Europe on a shoestring - Day 4 (Jungfrau Region) [September 27, 2005]

Thankfully today it was Sam'’s day to get up early, its another Joe thing I guess,… make sure everyone gets up on time, then go in for some more time of shut-eye .

This day we were going to Mt. Schilthorn hence we left at 07:50 to Murren via funicular train (it is basically a carriage pulled up by cable at steep inclination angles) with a change at Gustalp. Cogwheel trains by contrast have a central '‘cog'’, which serves as a middle rail and a locking system. This train we certainly made just in time. We realized later that this is the last year for the funicular system, to be replaced by a cable car system due to shifting earth plate.

Every day on the train it was 'check time' - batteries - check, functional camera - check, water - check, warm clothes - check

Moved on to Murren and picked up the Schilthorn tickets. However through the cc TV we realized that the visibility was very low at the top of the mountain (a below freezing too) so we went to a local cafe for coffee and croissants (again laced with chocolate no doubt).

Another interesting observation -– in Switzerland all measurements are in deci-liters, in Italy -– in centi-litres.

Schilthorn with the restaurant Piz Gloria on top

After tanking up with breakfast we took the cableway up two levels to Mt. Schilthorn. At the peak it was 0°C with a 25 km/h wind. By then the skies had cleared and the views were magnificent.

This photograph is significant since it enabled us to view from a distance the main waypoints of our previous days trek
The panoramic view as seen from Schilthorn

Along with us were a Russian and British tour group,– it seemed that this time of the year most of the people were at work,– and the majority of people of vacation seemed to be retired folk -– a phenomenon repeated throughout Europe.

and yeah... a photograph for the books - the three amigos at 10000 ft.

On the way down we struck up conversation with a Welsh person who had climbed up Schilthorn 50 years ago (before the cableway and the Bond movie were made). He was in his 60'’s maybe, but seemed to be an avid hiker having hiked in India, Peru among other areas. That'’s another thing I realized -– that the people who had actually visited India,– thought of it as a fascinating country with so much to offer, with a very well educated populace, and similar to all other places -– struggling with its own unique problems.
On our way back we took the cable-down to Stechelberg and went to see the Trummulbach falls. It is here that the water from the glaciers of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau (Ogre, Monk and Young Virgin) converge.

and yes - with well lit caves and walkways its quite a fun experience... the latter photograph showing lil' Anil

The Swiss have built a series of elevator shafts so you can see the waterfalls through 15 levels within the mountain itself. Got some amazing '‘slow-shutter'’ photos of the waterfall including those of phosphorescence making the water a bright green. Thanks to a helpful American who lent me his tripod and helped me out, and to my dynamic duo for their patience.

and obviously - here is the finished producsuccinctlyamir put succintly put it... fast shutter... shutter... slow shutter

We had missed the bus -– and just simply took the alpine valley walk to Lauterbrunnen, staring at cows, flowers, paragliders and the sheer cliffs along the way.

Pictures along the Alpine meadows

The walk was indeed quite nice. Crossing a stream, and moving along the valley we passed small houses with very pretty flower and vegetable gardens - a glimpse of which are illustrated in the former photographs. Above us we could see paragliders jumping off Wengen towards Stechelberg. All made for a sweet walk.

Staubbach Falls

As we neared the village we finally had a daylight view of the falls which we could see through our window at the hostel. At 1000ft it is the highest falls in Switzerland - to give you an idea what that would mean... the water takes a good 12 s to hit the base!!!

Rosti and Brats - German standard - totally unhealthy... but very filling

Back at Hotel Oberland we had a meal of Bratwurst, Rosti and beer from Alex.... Now incase I made forgot to explain Hotel Oberland and Alex let me rectify it here. This was a hotel which was - quintessentially, quitessentially British. Alex, our waitress - too was from England who had been lured to this exotic place, and had just stayed put.
The day was certainly not over and the three amigos took the train to Kleine Schneidegg (va Wengen) to begin our last hike along the sheer face of the Eiger to Eigergletscher.

At Kleine Schneidegg station

It would be just a 1-1.5 hr hike but held the promise of a good hike with sights to aid us along.
It is at Kleine Schneidegg that the train to Jungfrau starts, and the trail crisscrossed the tracks on occasion. Since we were loathe to spend the 100 odd greenbacks we decided that a hike alongside should give us a similar view - for free.
However by now the visibility was steadily decreasing, and walking along a steep path, on the side of a mountain which is famous for its avalanches with not much to see in front of you is a bit disconcerting. The picture taken of Anil and Samir with the mountain behind says it all -– the mountain all of 3000+ m in height is not visible.

Would you believe the picture below is what should have been as a background of the picture above... There is a sense of excitement (or recklessness) as you walk along the edge of a mountain with little or no visibility. But excitement or not - I sure would have appreciated some of the breathtaking views which would have enveloped us in fairer weather.

But well I guess we could not grumble - being tocontinuousaving five continous days of sunshine at this time of the year was quite nearly impossible. But yes - the trek was enjoyable, and I couldn't complain about a little bad weather, and to be honest - had it rained .... then we would have been in some trouble. We finally arrived at Eigergletscher to be met with no visibility at all.

We sat at the station hoping against hope for some improvement, but there was none to be found and we took the train back to Kleine Schneidegg. It was a good hike - one for posterity.
On the way back we noticed a few novelties - which were duly recorded, such as the mating of Switzerland's finest and India's prettiest; in the form of a Longines timepiece alongside the lissome Aishwarya Rai.

Now, the slumber. Apparantly Samir found it quite difficult to doze off inspite of being tired while Anil and I.... well what can I say.

Samir hence proceeded in making it rise to the level of an art form, and I am left with a collection of photographs.... in deep meditation :-). The product is on display below... on the way up to Eigergletscher and on the way back.

At the railway station we ran across an Indian film crew shooting an ad for Danish yogurt toapparentlyn India - apparantly the more exotic the locale - the more yoghurt you sell.... we Indians are such buffs for all things 'foreign'.

The three of us along the main (and only street) in Lauterbrunnen

By now we were exhausted and back at home and had some packaged food (cheap stuff) with some wine to help us along.

Some pasta based dish washed down with a glass of Swiss wein

Pouring over plans for the next day

We thanked our hosts -– the family of Martha, Albert and Stefan who run Village Hostel and crashed for the night. Our Alpine adventure had come to its end.