[CR Switzerland] Day 11-1

September 27, 2006
Interlaken - Jungfraujoch Optional - Trummelbach Falls - Interlaken

Morning call: 6.00 * Breakfast call: 7.00
Departure for Jungfraujoch Optional: 8.00

It was a day at leisure for anyone not taking the Jungfrau optional - otherwise, everyone else had to present themselves at 8.00 AM at the bus, after waking up early yet again. We set off (ten minutes before the time!) under incredible cloud cover, but Elmar assured us that the meteorological report for the peak was sunshine and clear skies, and with a little imagination and a lot of hope, it was possible to believe that the sky was actually clearing as we got to the train station.

At the station, we were bundled into the cogwheel train for the Jungfraujoch. We were scheduled to visit some of the most famous mountains in Europe: aside from the Jungfraujoch (The Virgin/Young Lady), we would see the Eiger (The Ogre) and the Munch (The Monk). Upon discovering the English translations of the names of the mountains, my mind presented me with two plots involving a beautiful princess, an ogre, and a monk. One version was sort of Beauty and the Beast, with the ogre defending the young princess from the lecherous monk (ehem). The alternate version had the virtuous monk defending the princess from the ogre. There was a third version that popped into my head as we were leaving - the ogre, who was adoped by the monk as a baby, kills the princess who's trying to frame the virtuous monk for sexual harassment. All the stories end with the main characters turned into the mountain range, and kept me entertained as we made the ascent into the high country.

At the station, there was a *gorgeous* St. Bernard dog padding obediently by the side of its master. All the mountain paparazzi, yours truly included, promptly proceeded to take the lovely creature's picture as it plunged its feet into the drinking fountain/water trough at the corner of the station - such a beauty!

We changed trains once, at Kleine Scheidigge. It was here that the group finally broke its record for attentive promptness - we nearly missed the train, so caught up were we in the vistas being revealed by the emerging sunlight. We were quick to recover, though, and once piled into our carriage, it was to discover that there were lovely LCD-panel screens displaying a video of our progress, as well as some of the accomplishments associated with the mountains we were visiting. It was beyond interesting to discover that the train would be plunging *into* the heart of the Eiger, climbing through tunnels and emerging into perfect weather.

There were two stops at scenic view points in order to look down at the glacier, and fortunately, there were no near-misses when it came to getting back on the train on time.

Arrive Jungfraujoch: 8.22 AM * Departure from Jungfraujoch: 1.00 PM

Once at the peak, the air was crisp as we walked through the pedestrian tunnel into the main lobby of the Jungfraujoch station. By this time, the sun was out in full splendor, perfect photography and ice exploration weather! Elmar paused beneath the clock to orient us and give us directions for the call time back to the train. Then he brought us through the Ice Plateau so we could walk on the snow outside. At first Ma was wary of getting out on the ice, but with a little coaxing, she managed to stand up with Dad in front of one of the ice-covered peaks.

Afterwards, I left the parents with Helen at the cafeteria and dashed off to catch up with the rest at the Ice Palace. The beauty of the Jungfraujoch is that, since it's got a lot of visitors, the station is more "user-friendly" than that of the Kleine Matterhorn. Most of the mountain is glassed-in terrace levels for those who don't want to venture out into the open. With the weather we were having, though, we were more in danger of getting sunburn than severe chilling.

The Ice Palace here doesn't have rubber matting on the floor, which is a bit spooky. One really needs to think twice about rushing through this section. The ice carvings, however, are lovely. We were very grateful to be practically the first group up on the mountain; while I was trying to catch up with the group, ran into at least three Japanese tour groups in the main lobby!

From the Ice Palace, past the cafeteria and the mini-museum, and then out to the elevator leading up to the Pyramid, the highest point of the mountain. The view deck looked out over the peak of The Munch, and across a sea of clouds. On impulse, I pulled out my mobile phone to try and call my husband, something I promised him I would attempt - just to say that I was calling from the highest point of Switzerland. It took a couple of tries, but eventually I got to hear his voice - and it was all the corny cliches of the telephone ads come to life. The entire platform, I am sure, could hear my voice ringing out in Taglish as I tried to describe the entire tour up to that point and interrogate him about how he was faring. Not that I cared overmuch; it was just too good to hear him again!

Eventually I had to end the call to go back down and through another tunnel onto the glacier. It took a few seconds for my befuddled mind to register that I was actually getting my first feel of fresh snow! It felt like powdered ice, which it actually is. The silence out on the glacier is like a church - all I could hear was the sigh of the wind as it flowed over the mountain peaks. Beautiful!

All in all, the Jungfraujoch is literally a breathtaking mountain, both in terms of beauty and thin air, and that's about as much as I can say about it without actually bringing you there myself!

Lunch was delicious, if somewhat hurried, since I wanted to get my parents up to see the Pyramid and take their pictures before it was time to go. The timings worked perfectly - I had them up and back down again with time to spare for souvenir shopping in the stores just in front of the meeting place. The group was clustered under the clock five minutes before the time, and Elmar declared himself satisfied with the headcount in time for him to shepherd us through the station and onto our train for the descent on the opposite side of the mountain.

The sun smiled on us all the way down to Kleine Scheidigge, where we changed trains for the final stage of the descent. I spotted a water fountain, and cupped my hands for a drink, being thirsty and not having a water bottle. Ye gods, that had to be the sweetest water *ever*! Fresh off the glaciers by the taste of it, cold you could feel reviving your blood cells.

The mountain paparazzi were in full force as the train trundled down the mountainside, the air growing balmier as we reached the lower slopes. Some stations were in pretty towns that made people wish we had all the time in the world to get down and explore them. We passed some trains on their upward climb to the peak; Elmar said those passengers would have barely two hours on the mountain before having to come down again - while we very nearly had the whole morning. So worth the early wakeup call!