Top of the World

Others may climb the Matterhorn by ropeline, the Maguires settle to go by Train! Well the Jungfraujoch anyhow. The Jungfrau Railway goes from Interlakken to almost the very top of the Eiger Mountain in Switzerland. We started of at Interlakken Ost which is a fairly small station but for Train buffs has the added attraction of having several gauges and you can see modern trains as well as vintage electric and the occasional steam. Trains leave here for Lucerne and on eventually to Italy. Also back to Bern, Geneva and the rest of Europe. It said in all the guides to pick a really sunny day and go early in the morning. Although we had Swisspasses its actually extra to go the whole journey up through the Eiger. The railway was built as a tourist railway from the beginning and possibly operates without subsidy as its a private railway, hence it costs about 80 Euro return. Sounds expensive but it depends on what you spend your money on. Some people would spend that on booze. Anyhow as it was to be the highlight of the trip and a 'once in a lifetime trip' we decided to go. Most of the trip is steeply inclined and the railway uses cogwheel or rack assistance almost the whole way to the top. The trains themselves are quite old and for viewing purposes the windows roll down, so your view is clear and you can feel the fresh air. At Kleine Scheidegg you change in to modern trains for the final climb of the journey, much of which is underground. The train climbs very slowly and as you rise in height you can see the snow appearing sparsly at first and quickly its like Winter even in June. Finally reaching the top of the railway you arrive at a station carved into the rock and you go out onto the top of the mountain via Lifts. The are signs everywhere telling you to take care to aclimatise to the high altitude and thin air. We decided to have a bit to eat first, luckily or surprisingly the Restaurant was very cheap (especially for Switzerland) despite the fact that restaurants at tops of mountains are few and far between and they usually decide to 'screw' the customer. Going out on the top of the mountain to walk on the snow is the final few steps of the journey. We posted cards at the highest Post Office in Europe and had a look at the ice sculptures carved out of the solid ice sheet. Describing the journey doesn't really go anyway to get across the experience. You just have to be there to experience it. Some of my photos go some way but really I suppose you have to be there and be a bit of a railway 'buff'. Finally some of the other Swiss Railway Journeys were as memorable, however this is Switzerland and as previously mentioned they have without doubt the best railway system in terms ofnumbers of lines, beautiful scenery, different types of railways. Another railway trip up a nearby mountain is 'nicknamed' the 'ooh and Ahh' railway due to the fantastic views which unfold around each corner and the passengers are continually amazed that each view is better than the last. That railway is the Schynige Platte railway and we left that trip for another year and a return to Switzerland.