Postcard from the 'Top of Europe'

View towards the Eiger and Monch from Murren

I'm back from a wonderful week in Switzerland - my first time there - based in traffic-free Wengen where the only way to get in and out of the village is by rack railway or cable car. Most civilised!

This is the view on day one when we took the cable car to Stechelberg then walked to Mürren. The photo is from that walk looking towards the Eiger and Mönch mountains, with the Jungfrau just out of sight. There is a railway through the Eiger mountain itself to Jungfraujoch, which markets itself as 'The top of Europe' hence the catchy title for my post. This has the highest railway station in Europe as its claim to fame and the views are spectacular from there, stretching towards France, Germany and Italy on a clear day.

We took a tiny railway or cable car to the top of various mountains almost every day, except those when we steamed along the turquoise coloured lakes either side of Interlaken and looked up into the mountains instead. We also spent a day in Bern, the capital of Switzerland, where we became the tourist attraction as we went for a ride on the streets behind a vintage steam tram. NAH was in complete heaven the whole week.

There was plenty to please me too - oh those views and the clean air! Then imagine swimming in a pool with a view of those mountains, then snuggling in a fluffy dressing gown afterwards with a hot chocolate and looking out to the mountains from our hotel balcony. There were walks in the footsteps of James Bond and Tolkien's Rivendell, waterfalls to fall in love with, plus tons of alpine flowers and meadows with the sound of tinkling cow bells.

We'll be back.

Update: One of our fellow holidaymakers has posted several videos of our trip. I particularly liked his cable car ride from Männlichen down to Wengen. Listen out for the tinkling cow bells at the beginning!

Comments

  1. rusty duck25 August 2019 at 12:03

    I remember the Jungfraujoch too. Fabulous views from the top and a walk out on to the glacier. Quite amazing. We stayed in Grindelwald but mostly took the cable car network everywhere and walked for miles in the mountains. The views and the clean air, absolutely fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP26 August 2019 at 09:17

      Yes, that was an amazing day when we went there Jessica. The weather was so clear for our visit. I liked the look of Grindlewald - we didn't go there as much as originally planned as the lift from Mannlichen is being replaced. We learnt later there's a rather hair raising bus replacement service!

      Delete
  2. Flighty26 August 2019 at 13:02

    Lucky you, it's a lovely area to visit. I would certainly appreciate the clean air. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP26 August 2019 at 20:05

      It was amazing what difference it made to NAH's coughing (possibly asthma related). I'm beginning to think this needs to be a regular get away for him...

      Delete
  3. Diana Studer30 August 2019 at 22:28

    Steam tram sounds fun, and I love travelling on the lake steamers.

    Grindelwald was my first memory of Switzerland as a student. We got a bit lost walking in snowy forests looking for the youth hostel - arrived too late for dinner - someone took pity on us and offered apples and chocolate. Years later visiting my husband's cousin, I admired a blue Himalayan poppy in her garden.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP8 September 2019 at 11:02

      I liked the look of Grindelwald - we didn't get as much time to spend there as originally planned as the main cable car from Mannlichen is currently being replaced.

      Delete

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