Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe!

Well today I'm off the bike (GASP!) because sadly you cant ride everywhere, and also you cant hire snowmobiles! Today I'm heading up to the top of Europe - Jungfraujoch. This observatory / research station / tourist destination sits at 3.5km above sea level and has been accessible to the public since the early 1900s when a railway line was built up the inside of the mountain!


Starting the journey from Grindelwald a regular train line runs halfway up the mountain providing an amazing view of the valley I'd been staying in.

But as we passed higher the train slowly passed into the clouds!

Until we reached the station to change over onto the Jungfraubahn - a funicular train which climbs up through the mountain. The rain was exceptionally heavy during the changeover so no photos!


And then...into the mountain we went! There are several viewing platforms built into the mountain so we could see where we were, first stop was around 2.5km above sea level and we were just above the clouds!

But the next stop at just over 3kms was where the magic happened, stepping out of the train and walking down the freezing rock corridor the glass windows offered this amazing view of...nothingness!

And then..almost unceremoniously we arrived at the top! The railway station sits below an observatory and into the mountain below are a series of tunnels connecting the research station and the tourist attractions. Wandering these tunnels is completely otherworldly; firstly its freezing cold and secondly well...take a look.

Admittedly the effect was added to because I'd come on the first train up and there was very few people around! The snow fun play area was closed as there was almost no visibility - I came back here later and the snowfield stretches off into the distance.

This early in the morning it was still very cloudy and so I opted to do all the inside things first!

The walls are beautifully decorated with murals and photographs of the people who built the railway.

One of the attractions is the ice cave! Similar to the subzero bars they have in some cities but so much more expansive! I have decided I like the cold a LOT!

And ice hallways have the added advantage of being slippery!

Heading further in I hit another outdoor section which was open! And very tightly roped in - however even the ropes disappeared with the clouds!

I think the Alpine cold suits me! Its a very dry cold - the moisture doesn't seem to soak into your clothes and so the cold is much more bearable!

Crowds were starting to pour in so I headed up to the highest point of the Jungfraujoch - the Sphinx Observatory - sitting atop a small peak the underlying mountain has been hollowed out to allow an elevator tube to run upwards.

And the view, astounding - totally worth the price of the train ticket which even for the half price early morning entry was over $200AUD!

I stayed up here for about an hour, and got a little sunburned but it was totally worth it - the air smells incredible and although I wouldn't buy one I can see why they sell cans of air at the gift shop! The Chinese tourists seemed particularly keen on $20AUD bottles of air!


Speaking of tourists back out on the snowfield (which was completely obscured earlier) they had arrived in force! I too struggled to understand the purpose of the ropes...

Back up on the hill is the observatory, none of this was visible an hour ago!

So I ran around in the snow a little! Turns out my waterproof motorcycle boots also make for excellent snow shoes!

I spent another few hours playing around in the snow - even with the high price tag I'd happily come back here and spend another day!


Time to head back down however, the station itself feels a bit like someone stopped a suburban train slightly short of the actual platform!

The ride back down was beautiful too, the clouds were still in but the rain had stopped!

Halfway down it was time to swap trains again, however I managed to walk into the gift shop just in time for the train to leave without me!

And just like that, a thunderstorm arrived - I'd just managed to get into the bar when the downpour hit!

But just as quickly as it arrived, the storm passed and by the time I arrived back at the bottom of the hill to my accommodation it was sunny again!

So here I sit, writing my blog! Tomorrow I'm heading to France to stop in Paris and then back to London!