Relaxed morning, went downstairs for breakfast at 8.30am, the restaurant was cafe style, blue tablecloths, lace dollies and yellow flowers - really cute.   

I noticed everything in Interlaken has history, all the buildings have stayed the same – so are old looking - just the use might be different – to understand what I mean, have a look at my photos day before blog and you'll see for your self – it gives the town some character. Look at the place I am staying in, it’s a beautiful old lady, the floors still creek.   It’s over 110 years old, started as a hotel however 2nd World War it became a military medical institute/clinic for sick soldiers and then changed to a dental clinic until the end of the war - then was renovated and went back to being a hotel, became a training hotel for apprentices from the Swiss Hotel Association and was the most modern hotel in the area at the time – with private bath facilities, radiators and elevator.

Directly across the road from the hotel, I walk across a bridge, and I’m ready to take the little red funicular which takes 10 minutes to climb to the 1323 metre high Harder Kulm, the hotel gave me a free pass to take the trip and told me it was worth going on.   Fingers crossed the sun comes out and fog/clouds up high disappear.   Mmm, it’s getting clearer, might be a touch too early - I went on the 9.40am departure. What a lovely spot, restaurant has Swiss character, so I had my morning coffee and watched the viewing get better.      The view of Interlaken, the two lakes and the whole Jungrau Region unfolds in from of me, I gave myself the hour to enjoy my coffee, give the cow a hug a few times and watched the view turn on and off within the hour.  I returned on the 10.40am departure, because I had booked a trip to the famous Jungrau – "Top of Europe" and I didn’t want to miss that for anything.

11.35am I’m on the first train to Grindelwald – (Glacier Village) which follows some of the glacier river before heading up into the mountains.

Stunning scenery as we get closer, the Switzerland I’ve seen on TV!   A lady from Basel is sitting beside me and tells me she is from Australia however got a transfer with a pharmacy company and lives here now, she was on her way to meet a Real Estate agent to buy a chalet!   She was telling me there is no further building to be done in Grindelwald, and what is there has to be traditional Swiss housing. See my photos.   

And so I spent an hour in Grindelwald the theatre of alps overlooking the small town, and I thought that was wonderful, sun out and snow capped mountains in particular Wetterhorn which made me stare, then the camera just kept shooting the surrounds, flower studded alpine chalets and pastures set against an Oscar-worthy backdrop. Couldn’t ask for anything more.

But then it gets better - 12.47am I get onto another train that goes to Kleine Scheidegg, you can’t get on a train that goes straight from Interlaken to Jungfraujoch because of the different types of trains required for each trip, the last one needs the most grip!!   However you do a round trip, so you get to see little towns in between, and it is easy to get on one train and get on another because they are beside each other, it is very well organised. You can decide if you want to stay in each town a bit as the trains go past on the hour, I only stopped at Grindelwald, as I was told that was the best one to stop at. Although on my return Lauterbrunnen looked magic with its surrounding tumbling waterfalls that you could see from the town – but I had no time to stop as I was on the second last train and I didn’t want to risk catching the last! The last was my safety net, I’d missed that boat when webcaming, so I always have plan B now.

Anyways going back to heading to Jungfraujoch, the weather couldn’t be better, the fog/clouds have disappeared and the scenery is mind-blowing on the last train from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch.     Presided over by glacier encrusted monoliths Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau (meaning Orgre, Monk and Virgin) the scenery is uplifting. The big three peaks have an enduring place in mountaineering legend, particularly that of 3970 m Eiger that claimed lives and remained unconquered until 1938, the train goes through many open landslide protected tunnels and then a very dark tunnel that burrows through Eiger for some way – the tunnel took 3000 men 16 years to drill.   There are 10 minute viewing stops, of the glaciers and snow capped mountains – I am a bit stunned by how magic it truly is, almost there, we arrive at the sci-fi Sphinx meteorological station – Europe’s highest train station.

Outside there are views of the 23km tongue of the Aletsch Glacier, the longest glacier in the alps and UNESCO site.

Ok, so when you tire (as if!!) of the view, I made myself start the well arranged self guided tour, that started with a 360 degree film panorama of the view, then you get a lift to the top of the Sphinx and walk out onto the vantage terrace to see the views again........yeah !! Gosh I have to watch that sun, it burns with the pearly white snow glaring. The dome is fitted for astronomical studies.

 So back to the tour, where you follow the Alpine Sensation, the history and story of the extreme efforts made during the construction of the rail lines and about the man behind the incredible idea – Guyer Zeller – he was well known to say often - knowledge is power.

Then into the ice palace – the cavern covers an area of over 1000m2, with countless niches and passageways that have to be constantly recut. Crystal like sculptures transform the grottos into an ice art gallery – I of course found the penguins and the bears to be my favourite – grin.

The last part of the tour and is only allowed when the weather is good – which happened to be today – is to walk out to onto the snow, it’s cold and slippery, so a few times I am on my knees or backside but I make it to the Swiss flag that was hoisted on the plateau at the opening of the Jungfrau railway. Yeah!

It’s 3.30pm and I am hungry so back to the restaurant for a bite to eat, and sadly a final look at the mountains and glacier before I take the 4.40pm train.   This time, once I get to Kleine Scheidegg I take the train via Lauterbrunnen – a postcard perfect village nestled deep in a valley of 72 waterfalls, there were too many people on the train to get very many photos, being almost the last train - that is what happens tourist season, on the way up I almost had the train to myself.

Back to Interlaken and I am in awe of the day had, the sun didn’t leave the mountain and views are just too hard to describe, I drop by the hotel with my warm clothes, as I did need them up there, the sun was out but it was cold in particular in that ice palace, my lips went purple.

Decide lunch was too late to have dinner, so I got myself a salad from the co-op to eat in the park but thereafter I decided at 8.30pm ish returning to the hotel - because there was still daylight - I’d sit at the outdoor cafe/restaurant looking up at mountains I had spent the day with – with a glass of wine and a few slices of difference cheeses.   

"Cheers to the mountains and an unforgettable day!”.