The Oger, Monk and Virgin

The lady at my accommodation said, "You're in Switzerland, so you must go." She's referring to the Swiss Alps. The Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau (Oger, Monk and Virgin, respectively) form a massive wall that overlook the Bernese Oberland and is considered one of the most emblematic images of the Swiss Alps. The Jungfrau is the tallest of the trio at 3454 m above sea level. On a clear day, you can see as far as the Black Forrest in Germany and Mt Vosges in France, "but you MUST have very good weather to go!" the hotel lady warns.

On the day I arrive in Bern, it rained up there, but the next morning when I checked the weather on the website, it said it was slightly cloudy and visibility was good. So I quickly gathered my stuff and set out on the journey. It took about 4 hours and 4 different trains to get to the top of the mountain. Luckily the ascent required no climbing, as the entire journey was serviced by the aforementioned trains.

On the train from Interlaken to Klein Scheilegg, I met met two guys who became my travel buddies for the rest of the day. I thought they were Japanese and they thought I was Korean. All we missed was a Japanese to think someone was Chinese to complete the trifecta.

One of the mountain trains that took us up

(^I like this pic AND I totally dig this guy)

The view from Klein Schleigg, about half way up

When we finally got to the top of Jungfrau, we were greeted with a scenery of complete whiteness. It was shrouded in clouds we couldn't see further than 20m in front of us. Sometimes the clouds parted and the peak of Jungfrau would appear for a fleeting moment (at that moment, the Chinese tourists would yell "出来了出来了" and start snapping photos).

The peak of Jungfrau behind the cloudsOn top of windy Switzerland
A group picture inside the Ice Palace
Jumping in the snow - don't know what mountain peak is behind us

It was quite disappointing to be honest to not be able to see the Alps at the summit, but regardless, I don't regret this CHF137 trip. Even though I saw nothing but whiteness at the top, the sceneary just a bit further down hill was unbelievably magnificent! On the way downhill, my travel buddies and I got off the train to trek part of the way down [at my insistance and after I noted they were letting the Korean team down for not getting off (they wanted to rest on the train) :P] and take in the scenary. I've never seen anything like it. Words are not enough to describe it and neither are photos in accurately depicting the true beauty of this place. One must personally see it to truly appreciate it. So..I think the money spent was worth it even just for that - the view mid-hill.

A nice view on the way down

The valley of Grindelwald, all the houses are very cute, one day I'd like to own one of them

After the trek, it was the perfect excuse for us to replenish our energy with a fattening bowl of melted cheese and wine accompanied by bread cubes, potatoes and pickled vegies.