The Jungfraujoch Experience, Interlaken

...Switzerland that is situated in the saddle between the Monch and Jungfrau peaks and the Jungfraujoch Experience is the method of transporting tourists from Interlaken Ost railway station or Grindelwald to Jungfraujoch without the need for sherpas, yaks and mountaineering equipment.

A 'research site' sounds a bit bleak and evokes images of bushy-haired, bespectacled men busily rushing to and fro with clipboards, frowning and muttering ...
...it in both senses. The air is quite thin at 11,000 feet and the slightest effort has you huffing away but the views are truly stupendous. Jungfraujoch offers 360 degree views of glaciers and snowy peaks to far off lakes and towns that are literally thousands of feet below you. It's a weird sensation to be standing on terra firma but looking down at the clouds. Most of us have had wondrous views of the tops of clouds from aircraft but doing it while ... more

11,000 feet above sea level is H-I-G-H. In fact it's more than two miles straight up. And that's where you'll find Jungfraujoch.

--- What's Jungfraujoch? ---

Jungfraujoch is a research site in Switzerland that is situated in the saddle between the Monch and Jungfrau peaks and the Jungfraujoch Experience is the method of transporting tourists from Interlaken Ost railway station or Grindelwald to Jungfraujoch without the need for sherpas, yaks and mountaineering equipment.

A 'research site' sounds a bit bleak and evokes images of bushy-haired, bespectacled men busily rushing to and fro with clipboards, frowning and muttering under their breath about measuring this and that and the angles on their hypotenueses. But of course it's not like that at all.

Jungfraujoch now has a very modern tourist centre that caters for typical tourist needs like food, film, batteries, sweets, toilets and a souvenir shop. Oh, and there are breath-taking views.

Now when I say "breath-taking views" I mean it in both senses. The air is quite thin at 11,000 feet and the slightest effort has you huffing away but the views are truly stupendous. Jungfraujoch offers 360 degree views of glaciers and snowy peaks to far off lakes and towns that are literally thousands of feet below you. It's a weird sensation to be standing on terra firma but looking down at the clouds. Most of us have had wondrous views of the tops of clouds from aircraft but doing it while standing on the ground is something else again…

---How do you get there?---

Nowadays there's no need to buy ropes, crampons and ice axes and mount an expedition because the ingenious Swiss have conveniently built railways all the way to the top. You can reach Jungfraujoch by taking a pretty 20-minute train journey through pine forest and small towns from Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen where you change to a cog railway, which is a clever Swiss invention with a slotted pinion between the running rails that the train's cogwheel uses to pull itself up the most ridiculously steep slopes. So there's no chance of the train slipping downhill in icy conditions.

You change trains at Kleine Scheidegg and another cog railway takes you all the way to Jungfraujoch.

---What's the journey like?---

Lauterbrunnen is situated in the world's largest U-shaped valley and the cog train journey up its steep sides offers 'biscuit tin lid' views of the emerald green valley floor dotted with classic, steep-roofed wooden chalets with courful shuttered windows, pointy churches, winding rivers, pine forests and snow-capped mountains in the distance.

The train stops briefly to pick up passengers at Wengen, which is a picturesque Swiss town crammed with hotels and gorgeous wooden chalets with every balcony packed with vividly colored geraniums and pansies.

The train then slowly wends its way through Wengen and magnificent Alpine scenery and lush, green meadows that are dotted with brown and white cows wearing traditional Swiss cowbells and the terrain gets steadily more rugged until the train chugs amid the gentle sound of clonging cowbells into Kleine Scheidegg station, which is the terminus for this cog railway and the starting point for the next cog railway for the final assault on Jungfraujoch.

The air is noticeably chillier now and although it was a sunny day in early September warm clothes were definitely worthwhile. The temperature in Interlaken was 22C but at Kleine Scheidegg it was 5C and at Jungfraujoch it was minus 2C.

The cog railway to Jungfraujoch is a feat of engineering mastery. How the tunnels were hewn in the 1890s through kilometres of solid granite by pick, shovel and sheer manpower out of solid rock with several turns along the way simply beggars belief.

While travelling through the tunnel there are two five minute stops at viewing galleries en route where you look directly out of the north face of the Eiger onto scenes of glaciers, dramatic snowy rock faces and down into the lush pastures in the valleys beyond. It's easy to stare out at the scenery and pretend that you're floating high above the dramatic scenery that is laid out beneath you like an exquisitely detailed quilt.

The train trundles on through the dark, rock hewn tunnel and eventually emerges into a cavernous terminus that is strangely reminiscent of a James Bond film. You're there.

---What's Jungfraujoch like?---

Very modern. There are plentiful lifts to take you up and down between the terminus, the café, the restaurant, the souvenir shop and the viewing galleries and all sides of the building offer superb views of craggy, snow-capped peaks, glaciers and fluffy, white valleys.

The restaurant is first-rate but fills up quickly, although you don't have to wait too long because the service is efficient and courteous, as you come to expect and enjoy from the Swiss. The cuisine is also excellent offering a choice of dishes to suit most palates, including vegetarians, and menus are available in a variety of languages, including English, which removes the awkwardness of receiving unidentifiable dishes ordered from a menu that you couldn't read!

The souvenir shop offers a multitude of opportunities for collectors of cow-horn horns, cowbells, chocolates, postcards, cuckoo clocks and the ubiquitous Swiss Army penknives.

The views from the viewing gallery are outstanding although at minus 2C it's as well to wrap up even though it's a struggle to take your eyes off the view and return to the warmth when you're eventually chilled to the bone.

Trains return every 30 minutes or so and the views on the way down are just as spectacular. If you want you can stop at Kleine Scheidegg, Wengen and Lauterbrunnen to do some exploring and take a later connection and there's plenty to see in each.

---How long should I allow for the trip?---

The round trip will occupy a full day, and how long the day will be will obviously depend on how long you linger in each place and how many goodies and trophies you want to lug back with you.

The Jungfraujoch Experience is quite exhausting although it is suitable for all ages providing that you take your time at high altitude.

---How much does it cost?---

The Jungfraujoch Experience costs 135 Swiss francs per person, which is roughly £60, although there are a number of discount cards that allow you to do it more cheaply, for example with a Eurail pass.

---How can I tell what the weather's like at the top before I go?---

Swiss television airs a daily channel that exclusively features weather conditions at the top of each of its high altitude tourist attractions. In fact most of the attractions have live video cameras so you can actually see what the visibility is like and, for example, whether there are mountain goats flying past the cameras on windy days.

---Is the outing worthwhile?---

Yes, yes, yes!! Wrap up warm, pack plenty of your favourite film and spare batteries and a generous flask of brandy (purely for medicinal purposes of course). And get H-I-G-H.
 

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