Saturday 8th August 2020

---

They say the Jungfrau is the ‘Top of Europe’…we know that ain’t true but we were on our way to touch it’s top. …well not quite! 

At 4158 metres we were going up as far as 3454 metres…so no matter what we were going to be getting pretty impressive views as the weather was treating us good with clear skies.

So there is a train that takes you all the way up from Lauterbrunnen to the top of the Jungfrau.

But we decided that we would at least like to hike some of the way.  I think all these railways/cable cars are amazing and a great way up a mountain but for me I always feel a little bit of guilt for taking the easy way up so to speak.  Like I’m doing a disservice to all those mountaineers who are probably trying to summit right now.  Nevertheless like I say it’s a great way to get right up on top with loads of hikes to do even from up there…pretty amazing actually.

So we were up early, starting our hike from Lauterbrunnen heading to Kleine Scheidegg where we would catch the train to take us up the rest of the way.  It took us approximately 3 hours.

The walk was stunning.  I’m always amazed by the quality of the paths when hiking in some other parts of the world.  So much so I went up in my trainers and satchel which I would never do ( and can’t believe I’m admitting)!!

In Scotland a lot of our hiking routes are so wild with no sign posts which don’t get me wrong I love as I admire the ruggedness of it all but it does make things more difficult.  And of course were usually battling against mother nature, in wind, rain, snow and whatever else Scotland throws our way…sometimes a little sun!  Today was warm, very warm. 

We passed through Wengen, refreshed and kept going up to Kleine Scheidegg. 

We walked up and up just taking in the views all around us…and I mean all around us! 

We ended up hiking past Kleine Scheidegg towards the foot of the towering North Face of the Eiger eventually hitting the perfect spot to rest with hardly a sole in sight. It had a stunning lake that looked so tempting with the most amazing views of the Jungfrau to right down the valley.

We hiked another bit up…

….to the most surreal ‘train station’ you’ll ever see, it was basically at the face of the Eiger and the track dissappeared into the mountain. We caught the train here at Eigergletscher which took us to our final destination…the top of the Jungfrau (but not quite remember).

We headed out to the snow to cool down and admire the views.

The Aletsch Glacier or Great Aletsch Glacier is the highest glacier in the Alps. It has a length of about 23 km, has a volume of 15.4 km³, and covers about 81.7 km² in the eastern Bernese Alps in the Swiss canton of Valais.

This Glacier is the heart of the Jungfrau-Aletsh protected area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It’s gigantic and holds you mesmerised.

We headed up to the lookout point and watched one lone mountaineer undertake his summit….pretty spectacular.

We followed his footsteps from where he had came passing so close to gigantic crevasses..he had my admiration!

We played in the ice cave before catching the train back to Lauterbrunnen.

This cogwheel mountain train journey must be one of the most beautiful railway journeys in the Swiss Alps it’s simply stunning.

I wanted to pay Mürren one last final visit in the evening as it would be the only opportunity we would get before leaving, so we once again caught the cable car then train back up the mountain.

And we simply wandered and admired once again before heading back to camp.