On Top of Europe

On Saturday we took a train to the highest train station in Europe, the Jungfraujoch train station, at the elevation of 3,454 meters/11,332 feet.

The train is a cog railway train, and the last section before reaching the Jungfraujoch goes through the tunnel, carved inside the Eiger and Mönch mountains.

The Jungfrau summit at 13 642 feet (4158 meters) is one of the main peaks in Bernese Alps. The word Jungfrau means young lady, and here in the Alps she is being protected by the Mönch (a monk) from the Eiger (an ogre). Jungfraujoch is a low point between the Mönch and the Jungfrau peaks.

Once there, we visited two different observatories that allowed for magnificent views of the mountains (the summit of the Jungfrau, the Mönch and others) and the glaciers and for glimpses of the valley below and even Bern in the distance.