On Mt.Titlis

Glacier Park

Snow Tubing on Ice

   







   In the glacier park we saw huge mounds of snow with deep slopes of undulating ice. Many people were gliding down the slopes seated on inflated rubber tubes to feel the thrill of skiing on the smooth ice and experiencing the sudden jerks as they moved up and down the ice mounds. As I glided down, the rapid downward movement with sudden twists and turns made me a little bit nervous and I tightened my grip due to the fear of being thrown out like a feather in the air from my gliding tube. Luckily I held on to my tube till it came to an abrupt stop. I had to climb up to the ground dragging the rubber tube behind me. This proved very difficult as the ice beneath my feet is very smooth and sagging.I lost my foothold and slipped many times.The assistant standing above saw my predicament. He held out his hand and pulled me up along with the rubber tube. Some others also faced this problem and got up at last with the help of others. This experience of snow-tubing taught me a lesson to understand the problems of mountaineering, and the hardships of treading on slippery ice. How much fortitude and grit are required for the heroic mountaineers who dared to climb the steep icy slopes in the most inclement weather exposing their lives to utmost perils ? Really they may be called true conquerors of Nature.

Suspension bridge over the glacier

  Later we tried to walk on the highest elevation suspension bridge in Europe on Titlis cliff. This bridge was opened in December, 2012 to commemorate the 100 th anniversary of the Engelberg Gershinalp Cable Way. This bridge is just one meter wide and one hundred meters long hanging over the ice-covered glacier at a height of 500 meters off the ground. The swinging movement of the bridge made our gait unsteady and so we had not gone up to the other end which leads you to the ice-chair lift station.

Glacier Cave

Glacier Cave 

    

      
  After collecting our photos we entered the 150 meter-long glacier cave which branches out in several directions and descends twenty meters below the surface of the glacier. The whole cave is brightly illuminated and is kept at freezing sub-zero temperature (-1.5 degrees centigrade). The cave looks hazy and bluish due to refraction of light on its icy walls. The walk through this cave is another thrilling experience. Of course, a spine-chilling one too, revealing the wonders of Nature's creative skills. 

Swiss Chocolate Shop

300 varieties of toffees

                               







            

Swiss Lion Watch Store

                   
                










 On the third floor of the mountain station, there is Chocolate Shop with nearly three hundred varieties of colorful chocolates heaped in trays or neatly  packed in boxes.  Our journey remains incomplete without tasting these delicious toffees made of pure Swiss cream and milk and blended with other tasty ingredients. If you wish to wear branded wrist watches, there is Swiss Lion Shop offering best quality watches which you can wear to show your sophisticated style. After buying some chocolate boxes, we went straight to the coffee shop to warm our frozen bodies. But our hearts remained warm with admiration of these pure and breath-taking views of this snowy mountain.

Mt. Titlis Map

View of Alpine glaciers from Stotzig  Egg

    

Biking Tourists

Skiing persons

 Our trip to Mount Titlis gave us a novel experience of entering a new world of ice where Nature looms large in pure white like a massive cloud in the sky with scattered patches of green grass and blue lakes below. We saw some people trekking up the hills and others riding on bikes with agile shouts and laughter. One has to hike from Titlis to Stotzig Egg to get a clear view of the surrounding glaciers. The spirit of freedom free from worldly worries and bustle is really felt in places like this. So even sages and saints prefer such peaceful spots to experience a sense of divinity and spiritual elevation. No wonder then if poets call Nature as holy as a temple or the outer garment of God. 

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8th December, 2015                                                         Somaseshu Gutala

ON OUR JOURNEY TO MT.TITLIS

Titlis Glacier

View of Titlis from above

   We stayed at Banklialps in Engelberg for two days. On the first day we saw the Trummelbach Waterfalls, a unique thundering waterfall naturally formed below the rocky cliffs and made us feel the mighty and magnificent thrilling force of water. The same day we had the thrilling journey to Jungfrau mountain to experience the pure virgin-like touch of ice-world with artistic ice-palace and refreshed ourselves there with hot cups of coffee and scintillating Swiss chocolates. The next day we went on another adventure to view the snowy hill, Mt.Titlis and explore more miracles of this Alpine region. Engelberg is just at the foot of this mount at a  distance of 5.4 Kms, a matter of ten minutes to reach the Mount Titlis, which is in the Urner Alps of Switzerland is located between the two cantons (regions) of Obwalden and Berne.

Titlis Rotair

Ice Flier

                                               

View of Titlis from Rotaire

Mount Titlis Station

The first ascent of Titlis (3238 meters or 10,263 feet high) was made in 1435 by Ignaz Herz and J.E.Waser along with two other men. In March 1967 the cable car to Mt.Titlis was inaugurated. On Jan. 21.1904 the first ski-ascent was made by Joseph Kuster and Willi Amrhein. Due credit we must give to Swiss engineers and workers who toiled hard to set up this cable car arrangement and facilitated so many tourists to reach this summit of 10,600 feet high above the sea level, and enjoy the breath-taking view of valleys, lakes and snow-white glaciers from a high altitude.

 We have to reach Mt.Titlis in three stages. In the first stage the cable car takes passengers from Engelberg to Gerschnialp (1262 meters high) in twenty minutes. In each cage there is accommodation for six people. During this ride one can see the distant view of Engelberg town with green slopes, cottages and cattle grazing freely with tinkling Swiss bells around their necks. From Trubsee Lake Station we have to go in a bigger cable car, each carrying about sixty people. In five minutes we can reach Stand located at a height of 2428 meters. From Stand there is a rotating cable car called Titlis Rotaire whose base rotates 360 degrees to give you a complete view of the glacier and mountain valleys on all sides. It takes just five minutes to reach the Titlis Mountain Station located at a height of 3020 meters above sea level. The topmost station in the whole of Europe looks quite ultra-modern with all facilities and comforts with flight of steps up to fourth level.

 Soon after we got down we rushed to the photo shop located on the fourth floor so that we may have our photos taken early without standing in queue and waiting for our turn. As soon as we entered the photo studio we saw an array of clothes, boots, head gears and socks connected with mountain-climbing and native Swiss tradition. A row of photos are displayed showing people dressed as Swiss musicians, farmers and hunters with the backdrop of bluish Titlis Mountain range. Three ladies helped us in getting dressed as a Swiss musician holding a long brass Alp-horn and another person a  in the guise of a hunter with a gun held aslant on his shoulder accompanied by two of our ladies dressed in traditional Swiss gowns  and broad-brimmed hats. Though at first we felt a little bit nervous to get dressed in a strange attire, our helpers encouraged us to assume right posture facing the camera, by saying "Cheers, Cheers" again.

Tourists in Swiss native dress

Photo Shop at Titlis

                                                                        
           

 Later we climbed into the lift and went up to the snow park upon the glacier. As we entered we saw the life-size portraits of the most popular and romantic Indian film actors, Sharukh Khan and Kajol as shown in the Hindi film "Dil Wala Le Jayenge Dulhania " (Briefly called DDL). We learnt that many Hindi films are shot in Swiss mountain regions which serve as an apt romantic landscape for many movies. At the far end of the glacier a huge mass of snow is seen in the shape of the Buddha seated in meditation, lending an aura of purity to this white glacier. A surprising coincidence indeed !

Portriait of Sharukh Khan and Kajol

Trubsee Snow Park on Titlis Glacier

  









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           3rd December, 2015                                                     SOMASESHU GUTALA

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

A WORLD OF CRYSTAL DAZZLING WHITE --- JUNGFRAU

   

Mountain Jungfrau

                           

Eigher, Monch and Jungfrau Mountain Peaks

    Jungfrau (13,642 feet in height) is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, situated halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with Eiger and Monch Mountains, the Jungfrau forms a massive wall overlooking the Bermese Oberland and the Swiss Plateau. Jungfrau is six kms. from Eiger and 3.5 kms. from Monch. Jungfrau, the scenic mountain, separates the cantons of Bern and Valais, and is a part of the Bernese Alpine range, with two other peaks namely, Aletchhorn (13,763feet) and Finsteraahorn (14,022 feet), both surpassing it in height.

 

Cox-wheel Railway Track

 In 1811 two Swiss brothers, Rudolph Meyer and Hieronymus Meyer, climbed this mountain (Jungfrau)  from Valais, the eastern side. In 1885 Fritz and Heinrich Von Allmen along with others made the first ascent from the difficult western or Interlaken side. In 1911 from the more dangerous and difficult north-eastern ridge, Albert Weber and Hans Schluneggar succeeded in
climbing this mountain. In 1865 a more direct route on the northern side was opened. In 1912 the coxwheel railway track was completed and the summit station, Jungfraujoch, was opened at a height of 11,332 feet to make this most enchanting mountain accessible to all. Jungfrau mountain along with Aletech Glacier in the south is a part of the Jungfrau-Aletech area and was recognized as a World Heritage Site in 2001.

         

Aletsch  Glacier

  Let me end this article with a poetic touch, a kind of glowing tribute, to Jungfrau, one of the most beautiful creations of God, that one can not describe in human language.

                         
                           " A shivering world of snow-white ice
                              Shining like moon in sunny light            
                              A world of crystal, dazzling white;
                              A thrill of joy swells up in rapturous cries.

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THE MARVELLOUS SUBTERRANEAN WATERFALLS (PART--II)

 
                                                                             

staircase through the tunnel

Lauterbrunnen Valley

  The Trummelbach Waterfalls is formed from a series of ten glacier waterfalls formed  at ten levels  inside the mountain, a rare natural phenomenon indeed. To view this waterfall inside the rocky mountain, a tunnel lift was provided to carry people up to a platform from where flights of steps give us scope to see the gushing waters at different levels. The thundering sound of water echoes inside the rocky mountain producing a deafening sound. Hence the waterfalls is named as Trummelbach which means a stream that sounds like a drum.

Surging flow

                 

water flowing through gorge

                                                    

  This is the largest subterranean waterfall located in Lauterbrunnen valley, often called the valley of seventy-two waterfalls. The snow melt from glaciers of Jungfrau, Eigher and Monch forms a powerful torrent through caves and cuts through rocks forming many shapes in different colors and sizes. There are view points or small look outs  to see the ten chutes that fall into the Trummelbach river. The total height of the waterfalls is four hundred and sixty feet with an approximate width of forty feet, with ten levels or drops.
These waterfalls carry up to twenty thousand liters of water per second flowing over an area of twenty-four square kilometers. Half of its drainage area is covered by snow and glaciers. The swirling waters with swelling foam is an enchanting spectacle to see. The outburst of flow revolves and plunges into narrow crevices and gorges and emerges mysteriously at another level. The spiraling waters through rocky fissures creates a magical view of the rushing waters which appears like a tornado scattering showers of water all over our heads from above. The surging white waves circling through rocky gorges made us wonder at the roaring might of these waters which carry tons of debris along with its energetic flow. In winter it is not open for tourists and the rushing water becomes frozen and no sound is heard then.

  As we descended, a calm view of spacious pasture appeared in sharp contrast to the turbulent commotion we saw inside. Oh, what a contrast at the same spot ! The lines of Lord Byron, the rebellious Romantic poet, written on the board attracted our attention.
                                                     
                          "The sunbow's rays still arch
                           The torrent with many hues of heaven
                           And roll the sheeted silver's waving column
                           O'er the crag's headlong perpendicular." (From Byron's Alpine Diary)

In 1816 Byron standing at the base of one of these waterfalls described that it looks " like the tail of the white horse streaming in the wind."
                            
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THE MARVELLOUS SUBTERRANEAN WATERFALLS (Part--I)

Engelberg Town

Engelberg town

  In the morning we could see the picturesque landscape of Engelberg, an international tourist resort with many hotels, shops and mountain sports training centers. We saw people paragliding accompanied by coaches in mid-air, hovering like birds above us. The pure climate, freshwater from mountain springs made this town a favourite destination for establishment of  spas and for enjoying Swiss delicacies. People here speak Swiss-German, a variation of German language, and can understand English also. People come here to enjoy sports like hiking, mountain climbing, bike-riding, sailing, skiing and swimming. This town is located at an altitude of 3,350 feet above sea-level surrounded by Alpine mountains. Because of its beautiful landscape abound with green valleys, mountain lakes and fresh air, this place is appropriately named "Engelberg" or "The Mountain of Angels." 

Inner View

 

Engelberg Church

            

Scenic View

Tunnel way

    










This town is well-connected to nearby cities like Luzern and Stansted by rail. Many hotels were established here during 1872 and 1874 by families of Cattani, Hess and Odermatt, pioneers of tourism. Because of its enchanting scenic spots, many Indian films were shot here. Another tourist attraction is the snow-covered peaks of mountains like Mt.Titlis. In 1967 Titlis Cable Car connection was opened here. In this town the Engelberg Abbey is a very ancient institution founded in 1122 by Conrad, Count of Seldenbiuren. During French Revolution many precious volumes of the abbey's library were burnt down. The abbey was re-built in Baroque style later. The abbey was given many privileges by kings and Bishops. This abbey founded a Fine Arts School for painters and writers. This abbey also maintains a cheese shop, a florist's shop, blacksmith's store and a well-equipped library. Even now nearly thirty monks stay here to run the institution.

  On our way to Trummelbach we took a short stroll through the park and streets of Engelberg. The beauty of this town lies in the fact that the place is not cut off from natural scenic surroundings. Wherever you go, you have a picturesque view of hills and green slopes with dotted with tiny cottages and herds of cattle. A serene and pure climate seems to get into every pore of your body. Some people were seen enjoying Swiss ice-cream while others were seen buying Swiss souvenirs from the vendors on the pavement. The photo cards and miniature figurines of Swiss cowbells and animals seem to attract everyone's attention.
 

Road from Zurich to Interlaken

Tunnel highway

 

    

Swiss Landscape Picture Card

Swiss Souvenirs

      

Lake Sarnen

                               

Interlaken

 Our bus passed through many tunnels and came across many lakes. The Swiss engineers are experts in construction of tunnels through mountainous terrain and in construction of ghat roads and rope-ways. The wide tunnels with bright illumination reveals the perfect workmanship and consummate skills of these dedicated architects. The distance from Engelberg to Interlaken is nearly one hundred miles and it took nearly two hours for us to reach that place. On the way we saw  Sarnen Lake with crystal-clear water mirroring blue skies. Interlaken is a tourist resort situated between two lakes namely Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. The Aare river flows between these two lakes. Mountains like Jungfrau (13,642 feet), Monch (13,474 feet) and Eiger (13,020 feet) are near the vicinity of this Swiss town. Hence many tourists come here to enjoy mountaineering, skiing, paragliding, boat riding etc. In 1890 the Berner Oberland Railway connected Interlaken with other tourist destinations like Lauterbrunen and Grindelwald.The nearestrailway station to Trummelbach waterfalls is Lauterbrunnen. But we went directly to the Trummelbach falls which is sixteen kilometers from Interlaken. 

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    9th November, 2015                                           SOMASESHU GUTALA