the next morning for a tour of Normandy.