Interlaken/Jungfraujoch, Oct. 5

Last night’s rain yielded fresh snow atop the surrounding mountains, creating vistas out of a fairy tale. 

Before heading for our Jungfrau adventure, Andy, Char and I wandered down Interlaken’s main street, Höheweg, admiring the classic Swiss views above us and (in the case of Andy and me) the classic Swiss watches in the store windows.  (Most cost the equivalent of a nice vacation, and I have my priorities!)

As an added treat, our walk coincided with the end of a paragliding tour, giving us inspiring views of gracefully soaring thrill-seekers gliding to a landing in the park across the street.

And now for the main event.  I’ve visited some profoundly beautiful places in my travels:  New Zealand’s Milford Sound, Norway’s Lofoten Islands, Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay … the Swiss Alps above Interlaken (Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau) rival any of them.

Our travel agent booked our trip to Jungfraujoch (the “saddle” between Mönch and Jungfrau) through Best of Switzerland Tours (tel. +41 44 710 50 50, www.switzerland-tours.ch, info@switzerland-tours.ch).  Our chief guide, Gonzalo, who was ably assisted by Xiaolu, did a wonderful job keeping us informed and organized, preparing us for particularly scenic spots with plenty of time to get our cameras ready, and forming a quick and easy rapport with our group. 

After a short bus ride past idyllic Swiss farms and famously content Swiss cows, we boarded the Eiger Express gondola at Grindelwald (1034 meters (3392 feet) – no signs of the dreaded dark wizard, for you Harry Potter fans – for a fifteen minute ride up to Eigergletscher (2320 meters (7610 feet)). 

The gondolas are spacious and stable, and they offer panoramic views of Eiger and Jungfrau. 

From Eigergletscher, we switched to a cog railway that brought us all the way up to Jungfraujoch (3454 meters (11,332 feet).  The higher we climbed, the wilder the scenery became, with peaks appearing and vanishing at the whims of the clouds, glistening glaciers, and striated rock dusted with snow.

The temperature at the top was around -6 Celsius (20 F.), with gusting winds driving needle-sharp snow.  There is a visitor’s center with restaurants and a gift shop.  From the visitors’ center, you gain access to an underground oval walkway leading to several attractions. 

Five minutes into the oval, you reach a lift that whisks visitors up to the outdoor Sphinx Terrace (3571 meters (11,716 feet).  On a clear day, the terrace would offer exhilarating views of the surrounding peaks and valleys, all the way from France’s Vosges region to Germany’s Black Forest. 

Today, there were whiteout conditions, but I wasn’t disappointed.  The ride to and from Jungraujoch was magnificently scenic, and the whiteout conditions were impressive in their own right.

After spending a few minutes outside – the terrace was mostly sheltered from the wind – we went back down to the oval and walked another five minutes to the Eispalast (Ice Palace).  The Ice Palace is an ice-floored tunnel (somehow treated so that it wasn’t too slippery; there’s also a handrail) with chambers housing spectacular ice sculptures.

Just pass the ice palace, there are stairs and a lift to the Glacier Plateau.  There, the wind was fierce indeed and I quickly went back inside.  Jungfraujoch also has several outdoor attractions, but today wasn’t the day to explore them.

There are two restaurants in the visitors’ center, one sit-down and one where you order on a touch screen and then pick up your food.  The food was good, but expensive (Switzerland is not known for bargains.).  There’s also a coffee shop where I had an excellent hot cocoa.

If you’re anywhere near Interlaken, heading to Jungfraujoch is a must.  One note of caution, though:  the air is thin up there, to the point where climbing a flight of stairs left me breathless and light-headed.  I’m in pretty decent shape – I walk a lot and bike once or twice a week – but that was no defense against the relative lack of oxygen.  My advice is to ride the lift whenever possible.

Heading back to Interlaken, we took two trains.  The first involved a 20-minute ride through a tunnel in the mountain.  We then transferred to another train, back on the surface, that glided past jaw-dropping scenery, including the Lauterbrunnen Valley. 

After visiting the valley, J.R.R. Tolkien was so impressed he used it as the inspiration for Rivendell in Middle Earth.

We returned to Interlaken tired, elated, and ready for dinner after seven hours immersed in the beauty of the Swiss Alps.  Andy, Char and I had a hankering for Indian food.  Our hotel’s front  desk person suggested Taj Palace (Rosenstrasse 7), and it was an excellent suggestion indeed.

Interestingly, as we walked there, we passed at least half a dozen other Indian restaurants.  I asked our waiter if there was a large Indian ex-pat community in Interlaken, and he said no – rather, this part of Switzerland is a popular tourist destination for people from India, with a correspondingly high demand for Indian food. 

His comment brought home to me what a cosmopolitan place Interlaken is.  In addition to Americans, Canadians, and Australians, there were throngs of tourists from South Asia, China, and South Korea.  The international vibe is strong here, which only enhances the excitement and beauty of the place.

Tomorrow we’ll head to Zurich for the final part of our trip.  I’m looking forward to reporting to you from Switzerland’s largest city.