ON OUR JOURNEY TO JUNGFRAU

   

View of Jungfrau from Interlaken

Jungfraujoch Station

               

View of Jungfrau from moving train

Train moving through tunnel

                 









  After viewing the subterranean waterfalls inside the rocky mountain, we travelled to Lauterbrunnen to catch the cogwheel railway train to explore the wondrous charms of Jungfrau, one of the summits of the Bernese Alps. From Lauterbrunnen the Bernese Oberland Railway will take you up to Kleine Scheidegg. From there the Jungfrau Railway will take you to Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe, standing at a height of 11,332 feet,  the nearest railway station to go to the Jungfrau hill summit. As we travelled we had a spectacular view of hills, pastures and bushy firs with small cottages here and there. The distant snowy peaks of Alpine mountains came nearer to our sight as our train slowly climbed up the mountain slopes. Our train entered the seven km. long  tunnel, a miraculous achievement of Swiss Engineers, made through mountains towards the glaciers on the south side of Jungfrau. In 1893 Adolf Guyer Zeller (1839-1869) conceived this idea of constructing a tunnel to reach Jungfrau. It took almost sixteen years to accomplish this task. The summit station was opened in 1912.  

Restaurant at Jungfrau

Chocolate Shop

              









  Our train entered the tunnel running eastward through Eigher. On the way our train halted at two places namely Eigherwand (on the north face of Eigher) and Eismier (the south side of Eigher) for a few minutes. It took fifty minutes to reach Jungfraujoch, which is nearly 9.4 kms from Lauterbrunnen. As soon as we got down, we saw a spacious hall with a coffee bar. A surprise indeed even on such a lofty freezing icy summit ! A blur tour symbol on the wall with arrow mark gave us the direction to reach the snowy hills. In the  first hall called "Jungfrau Panorama" we watched the 360 degrees cinematic experience of the Alpine world of ice, rocks, snow, cloud and cold blowing winds--a sort of introduction to our exploration of these crystalline shining charms.

  In the second hall we can witness the heroic struggle and dedication of the people who strove to set up this tourist center on the highest level in Jungfraujoch. By means of light, music and carved statues and figures, we are given a clear picture about the past and present conditions of tourism and the construction of the Jungfrau Railway track through formidable fountains.

Statue of Adolf Guyer Zeller

Ice Palace Entrance

        










  Another attraction is the man-made ice palace and the ice-cave, a must-visit for all tourists.This cave is nearly 1000 square meters in area and has many niches and passages. To keep the ice-sculptures and statues away from melting due to the warmth caused by thousands of tourists, the cave is cooled and constantly kept at minus 3.0 degrees. This ice-palace or Eispalast is the highest altitude palace in the world. This palace was started in 1934. The crystal figures of penguins, bears, automobiles, humans and eagles is an awsome and wondrous work of ice-art. In the dim-lit vault they shine with glossy, transparent charm. These ice-made grottoes remind one of the legendary palace of the Chinese Emperor, Kublakhan, described by the great poet, S.T.Coleridge in his unfinished poem. 

Ice Sculpture

Penguins carved in in ice

                       

        Due to lack of time we could not visit "Sphinx Terrace" which was opened in 1931. In 1950 an observatory with a dome was set up for astronomical study and research. One can go there by lift and view the Aletsch Glacier, a shining expanse of lily-white snow with clouds of hovering mist touching the blue sky. On the topmost level people go on skiing or gliding on the cable snow-ride over the Aletsch glacier just below Jungfrau. 

  In the Lindt Chocolate Shop in the main complex, we can find a vast variety of Swiss chocolates made by Lindt  Master Chocolatiers, the world-famous enterprise which manufactures delicious chocolates like Lindor balls.From here we can have a glance at the breath-taking view of the Alpine charms,tasting the most delicious sweets at the same time while standing on the highest altitude of Europe. If you still feel warm, you can enjoy the sweet, melting Swiss ice-cream too. In the coffee bar we can enjoy a hot cup of steaming coffee which tastes heavenly after our spine-chilling adventure through icy world.   

 As if to admire our courage and adventurous spirit, we were given Jungfrau Railways Passport, a compliment to us, who reached the topmost station in Europe. Before leaving we went to see the gift shop where one can find Swiss branded articles like souvenirs,
T-Shirts, bags, Tissot Watches and many other items to buy as cherished tokens of this unforgettable journey to one of the most enchanting places on the top of Europe, as enchanting as another lunar world of shimmering ice.   

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   15th November, 2015                                                  SOMASESHU GUTALA