Jungfraujoch (yung-fr-au-york)
Jungfraujoch to Zurich, via Kleine Scheidegg, Lauterbrunnen, Interlaken Ost.
17July2006 5:20PM Local Time (Zurich)
Jungfraujoch is The Highest Point in Europe. 3454m / 13642ft
To get to Jungfraujoch, it is better to purchase a One-Day Swiss Pass, which costs roughly about CHF.95. With this pass, the public transport in Switzerland is free to use for a day. There are certain routes that might need a purchase of tickt, but with the Swiss day pass, there's a 50% discount on most railways. (A guided tour to Jungfraujoch will cost roughly aboug CHF.200)
In the case of getting to Jungfraujoch, there is a 50% discount on the ticket from Wengen to Jungfraujoch, which costs about CHF.71. after discount. This purchase is necessary because from Wengen station onwards the Swiss Pass is no longer usable. But to get to Jungfraujoch, there is little need to stop by the Wengen station. The purchase of the ticket is just a formality. In the Swiss Pass map that is given, we can just bypass Wengen station and head straight up to the top of Europe.
From Zurich, the minimum times we have to change trains are three times. Not much stress about that because all the trains are mostly punctual, and the people in the tran station are always willing to help a lost traveler. Just make sure that it is the correct train before boarding and everything will be just fine.
The trip from Zurich to Jungfraujoch is an estimated 5 hours, give and take. So set out early and be prepared to come back to Zurich late. In my care, I left my hotel at 5am, to catch the 6am train in Bahnhofstrasse, arrived in Jungfraujoch about 10.40am, spent a few good hours there, catch the 1.50pm train down and now i'm halfway across the country on the way back to Zurich. Roughly we'll arrive about 7pm (in the hopes of having cheese fondue for dinner before leaving for Singapore tomorrow morning).
Jungfraujoch is always covered in snow, so it is advisable to bring a really thick jumper, wear wool socks, and if possible, wear a pair of good hiking shoes, plus a pair of sunglasses. Of course, not to forget is the camera. Even in the middle of summer, it is cold up there, no kidding. One point to take note if you're bringing your ipod with you, keep it in a warm place, be it underneath your shirt or in a thermal flask. My ipod (at this very moment) is screwed up by the cold temperature. At first it was heating itself up when I turn it on, then when it finally cool down, now I couldn't turn it on. So take good care of your electronics if you're bringing it up to any snow mountains. Oh, and not to forget to bring some snacks in case you're hungry during the train ride. Plus, the food up there is a little bit overpriced (as usual).
On the trip up to Jungfraujoch from Kleine Scheidegg, it is good to stop by Eismeer and the two stations before it (the train will actually stop at the stations for 5 minutes so that tourists and travelers alike can hop down to take some panoramic photos of Jungfraujoch). It has to be done on the way up because on the way back, the train will not stop at those stations. Don't worry about losing your seat if you hop down (the train is always crowded), what is that 10-20 minutes of standing in the train if you can get postcard photos?
When I reach Jungfraujoch, the first thing I did was use the toilet. Let's leave part of me on the tallest peak in Europe. Haha.
Getting down to business, I went to the Ice Palace (Eis Palais). Here, a good pair of hiking shoes comes in handy. My sneakers keep slipping on the ice floor. Everything is so cold, so cold. There are cute sculptures in the Ice Palace. I took a lot of pictures there. Although it is all ice, but what the heck.
Coming out from Ice Palace, we headed to a place called the Plateau. There, we walked outdoors to take pictures of the snow mountain and the surrounding area. Such breathtaking view, I can't believe I'm actually standing on a snow mountain. Even the photos looks too good to be true. I felt as though I juxtaposed a picture of myself on a postcard. Words can't describe the overwhelming sense contentment in my heart as I tell myself I'm on the highest peak in Europe. The snow are pure white, so white and bright that it pains the eye if you look at it for too long. That is why you need a pair of sunglasses.
Satisfied with the amount of photos I have taken, we went to the restaurant for lunch. After a slow lunch, relaxed our muscles and warmed up our toes, we went to the souvenir shop downstairs to get our all time favourtie souvenir, fridge magnets.
Walking away from the souvenir shop with a lighter purse, we went to the Sphinx Terrace. That is the observatory deck that is always shown on the tour brochures. The huge building on the top of the snow mountain, with a dome in the center. Over there, be it indoors or out, there are lots of angles to take pictures of this magnificent mountain. I just couldn't stop myself, running from point to point, just to bring home as much photographs of Jungfraujoch. Beautiful, splendid, simply breathtaking.
After all the excitement has died down, we decided it is time to head back to Zurich. Four hours thereoff, here I am, sitting in the train, writing all of these down, with the hopes of transfering it to my blog (which I did!).
It is 6.25pm now, another half hour to my cheese fondue dinner.
Note: This time round, it is actually the first time that I did not feel rushed to go to a place to sight-see. Everything seemed so effortless, I just go with the flow. I didn't feel that I have to go to all the places, take all the pictures till my camera's memory runs out. It is a totally different feeling. It is more of contentment, rather than achievement. I felt happy, and in fact, lucky to be able to go to Jungfraujoch just to soak in the beauty, instead of feeling proud that I've been there, done that, another item ticked off my list. I guess I'm finally feeling like a real traveler. Haha...
