Arriving in Grindelwald

Hi All,

Today we head out from Zermatt to Grindelwald.

We ate breakfast in the room, had coffee & tea with granola we bought at the local market. Trying to budget where we can!

Then we packed up and caught the train back to Tasch, hopped in the car and were on our way.

(View driving through Brunneggu, overlooking Gampel)

(Riding the Lostchberg, a train for cars)

(Arriving in Grindelwald)

(Pictures of our Hostel)

We got all checked into our Hostel in Grindelwald and then set out to see Gletscherschlucht, which is a ravine that was cut out by the Lower Grindelwald Glacier. There are walkways fastened to the side of the ravine and even some parts where they tunnel through the rock. The Glacier has retreated significantly, so you’re not able to see it anymore in the ravine, but it’s quite impressive to see and imagine where it was, forming the rock walls.

(Drinking the Glacier water)

At one point along the walkway, there is a “spiderweb” that you can walk out on if your brave enough, and stand over the glacial river water rushing by. It was quite thrilling! They also have all these color changing lights around the web for night viewing, that we imagine make it a very colorful experience. In case you make it out to Switzerland and want to check it out!

We regrouped at the Hostel and made some sandwiches with coffee & tea and enjoyed the view from the kitchen window. I have to say, Zaq and I have been to our share of Hostels and this one has the cleanest and best kitchen. We’re so stoked and plan on using it often!

We checked the weather and it seemed we might luck out with the clouds breaking later in the afternoon. So we chanced it and started out to hop on the train to go to Jungfraujoch, also known as The Top of Europe.

As we headed out of the Hostel to the train station we were mauled by this little Swiss kitty. I was over the moon, because I miss Harry, my lion cub at home. It’s the hardest part about traveling for us – leaving the fur babies for a time.

The train to Jungfraujoch takes a little over an hour. The views along the way were incredible and we kept seeing more and more blue sky as we climbed.

Once we got to the Top of Europe the view was spectacular!

Ha! We were socked in and with no view whatsoever. We were a little bummed, but we looked up the weather and it said the clouds would break around 18:00, looking at our watch, it was 16:30. Ok, so we had some time to kill and high hopes the weather would cooperate.

We set out to explore the rest Jungfraujoch has to offer aside from amazing views. We explored Alpine Sensation, which is a gallery of different tributes made to building the Jungfrau Railway.

This larger than life musical igloo was a favorite of Zaq and I’s.

There was also a great length of rock hallway dedicated to mementos capture during construction and those who perished while building it.

Next we visited the Ice Palace, we waited until it cleared out a little and then took the risk of playing around with some acro. By far the coldest spot we’ve played by far.

Exploring further we found the Plateau, where you can go outside and stand with the Swiss Flag and I am sure see amazing views. Ours were pretty great, it’s the moment you make it.

We had fun being at 11,333 ft in the Alps, sliding around in the snow. We’ll always remember laughing as we ran and slid down the snow in our Metcons.

As we made our way inside we found the Lindt Chocolate area, so we grabbed an assorted few pieces and shared the savoring bites. We noticed it clearing up slightly. Looking at our watch it was 17:35, almost time for when we might get some views. So we went to the best spot there is, the Sphinx observatory.

(Disclosure: I did not take this picture, it’s just for reference)

To get up to the Sphinx observatory you have to ride an elevator 108 meters up. The doors are glass, so as we ascended we were silent with hope that we would find it clear.

“WHOOOOA!!” Zaq and I both exclaimed once the elevator pulled up to its station. The sun was out and shining on all these snow covered peaks. It was incredible! We rushed out of the elevator and were taking it all in. This is the Top of Europe. Wow.

Zaq discovered we could go outside and walk around the observatory. It was windy and cold, but so refreshing to be right there. The whole balcony that runs along the Sphinx is metal grating and you can see right through it. In other words you could see the hundreds of feet below you. As you walked over it, ice chips that had accumulated on the grating would break and fall away. So let’s just say it’s not for people who are afraid of heights. Zaq at one point was extremely nervous and went back inside while I captured as many pictures as I could in our small, but gracious, window of clear skies.

Feeling that our journey was complete, we headed back to Grindelwald where we sat and had a nice dinner amongst the Eiger.

Also, we swear we will not eat anything cheese related for a month after eating all this Swiss food.

Full and bloated, goodnight!

~A&Z