Trail or Train: The Eiger Trail in Jungfrau, Swiss Alps

We were determined to save as much of our precious Swiss francs on this trip having just spent about a week in Chamonix-Mont Blanc and immediately realizing how much incredibly expensive the Swiss Alps is as a destination relative to the French Alps next door. The strategy was not to get on the train to Jungfraujoch, one of the highest peaks in the Bernese Oberland region, to save us $400. We figured we've just been to Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe, that we can reconcile with missing Jungfraujoch altogether.

But by some auspicious turn of events, our amazing hostess in Stechelberg had two free train passes expiring the following day. She didn't think twice about giving them to us.

I'm actually not certain if Jungfraujoch is the tallest mountain in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps, but for sure, the highest rail station in Europe is the one that takes you there. At 11,332 feet, the train station, and the Swiss Alpine mountain tops which is the end destination (ours anyway), is nothing to sneeze at.

It was a slow and steady climb via rail from Lauterbrunnen and the trip to the top takes about two hours. There was a deluge of Chinese tourists, and their excited chatter, accompanied by the audible noise of simultaneous camera shutters opening and closing, can only be muted if you drown them out with earphones.

The good thing is that The Dutch and I are good at doubling as escape artists. Before things got really tedious and testy with a jampacked train of loud tourists, we jumped out at Kleine Scheidegg and did a small easy climb of about 850 feet of elevation ot Eigerglatscher where we would catch the train again to get us to Jungfraujoch.

The sky was so infinitely blue and the air crisp and pure. The trail was dotted with wildflowers. It was one of the easiest hikes we will do on this trip, all the while facing the Eiger glacier.

Which brings me to a point that has become very salient and sobering on this trip. The glaciers are looking sad by the day, melting at unspeakable speed. The heat was remarkable that day in July, not even halfway through the summer, and the glacier was already looking rather thin. It makes one wonder how long will they be around anymore. The damage is obvious and worse, it is irreversible, but I am at least happy that I was able to experience them before they disappear and become just a story, just hearsay. I guess.

#welcome #switzerland #travel #adventure #hiking