3,454 meters, glaciers, and the Ice Palace
Highest railway station in Europe at 3,454m (11,332 ft). Ice Palace, Sphinx Observatory, Aletsch Glacier viewpoint. Year-round snow. The air is thin — take it slow.
Viewing platform at the summit with 360° Alpine panorama — the Aletsch Glacier (longest in the Alps, 22 km) stretches below. On clear days you can see into France, Germany, and Italy.
Corridors and chambers carved inside the glacier itself. Ice sculptures, blue-lit tunnels, the temperature stays at -3°C year-round. Walk carefully — the floor is ice.
Transfer station at 2,061m where you switch to the Jungfrau Railway for the final ascent. The Eiger North Face towers above — mountaineering history's most infamous wall. Café and viewpoint here.
Valley of 72 waterfalls. Staubbach Falls drops 297m right into the village. Tolkien visited here — it inspired Rivendell. The valley walls rise vertically on both sides.
Resort town between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. Victorian-era grand hotels, paragliders overhead, the Jungfrau massif as backdrop. This is Swiss tourism central — and it earns it.
This is the day. The train leaves Interlaken and climbs into a different world. Through Lauterbrunnen — Tolkien's valley of 72 waterfalls — and up through Alpine meadows to Kleine Scheidegg, where you transfer to the Jungfrau Railway.
The final section goes THROUGH the Eiger. The train enters a tunnel bored through the mountain starting in 1896 — it took 16 years to complete. Intermediate stations have windows cut into the rock face, and you look out through the North Wall of the Eiger at the valley 2,000 meters below. Stephanie will want to stay at every window.
At the top: 3,454 meters. The Sphinx Observatory elevator takes you to the viewing platform — the Aletsch Glacier stretches 22 kilometers below, the longest in the Alps. The Ice Palace is carved inside the glacier itself. There's a snow fun park with tubing runs. Emily will make a snowball in June.
The oxygen is thinner up here. Take it slow. Drink water. Ricki at 77 at 11,000 feet — monitor him. The Sphinx has benches and the observation deck has railings. He'll be fine. He'll also tell everyone he's flown higher than this in his Malibu. (He has.)
Evening: descend to Interlaken. Overnight here instead of Bern — the xlsx specifies Interlaken.
Interlaken — near Interlaken Ost station
One night. Close to the station for tomorrow's long train to Salzburg. Budget CHF 200–400/night.
The Jungfrau Railway tunnel through the Eiger: 7 km bored through solid rock starting in 1896. Workers advanced 3 meters per day using dynamite. The intermediate windows were originally designed so excavated rock could be dumped down the mountain face.
Making snowballs in SUMMER. The Ice Palace has animal sculptures carved from glacier ice. The snow fun park has tubing runs and a ski area. Also: hot chocolate at the Top of Europe café hits different at 11,000 feet.
The train does ALL the climbing — no hiking required. The Sphinx observation deck has an elevator from the train platform. Oxygen is thinner at 11,000 ft — sit down if dizzy, drink water. Ricki flew higher than this in his Malibu. He'll remind everyone.