Jungfraujoch

This blog begins with an early morning view from our apartment window in Murren, but most of the blog is about our adventure to the top of the Jungfraujoch, about 11,000 feet above sea level. We took the train, which for the last hour or so is almost completely through tunnels in the mountains. I assume they did this to preserve the beauty of the mountains.

The three highest peaks in this region are the Eiger, the Monch, and the Jungfrau, translated into English as the Ogre, the Monk, and the Virgin. The monk is between the other two, protecting the Virgin from the Ogre. We went to a tourist wonderland between the Jungfrau and the Monch.

There were of course the up close and incredible views of the glaciers. Then there were the snow disks; we went sledding, and then the boys went skiing as well. Unfortunately we missed the husky rides. Finally there was the ice palace carved out of the glacier. It would have been best to have had ice skates for that.

I hiked across the glacier to the Monchjochhutte, the highest mountain hut in Switzerland. It was a contrast to the touristy happenings at Jungfraujoch. Here German rather than English was the main language. The clientele included those of us who had hiked the 45 minutes across the glacier, and mountaineers who had come by far more difficult means.

In this region English appears to be the first language. So many more people speak English that it is best to start with it rather than German. I am amazed at how international English is and how fortunate some of us are to have it as our native language.