Switzerland Part 2 "The Top of Europe"

This was the big day we had been waiting for...and we woke up to very cloudy, rainy skies.  This is how our trips seem to go.  When we went to Salzburg, we couldn't see the hills due to clouds and fog.  The hills definitely weren't alive with the sound of music.  When we went to Neuschwanstein Castle, our first sight of it was nothing but scaffolding. It looked like it was in a box!  And, so our "luck" continued with virtually no views of mountains in Switzerland.  Sigh.....

We boarded the bus at 8:30 AM in Zurich.  The first stop was Interlaken.  Rick Steeves pointed out in his book that the glory days of Interlaken are over.  Today, the jung Fraus getting the most attention are at Hooters.

Yes, they have a Hooters.  And yes, we went there.  If you ordered a hot drink, you got a free croissant. :)  With just 30 minutes in Interlaken, we had to choose something fast.  This group was just thrilled about the weather.  Can you tell?

The kiddos in Interlaken.

Then we were back on the bus for our next stop in Grindelwald.  In Grindelwald, we boarded the cogwheel train.  This was the first of two trains to take us to the top of Jungfrau.  The windows of this train pulled nearly all the way down, so you could get great photographs.

Group shot!

The kids loved the waterfalls, but clouds made their way to the ground preventing us from seeing the mountains.

I'll bet that is one heck of a view!

Climbing higher and higher.

As we climbed higher and highter, it got brighter and brighter.  If you're planning a trip here, be sure to pack your sunglasses.

These were our views as we entered the first station to change trains.  I love the sight of the train on the far right that was heading back down the mountain.

The "red" train takes you to the highest rail station in Europe.  You don't travel on the mountain, you travel THROUGH it! 

Mountain snow

Train change

Our guide made sure we always had a group shot.  He called us "family of 10" and always yelled for Mike. 

Now that's more like it! The views on the way up were beautiful!  The train would stop along the way for all of us to get out and adjust to the altitude.  

On the left, where the mountain sticks out, there is a house.  Hikers can stay there when they reach that point of their climb.  Nuts!

We made it to the top.  It really isn't the highest point in Europe...but it is the highest rail station. 

Well, it was bright, but it certainly didn't have the views we were hoping for.  All we could see was white, and the snow was coming down.

That's a lot of snow....

Checking out the ice palace.  The sculptures were nice, but we are little spoiled with the ice sculptures in Brugge.  These sculptures were nothing like those.

She liked having her dad drag her around the icy path. Ha!

We aren't used to brightness in Belgium.  We were struggling!

Playing in the snow like all of the other kids (on the other side of the rope.)

And, then I spotted this sign.  Playing in the snow was OVER!

That crazy woman has that camera in my face again....

I'll give her a smile just to make her happy.

Three orders of chicken nuggets and fries, an Asian dish, and four drinks = $111.  

Making our way down the mountain.  The clouds started to lift.

Those red cheeks were a result of the altitude.  We all felt it more than we thought we would.

Smooches!

God's Country

We had to get a picture with our guide.  His name was Kid, and he could boss a group of 60 people around like it was nobody's business!  He was small but mighty! 

Arriving back in Grindelwald.

Taking the bus from Grindelwald back to Zurich.  The altitude really didn't agree with him, and it was a very long day. The kids were troopers!

The panoramic setting on my iPhone.  Beautiful!

Makes me laugh!

Here is the top, and this is what we were supposed to see.  It's a good excuse to take my mom there and hope for a clear day.

So, it wasn't completely what we signed up for, but it was a great experience with my little family and our friends.  That part of it was priceless and made it all worth it!

Until next time,
Wendy