Almost the Top of Europe.

I made my way to Wengen on an ÖBB Railjet train, designed to make you reject flying, it has table service, plane like seats, lcd screens with maps and connecting info, even above your seat and LCD shows if it is reserved... All the lights are LED, how swish... Top speed is 230 kmh, I never saw it go past 170 on the screen, but, we were on some mountain sides I guess... And this Austrian train makes it all the way into Switzerland with just a cursory going over by the Swiss Police at the first border stop. Here's a map... Not all of it in red I travelled on this train though...that's just the Railjet routes, the blue pointer is where we were...





Two trains later, near an hour a piece from Zürich and Bern; we arrive at Interlaken for 2 more short train rides, cog trains this time...shame the woman below was lighting up when I took this pic, spoils it...


This is the SBB Swiss Railway clock, it's on a line of designer watches now as the look is simple but efficient...


First stop Lauterbünnen - the waterfall town at the bottom of the valley.








It is not as warm here as it was in Salzburg, as we are gaining height...so the plants and trees are a little behind.


All that melting snow, including the mountains I saw from the train leaving Austria, has made this a day with literally dozens of waterfalls :)



But I love how the houses seem to cling for dear life to the hill sides... They are steep...


As the last train climbs higher still...


I reach my overnight stop in the small town of Wengen.








Wengen has 1200 inhabitants so it is not too tiny, but it clings to a mountain side over one km up.


Pic below, you can see the serated metal beam that the train's cog wheel bites into - it's the only way a train can climb hills so steep. It was a Swiss invention, 100 years old this year, that led to the opening of the Jungfrau region to non mountain climbers. So when I go up further tomorrow they have some centennial exhibit to see.








This church is right behind my hotel.


This is the back of my hotel.


We look down on Lauterbrünnen below... Cars cannot drive up here, but there a handful of them, oddly enough, that stick to the few roads. They come up on a train, but the town only allows several of them.


The views are gorgeous, and literally million dollar views... With 1.6 million Canadian dollars I could by a condo here.


Look at the bright red hotel awning below and move your eyes straight up - in that cloud is where I am going tomorrow...





Slightly better view of the peaks below. The weather turned odd a couple of days ago, the worst wind in 20 years uprooted many trees and they crashed onto buildings. Even now, every once in a while a few seconds of very strong wind whips up then immediately vanishes. With no wind, and no cars in use nearby though, all you hear is the waterfalls ecohing in the valley and birds chirping, it is very pleasant.





Again that cloud won't shift, but the ice up top makes a micro climate and warmer air from below makes cloud... So just my luck if it stays cloudy tomorrow - I only get one chance at this.


Slightly clearer, you can see the peak of Jungfrau poking through below, just left of centre.
I am actually going up Jungfraujoch, which is lower and furher to the left, out of view... The other mountain up there is the Eigre, as in "it's like climbing the north face of the Eigre".





It is very picturesque up here. But it's steep paths everywhere!











The crane below is building my condo...








I guess we will see what we get tomorrow... It is shoulder season, Wengen is quite quiet, but I like that. G'night!
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- BlogPressed from my iPad. Click on pictures for larger version and gallery. Copyright 2012 TinyFrontalLobeWerke AG., Zurich.

Location:Wengen, Switzerland.