Switzerland is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. We have romantic notions of many places in the world. Perhaps we have seen a movie or read a book that takes place there. Or perhaps we have seen photos in a book or brochure. Most of those places do not live up to these romantic expectations when you actually visit them. Switzerland is definitely an exception. Rolling green hills dotted with dark wooden houses, with sloping roofs, and window boxes full of blossoming pansies. Cows with large bells ringing, roaming the hills and grazing on the perfectly green grass. And then there are the Alps. The Alps are unbelievable, especially in the Bernese Oberland, near Interlaken.
I was with my friends Tracy and Roman Camenisch, who live in Lendikon, near Zurich. We had driven down from Lendikon to spend the weekend, and were staying in the town of Grund, near Grindelwald. After we checked into the hotel, we strolled up the hill for dinner. I couldn't help but stare up at the imposing and staggeringly steep north face of the Eiger, rising 5000 feet above the valley floor. Along with the neighboring peaks of Monch and Jungfrau, these mountains are quite intimidating. We had dinner out on the deck of the restaurant with a great view of the mountains. We watched as the colors of the granite face changed from a harsh dark gray to a bright yellow and finally to soft shades of red and pink as the sun set on the Swiss Alps.
We were up early the next morning to catch the first cog railway train up to Kleine Scheidegg, a ski village up on the slopes above Grindelwald. Here, we switched trains to another train which was to take us to the highest train station in the world - at the Jungfraujoch. The Jungfraujoch is the col between the Jungfrau and the Monch, and is at 10,000 feet above sea level. One would wonder, and with good reason, how in the heck a train can get to the top of such a rocky and steep mountain. The answer is ingenious. They have built a tunnel through the mountain. We boarded the train and it began to climb up towards the base of the rocky face. We looked back down at the buildings of Kleine Scheidegg getting smaller and smaller. Soon we were at the face and the entrance to the tunnel. The train entered the darkness and continued to climb steeply, the signs indicating altitudes passing in amazingly short intervals. While still in the tunnel, we pulled into an intermediate station and everyone got off. Imagine that, a train station inside of a mountain! What is more amazing is the purpose of this intermediate station. They have made passageways from the railway literally to the edge of the mountain. We walked up to the big glass windows and found ourselves looking out of the mountain as if it were a building. Looking out from the north face of the Eiger, we could see down to Grindelwald and across the valley to the mountains beyond. Giddy with excitement and utterly amazed by the ingenuity of this entire scheme, we boarded the train again. There was another intermediate station which afforded views of a glacier before we reached our final destination at the Jungfraujoch. We got off of the train and went up to the observation deck. What lay before us was a marvel of nature. With only a clear blue sky above, and jagged snow capped peaks all around, the view of the shining, white, Aletsch Glacier extending ahead and into the distance was just spectacular. The pure and blinding white of the glacier and mountains contrasted sharply with the deep dark blue of the sky above. Using the binoculars, Tracy proudly pointed out the location of the hut where they stayed overnight during a multi-day trek along the Aletsch she and Roman had taken a year ago.
The Aletsch Glacier, Europe's longest glacier, extends into the distance
After one last look at the unforgettable scenery, we boarded the train back down to the valley. Roman and I got off at the Eigergletscher Station, about a half mile above Kleine Scheidegg, while Tracy continued on. We hiked the alpine meadows, crossing the occasional snowpatch and avoiding the muddy areas, down to Kleine Scheidegg where we met Tracy. Together, we continued our hike down to Grund. During one rest, we took out the binoculars and located the row of windows on the face of the Eiger where earlier that morning, we had stood and looked out of a mountain. The hike was through forests of evergreens, subalpine meadows filled with wildflowers, and rolling hills, all with the magnificent backdrop of the north face of the Eiger. Along the way were rustic old farmhouses sitting alone in fields of wildflowers, the quintessential picture of Switzerland. I don't know how many miles we walked, or how many hours it took, but it doesn't matter because it was a beautiful hike. We arrived back in Grund exhausted, but very happy with all that we did that day.
