We woke up this morning and the clouds had (basically) cleared and we could see some sunshine poking through...so we figured this was our chance to go to the 'top of Europe' on the train and let the girls see some snow for the first time ever!
Sunshine peaking through and blue skies....
We walked into the village and got on the train that would take us to the "top of europe"....
At the train station....
On the first train that goes about halfway up.....
So up we went.....it was slow going as we seemed just to be going up and up and up and up....but with such beautiful views it didn't really matter how fast we were going....
Up through the village of Wengen.....our village (Lauterbrunnen) is down at the bottom of that cliff (you can just see a bit of it on the right of the pic)....
The snow-capped mountains seemed to peek around every corner
Up on the top of the mountain on the right there is a restaurant that you can only get to by cable car......we will probably go and have a coffee at this place in the next few days.....
The views looked just like a painting - so beautiful they didn't seem real....
Up we went....the building you can 'just' see in-between the two peaks is the train station we are heading to....
Again - a view so fantastic it doesn't seem real.....
We got just over halfway up and we had to change trains to the "Jungfraubahn" train - the one that went all the way up to the top. The highest train station in europe at 3454 metres above sea level.
We have now gone from 796 metres above sea level in Lauterbrunnen, through 1274 metres in Wengen and are now at 2061 metres at station Kleine Scheidegg. Time to change trains for the final climb....
There were a few 'scenic' stops along the way to to the top of Jungfrau...
The train itself cuts through the middle of the Eiger mountain and out the back of it before climbing up between the Monach and Jungfrau mountain peaks.
One of the first scenic stops gave a great panorama over the valleys below...
Neve at the window.....note that her top front tooth is askew.
Between that stop and the next stop.....somewhere around 10,000 feet (or 3000 metres) above sea level.....Neve's top front tooth (that had been terribly wobbly for a few days now) decide to pop out!!! I can't imagine that there are many kids who could say their tooth fell out in the middle of the Eiger mountain on the Jungfrau train.......even the ticket conductor was impressed!!!
Neve and her top front tooth on the way up Jungfrau......
The view out at the scenic stop
One of the glaciers
Neve now minus one front tooth!!!
And up we still went.....until we reached the highest train station in europe (and if you google highest train stations it isn't even in the top ten.....but it's still VERY impressive to me!!!)....
Look - it's quite touristy (and incredibly expensive.....as is all of Switzerland) and there seemed to be loads of Chinese tour groups up there.....but the view is amazing. We took the lift that went up 100 metres in a matter of seconds and we were out on the balcony at the rooftop of the alps.....
The first time the girls had ever seen or touched snow......what an incredible experience for them.....
The terrace over the alps....
The Dempseys on the top of europe!!!!
The whole complex has a few different exhibits which we spent some time exploring them inside to warm up....it was cold outside so the girls weren't too keen to spend too much time out there - we weren't entirely rugged like you would in the snow but we still had a lot of layers on....
Currently -3.6 degrees outside.....cold......
One of the biggest snow globes I have ever seen!!!!
Inside the ice palace...the walls and floor were carved totally out of ice!
There were several different ice sculptures through the ice palace....this one with penguins.
Inside the ice palace
The Dempseys on ice!!!!
We took one last chance to go out on the peak in the snow before lunch....it was cold and slippery but the views were totally worth it!!!
Looking down the glacier
On top of the world
In front of the Sphinx observatory....we were up on the terrace around the observatory earlier....
Trying hard not to slip on the snow/ice....
Amazing views
Eloise's face got too cold so she found a unique solution to the problem....
You can 'just' see Shane (arms out) on the edge of the cliff......
We had lunch inside (again to warm up) with what must be one of the best views of any restaurant ever....
Hot chips with a view.....!!!!!
After lunch the kids were pretty exhausted from all the excitement so we thought we would make the long trek by train back down the mountain. It takes 50 minutes (mostly through a tunnel) to get to the midway station and then about another 50 minutes from there back down to Lauterbrunnen.....
Coming back into the town of Wengen..
Looking down into the valley to the village of Lauterbrunnen - just gorgeous.
We got back just in time. We had a quick coffee/hot chocolate in the village before walking back to our chalet. The clouds had come in and about half an hour after getting back the rain started again......perfect timing!!!! We had truly gotten the best out of the day. It was a huge day....we were all so exhausted at the end......but what an amazing experience!!! One to remember forever (particularly Neve who lost her tooth!!!).......there will be an early night for all of us tonight I think!!!
