Part of the itinerary that Fessi had planned for
us was a three day trip to the Alps. This was really our first experience
with just how extensive Fessi's planning was when it came to sight seeing.
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Our first day out we traveled a whopping 150 klicks
(90 miles), whew what a day!!!! We found ourselves at a place called
Jungfraujoch (young-frau-yock), which literally means Virgin Shoulder we're
told. Jungfraujoch is also referred to as the The Top of Europe,
in that it is the highest accessible point in Europe via rail. An
electric cog train in fact.
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The train ride is taken in two steps over a period
of about one and a half hours, culminating at the summit of Jungfraujoch
11,333 feet above sea level. There are plenty of hills in the USA
higher but none comes close to the spectacular beauty of this one.
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The exit from the train station leads directly to
what they call the Ice Palace. This is a series of tunnels deep inside
the glacier on top of the mountain. The tunnels are solid ice, including
the floors, not a place for leather sole cowboy boots, ask Teri how she
knows this.
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Along the walls of the tunnels are ice sculptors
that have been carved right out of the walls. Sculptors not withstanding,
it's kind of like walking through the Grand Canyon Caverns in ice.
Once you exit the Ice Palace you are on the top of Europe, it's as high
as you can get in Europe without climbing. The weather was clear
for the most part and we could see for a hundred miles until the clouds
rolled over. Looking down I was inclined to wonder where my ski's
were, NOT!!!
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Leaving the summit we walked down a series of stairs
to the bar and sampled some of the beer and food in the restaurant and
enjoyed the view until it was time for the train ride back down.
We had left Sylvia at the midway point as she was afraid she would not
be able to breath at the high altitude, she was right. You start
to get a little woozy up there even without benefit of bier.
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Dinner that night was as usual eaten outside, who
wants to be cooped up in a building when the weather is so nice?
We drove a few klicks up the road to the base of the Wetterhorn and dined
with the mountains across from our table.
I will say at this time, Fessi was a trouper when it came
to interpreting menus for us.
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That evening we spent the nite in a real Swiss Chalet
in Grindelwald, forty francs per person, for eighty francs total for one
room. That translates to 47.00 USD, not bad. The bathroom was
even on the same floor!! Actually it was a real nice place but being
the first time we had spent a nite in a motel we didn't know what to expect.
It seems that you don't register, you just pay in the morning after breakfast
on your way out. Oh, by the way, breakfast is included almost always
in motels here, nice touch.
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