The "Top of Europe"

Photos are here. (That's the middle mountain, Monch.)

There are several things you can do in the Berner Oberland, and they all involve hiking, skiing, and seeing sights. As I’ve already added at least 20 years to my feet and knees on this trip, I opted for the Jungfraujoch and the cog-wheel train that takes you from 3,000 ft to 11,000 feet via a tunnel that was hewn into the Eiger about 100 years ago. And the railway is about 100 years old, too. Fun!

But I didn’t mind it. I would have normally been quite nervous about the whole thing, but I wasn’t. I figured that If the Eiger chose that moment to collapse in on that tunnel, then I probably deserved to go with it. I mean, It’s a tunnel that winds around inside a solid mountain. It’s lasted 100 years. I’m sure it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

There are a few stops along the way where you can look out of windows that sit on the face of the mountain. I mean, if you’re not cool with heights, you’re sooooo not cool with this view. But by the time you get to the top and take the elevator up 300 feet from the in-mountain railway station to the on-top-of-mountain observatory, you’d better be ready for the long look down.

The Sphinx Observatory is situated on a big rock that juts out from the saddle between Monch and Jungfrau (Eiger is the ogre, and Monch is the monk that’s standing between the ogre and the young maiden… that’s Jungfrau… protecting her from the ogre). Snow-capped peaks for miles and miles and miles and miles. And a pollution line… ruddy dusty-looking pollution hanging out below you. It’s weird. Beautiful and terrifying, nature and humankind battling it out everywhere you look.

I descended the mountain.

I kept thinking that people from Switzerland must be so disappointed with Yosemite. I contemplated the tiniest of white croci peering out from under the still snow-matted brown grass from last year, and was continually baffled by the torrents of water plunging off of the sides of the mountains. It something everyone has to see for themselves. It’s glorious.

I bought dinner of bread and cheese at the store in the town. I slept early.