DAY 5 (19th September 2022)
Interlaken (Jungfraujoch, Wengen & Lauterbrunen)
Jungfrau Station is the highest (in terms of altitude) train station in Europe, earning the title of “Top of Europe”. That’s where we were headed on this day. This was the only place that we had to pay additional fees even though we had the Swiss Travel Pass, but there is a 25% discount for STP holders. We started the day by heading directly to Jungfraujoch, before proceeding down to Wengen and then to Lauterbrunnen.
One of my personal dreams is to be able to touch the surface of a glacier, minus the snow on top. In other words, I have always wanted to be able to touch the surface of a frozen river. Some of these rivers, have been frozen in time since the last Ice Age, and touching the glacier is like touching a time in history. I have seen several glaciers from afar, but none that I was able to touch and feel its icy history. Spoiler alert: I didn’t manage to do so during this trip either. ☹
Jungfraujoch
Jungfraujoch is essentially a small plateau or valley between Jungfrau and Mönch¸ two of the three tallest mountains in the region, the other being Eiger. Located at more than 3400m above sea level, the area is perennially covered in snow and ice, with the Aletsch Glacier, the longest glacier in the Alps (stretching 23km), literally just beside the Jungfraujoch station. And getting there was half the fun, I would say. We left Interlaken early in the morning and got to Kleine Scheidegg station to transfer to the Jungfraubahn, for the final leg of the journey.
The Jungfraubahn was completed in 1912 after a 16-year period of manual labor, including digging three tunnels through the Mt. Eiger, the longest of which is 7122m in length. The final station is located inside the said tunnel. The station is part of the overall Top of Europe Main Building, which also contains the Ice Palace and the Sphinx Observatory.
The Hike to Mönchsjochhütte
At the lower level of the Main Building, there is a door to the snow outside which acts also as the trailhead for the hike to Mönchsjochhütte, a mountain hut about 2.4km walk away. The snow-plowed path is wide and well-marked – just follow the trail. However, we didn’t get all the way there. A combination of hard walking through the snow going upwards, and the high elevation (read: low oxygen) made it a tough task for us. We must have walked about 1.2km before we decided to turn back. (Bro Ray: we should have trained harder back home…)
If you know where to walk, you could even land a helicopter on the ice; but if you’re not sure, better to just stay on the path! Along the way, we saw many deep crevasses caused by melted snow falling into a flowing under-ice stream, where the chance of rescue, if one were to fall in, is almost slim and none. I suppose when all the ice has melted away, we can discover the final resting place…. In about 5,000 years!
Now We Know
In September 1991, two German tourists, Helmut and Erika Simon, discovered a frozen corpse that was later determined to be at least 5000 years old, still partly buried in the ice. The Iceman, as he was known, was nicknamed Ötzi since he was discovered in the Ötztal Alps region. Pretty much still intact and frozen in time, scientists spent years studying what he ate (there was partially digested food in his gut), how he died, what occupation he had, his ancestral origins, etc. Today, Ötzi can be viewed in South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy.
Aletsch Glacier
After the very cold and blinding walk caused by the glare from the reflection of bright sunlight off the surface of the snow, we went back into the warm comforts of the Main Building. We enjoyed a warm meal in one of the restaurants before heading back out on the Sphinx Terrace to take some pictures of the not-too-distant Aletsch Glacier.
Ice Palace
As touristy as it sounds, the Ice Palace was indeed purpose-built for tourism. Carved into the Aletsch Glacier in the 1930s, the long icy tunnel contains many ice sculptures, practically frozen in time. The lighting is dim and quite dark in certain places, and the floor is slippery. Hence, cautioned is needed when walking around inside. There is no need to rush anyway, so take your time and enjoy the works of art.
Wengen
And then it was time to head back down. We went down the same way we came up and decided to make a stop at Wengen village, an alpine farming community of just 1,300 people. But it gets crowded in the tourist season. The many hotels and restaurants along the main street attests to that, since it is a major stop along the Jungfraujoch route. I have actually been here before in 2017, and walking around the village, I can see that nothing much has changed in the past few years, still the same charming, inviting village…. Oh, and by the way – Wengen is a car-free village, with only the occasional trucks permitted to pass through bearing goods, produce and supplies to and from the village.
Lauterbrunnen
The first thing that is practically in-your-face about Lauterbrunnen is the 300-m tall Staubbach waterfall. Even from miles away, you can already see the unmistaken majestic cascade of water from a vertical cliff just behind the village. The village itself is flanked almost entirely on one side by a near 90-degree natural wall, and the rolling hills climbing up to the Alps on the other. Lauterbrunnen is nicely nestled in this narrow strip of land, and is home to less than 1,000 people, but gets its fair share of tourists. I wonder why….
It was already 6:10pm when we arrived at the village, which meant that we didn’t really get good sunlight any more for photography. It had also been a pretty dry September, hence the cascading waterfall that we were expecting did not happen. Instead, it was literally just trickling down the slope. So, we didn’t stay long at Lauterbrunnen, but caught the first available bus back to Interlaken. We found a nice Chinese restaurant for dinner along the way from the bus station. And we popped by a casino on the way, just to have a look.
Summary Day 5
I think Jungfraujoch is a must-go place if you are in this region of Switzerland – not only for the highest altitude train station, the snow walk to Mönchsjochhütte and the view of the longest glacier in the Alps. But also for the tranquillity and beauty of the surrounding villages and hamlets – we couldn’t fit Mürren and Isenfluh into our itinerary. We got the feeling that there is so much to do, but so little time to do them all. By the time we got back to our AirBnb, it was time to pack again, as we would be leaving Interlaken in the morning.
