Sunday: Today we are heading to the Jungfrau Region of Switzerland in the Bernese Alps which includes three prominent mountains – the Eiger, the Mönch, and the Jungfrau – and valleys that lead to Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, and Interlaken. We start out the morning manhandling our luggage the two blocks to the Lucerne train station.

Then we grab a roll for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch at a nearby bakery before catching our train to Interlaken Oost which is about a 90-minute trip. A photo of one of the large glacier-fed lakes near Interlaken.

At Interlaken we hustle with our luggage to a different track to catch the train to Grindelwald. The trains are crowded; we aren’t the only tourists although we were pleasantly surprised that there weren’t more. This section of the trip is another 30 minutes. The track ends in Grindelwald right beside the Derby Hotel where we are staying. We also stayed here in 2019. I took a photo of our room before we trashed it too much. It’s somewhat rustic but a great location for getting around.

Our balcony looks out at the Eiger and through the clouds in this photo, an edge of the concave North Face can just be seen over the rooftop. The difficulty in completing a climb of the North Face has caused the Eiger to be more well known than either the Matterhorn or Mont Blanc. One of the guides suggested I read The White Spider by Heinrich Harrer about the first successful ascent of the North Face in 1938. I could not find the book electronically but purchased a paperback copy later in Zermatt.

We meet our guides, Steve and Louis from Alpenwild, in the lobby at 3 pm for a briefing and short hike to Gletscherschlucht, Glacier Canyon . The water here is runoff from the Eiger Glacier that has created this canyon over the centuries. Powerful, cold, and noisy.

The walkway through the canyon was sometimes on rock and other times open-air grid and went in and out of tunnels.

A waterfall off the cliff.

In addition to the river, there was netting stretched across the water for amusement. It was bouncy and apparently had no other purpose.

And, there was bungee jumping from the top of the cliff into the canyon. The guy in the black shirt over the water had just jumped and was still swinging.

The walk back was a 10-minute walk that took 40 minutes; the last hill got steeper and steeper. Dinner was at the Derby and included a set menu with salmon and pasta.

Monday: The next day we had breakfast at 7:30 and left the hotel with our guides at 8:30. Due to clear weather, we’re going up to Jungfraujoch today. We start by catching a train in front of the Derby that heads up the mountain and provides great views of the Swiss countryside.

After 30 minutes we are at Kleine Scheidegg, a mountain pass between the Eiger and Lauberhorn peaks. This railway connects Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen and in addition to the train station shown below, there are several restaurants at Kleine Scheidegg as well as the Hotel Bellevue des Alpes featured in the film The Eiger Sanction.

Kleine Scheidegg is also the lower terminus of the Jungfrau Railway which we take to Jungfraujoch. The railway was built in 1912, before the first successful ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in 1958. The track goes inside and up through the Eiger to arrive at Jungfraujoch, the saddle between the Mönch and the Jungfrau and is the highest point in Europe that can be reached by railway. For more photos of this area, see the “September 20, 2019 Eiger Dreams” post.

The station at the top includes several levels and the main level contains a cafe, a souvenir shop, and large windows that provide views of the surrounding glaciers. We spent more time though on the upper level observation deck.

From here we viewed the Aletsch Glacier, the longest glacier in Europe at 13 miles.

A helicopter can be seen near the middle bottom third of this photo; its shadow is on the snow. This gives some feel for the size of the area.

We also saw several locks left by tourists.

Ross and I posed in front of the Mönch.

And the girls were in front of the Jungfrau.

Above the clouds.

We stop for a group photo at the sign that tells us we’re at 11,000 feet.

Then from the lower level our group went outside to walk on the glacier.

And to check out a crevasse.

Group photo on the glacier.

Checking out the flag.

Then back inside the lower level, they went through the glacier.

We left Jungfraujoch and took the train partway back to Eigergletscher station.

We walked a short distance, admiring the flowers, which were prolific during the time we were in Switzerland.

Then we stopped for a picnic lunch which our guides had carried in their backpacks. While eating lunch, we heard the crack of an avalanche from someplace above.

Then we took a photo with Grindelwald down in the valley behind us.

We rode the Eiger Express cable car down the mountain to Grindelwald followed by a short train ride back to the hotel.

Returning to the Derby at the end of the day. Great day, awesome scenery.

Dinner tonight was fondue at Barry’s Restaurant.