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January 4th Log |
Jan 4th
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| We got up around 6 AM,
got ready and had breakfast around 7 AM. Lisa ordered pancakes,
which are, of course, crepes. They must not have cleaned the pan
very well, because they weren't very good. I had an omelet,
which was very good. We walked to the train station, bought
our tickets for about $100 a piece, and began our trip to the
top of the mountain, Jungfrajoch. It's only 2nd class to the top
and it was packed. There are a ton of skiers going up the
mountain. It was pretty uncomfortable, but the view certainly
made up for it. Maybe coming so early in the morning wasn't the
best idea. You have to change trains at Lauterbrunnen and Kleine
Scheidegg. We got our first view of the Eiger on the way up.
Interlaken Ost to Kleine
Scheidegg |
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| Once you arrive at
Kleine Scheidegg, all the skiers get off. We then got on a train
to the top of the mountain. It's a very nice train, not many
people on it, and they have video monitors telling you about the
mountain and how they built the railroad. The trip to the top is
all inside the mountain.
The first stop you make is at Eigerwand. You are able to get
off the train for about 5 minutes and go to the viewing windows
to see outside. Pretty neat.
Eigerwand |
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| The next stop is
Eismeer. Just like before, you can get off and get some
wonderful views. You can see the glaciers from here.
Eismeer |
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| After that, onto the
top. There are many places to visit at the Jungfrajoch. Because
it is winter, there aren't as many things to do as in summer. In
the summer you could take a sled dog trek or go hiking. Our
first stop was at the Sphinx Viewpoint. What an amazing view!
You can see both sides of the mountain from here. Just amazing.
There are birds at the top that will chase food that you throw
them. It's pretty wild to watch a bird dive hundreds a feet down
the side of the mountain. Sphinx
Viewpoint |
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| Our next stop was the
Ice Palace. They had many amazing ice sculptures and tunnels
carved inside the glacier. Ice
Palace |
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| Well, that's enough for
the moment - time for lunch. I had beef stroganoff and Lisa had
goulash soup. Lunch at the Top
of Europe |
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| After spending 2 hours
at the top, we decided to head down. We got back on the train,
but it was a little more packed this time. OK, here is a strange
thing that happened to me, but I'm OK now. About half way down
the mountain, while inside the tunnel, I started feeling very
nauseated. Lisa got out a Ziploc bag for me just in case. Then I
started getting light headed. A few moments later, I literally
thought I was going to pass-out. I started getting very hot and
my vision started to go to black. At one point, everything was
almost completely black. Then, it started going away. My vision
came back and I was not feeling sick any more. Pretty weird.
Altitude sickness? I felt light-headed the entire time we were
on top. Oh, well. I survived and we didn't have to call
emergency services.
Jungfrajoch
to Kleine Scheidegg |
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| At Kleine Scheidegg, we
had about 45 minutes before the next train. There are many
skiers and lots of places to eat and drink. Pretty much like
most ski resorts. Pop quiz time. After my little problem on
the way down, did I: a) get on the wrong train, b) get off the
train too early, or c) get off the train to late. Read on to
find out.
Kleine
Scheidegg |
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| Down the mountain we
go, on our way to Grindelwald. We still had more amazing scenery
to go. Kleine
Scheidegg to Grindelwald |
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| Well, silly me. The
answer is b. I got us of the train too early, so we had to wait
about 30 minutes for the next one. Not the worse thing in the
world. Once we got back to Interlaken, we checked out of the
hotel and hurried to the train station. We got on the train to
Spiez, then to Brig, and then to Zermatt - home of the
Matterhorn. Interlaken to Spiez |
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| Once we arrived in
Zermatt, our electric car to the hotel just happened to be at
the train station. We checked into a wonderful room, with a view
of the city. For dinner, if you stayed at the hotel, you could
get a 5 course dinner for only 20 francs. Want to bet we took
it? You're darn tootin' we did. First course was a puff pastry
with mushrooms - which was great. Second course was a soup, kind
of like a cream of mushroom - which was even better. Third
course was a cucumber salad with dressing - which was great.
Fourth course was beef with potatoes and spinach - which was
great. Fifth course was ice cream with a Grand Marnier sauce -
which was great. Just an amazing dinner. I can't wait until
tomorrow. I'm going to skip lunch so I can enjoy everything.
Another amazing day (except for the near-passing-out part). |
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