Trip to Switzerland ~ Day Two

Sunday - 28 June, 2009

After having a good night's sleep, we woke up very early in the morning as we wanted to go to the Jungfraujoch (3,471m or 11,388 ft). The first thing I did after getting out of bed was to get online and check the weather of the Jungfraujoch. All the travel blogs that I had read advised that checking the weather is the most important thing to do because it would be useless to go if the weather is bad. After looking at the webcam, I knew it was a perfect day to be up on the mountains.

http://www.jungfraubahn.ch/en/DesktopDefault.aspx/tabid-1/

What's next? Waking Shawn Eamon up, of course! He got very excited as he knew he was gonna see SNOW....didn't even make a fuss about putting on 4 layers of clothing...

The view from our balcony with the Staubbach Falls on the right. What a lovely morning...

We wanted to get to the Jungfraujoch as early as possible to avoid the big crowds (especially those who came on tour buses) so we were at the train station at 8 a.m. Though it wasn't THAT early but that's the best we could do with a kid in tow. We planned to get the 'Good-Morning Ticket' which is a little bit cheaper but was told that in order to get that ticket, we had to get on the first train at 6.59 a.m.! Gosh!!!!! Instead of paying sFr137.40 for the 'Good-Morning Ticket', we had to pay sFr161.40.

What's a 'Good-Morning Ticket'? Well, it's an early bird ticket which saves you some money. It is only valid on the first train from May to October. It is also valid on the second train from November to April. The catch is that your return journey from the Jungfraujoch must be started the latest by 12.30 p.m. You can check out the link that I've posted above for the timetable and fares,too.

We had no choice but to buy the normal tickets. Shawn Eamon got to travel for free as he is below 6 years old. So....up we went....on the train. As it was still quite early, we were the ones occupying the whole carriage. It's gonna be a 2-hour journey so I was hoping that Shawn Eamon would not make any fuss about it along the way.

This picture was taken on the train. The train trip to the Jungfraujoch station is so beautiful and technologically captivating. It is capable of holding us up the steep mountain grade using a cogwheel system.

Up we go........

The Staubbach Falls seemed so tiny now...

Cows, meadows, and snow-capped mountains......We were mesmerised by the views. It certainly was a scenic journey of its own.

Passing by Wengen 1274m (4180ft), a famous car-free resort village.

After about an hour or so, we reached Kleine Scheidegg (2061m). We had to change to another train. The train was more modern on the inside. a video display covered the journey up, station by station, and highlighted the history and some of the things to do at the Jungfraujoch.

Shawn Eamon enjoying his ride.....


The second train took us further up and then right into the Eiger and Monch mountains through a tunnel which is about 7km long. The tunnel was conctructed between 1898 and 1912. The train stopped twice inside the mountains. First at Eigerwand. We were allowed to get off for 5 mintues to admire the view. The second stop was Eismeer (Sea of Ice). Again, we were given 5 minutes to get down the train to snap some pictures.

Breathtaking view at Eismeer - Sea of Ice

After about 50 minutes, we were on the Top of Europe! After getting out of the train, we went into a multi-level building. There are restrooms, souvenir shops, restaurants (Indian, European, Chinese cafe (with a variety of soups, noodles, sandwiches, and other quick eat stuff). We went straight to the Ice Palace for a walk on the eternal snow of the Jungfrau plateau. This area was carved out of part of the glacier ice and is designed with walkways, ceilings, rooms, and displays, all made of ice. I was surprised that it was easy to walk on the ice, it was not slippery.

Afterwards, we decided to go out and see the real snow via the Ice Gateway. This is a place where you can actually walk on a glacier (cordoned off at the sides) where you can gather snow, and get some great views of the surrounding vistas. It was extremely slippery at the entrance / exit point as slush had formed due to water and snow. Dad refused to let us out as he was very worried that Shawn Eamon might slip and fall. Shawn Eamon's reaction? Well, he was very disappointed for sure and kept bugging me to bring him out. So, I persuaded dad to allow us to go out....bout say...within 10 steps from the entrance / exit point....just to snap some photos. He gave in after much persuasion and so out we go!!!

Shawn Eamon got so excited and made some snow balls to throw at dad. He was determined to climb up to the top and kept holding on the ropes provided. We inched our way up bit by bit and by the time dad had noticed this, we were quite far up already....He had no choice but to follow us. Then we realised that it was not slippery up there so dad was okay with it.

Dad was having fun too!

What's next? Snowball fighting, of course! I think Shawn Eamon was the youngest kid there so the other tourists were interested in playing with him. They threw snowballs at him and he took revenge. Mum even helped him to make snowballs! Talk about grandmothers.....

Shawn Eamon playing with his new found friend...

It was quite difficult to keep Shawn Eamon still as he was excited about everything....

Snowball fight between the grandfather and the grandson...

Woohoo!!! I'm on the Top of Europe!!!! That's the Aletsch Glacier behind me.

After staying out for about an hour, we went into the complex for lunch. As expected, everything is expensive. We chose the spaghetti which costs sFr15 and boy...it was delicious!!! Suddenly, Shawn Eamon asked for an apple. Dad had no choice but to find one for him and it cost him sFr3 per apple which is equivalent to approximately RM10!

We all felt tired by that time. Shawn Eamon was throwing a tantrum and we thought maybe the altitude sickness was kicking in....as we had spent about 3 hours on the mountains. Whatever the reason, we decided it was time to head back down. The train station was packed by then and we had to wait for about 30 minutes to get on the train. All of us dozed off not long after getting on the train. I took 2 paracetamols as the headache was unbearable.

Finally we were back in the Lauterbrunnen Valley again. We really enjoyed the trip up to the Jungfraujoch but we didn't make it to the Sphinx observation terrace and the ski and snowboard park. We didn't get to go on the husky-drawn sledge rides too. I was toying with the idea of going to either the Jungfraujoch or the Matterhorn (another snow mountain) before reaching Switzerland. I decided to go to the Jungfraujoch as tourists are allowed to go out and play with the snow whereas at the Matterhorn, one can only see the views without having the chance to play with the snow. I definitely think that the Jungfraujoch is a better place if you've got kids travelling with you.

As for dinner, we had the instant noodles with sausages, fried eggs and ham. We simply didn't have the energy to go out for dinner after reaching the apartment. It helped to save money, too!

Dad 'entertaining' Shawn Eamon after dinner while mum was busy with the washing-up.

It's 9 p.m. and it was still bright. Sun sets at 9.30-ish during the summer in Switzerland. Shawn Eamon was entertaining himself at the balcony. What's next? Bed time, of course!!!