From Bern, we went to Jungfraujoch in the Swiss Alps. It was this opportunity that attracted us to this particular tour. This area has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001. We first took a bus to Lauterbrunnen where we would catch one of two trains to Jungfraujoch. These are some of the beautiful views we saw near the Lauterbrunnen train station. We were appreciative of these photo opportunities because we knew we would encounter a snowstorm at higher altitudes.

At Lauterbrunnen, we boarded the first of two cogwheel trains that we would take to Jungfraujoch, known as the Top of Europe. Jungfraujoch is the highest train station in Europe. Because of the angle of incline, our train traveled along a cogwheel track that prevented the train from rolling backwards.

These pictures were taken at the Kleine-Scheidegg Station where we would switch to our second cogwheel train to take us to Jungfraujoch. We had some time at the station where I especially enjoyed posing with Mike by the “Crash Landing on You” photo op sign. This was one of the sites where Netflix’s “Crash Landing On You” was filmed. We could also see our next train approaching (last picture in this section) while we enjoyed the scenery.

Arriving at Jungfraujoch, we disembarked our train and had lunch. We were at 11,333 feet. Our local guide took us on the Discovery Tour. As we climbed our first set of stairs, we were a little out of breath. Our guide slowed her pace which helped a lot. In the first picture we are on the Sphinx Terrace. I had hoped to see the Sphinx Observatory, one of the highest astronomical observatories in the world. Because of the snow, visibility was poor and we would not have even known the Observatory was there. The last picture in this section is one I purchased of the Observatory and shows what we could have seen on a clear day. It was still a neat experience!

Back inside, we walked through the “Alpine Sensation.” The Alpine Sensation is an 800 foot-long corridor that tells of the many sacrifices made by miners who worked in this area. The enormous snow globe at the end (pictured below) reflects the daily life of the Jungfraujoch Region.

We also visited the Ice Palace, originally created in the 1930s. Although it is kept at minus three degrees, it has to be frequently updated because of the heat generated by tourists. Mike and I wore curling shoes which were suggested on the Tauck Forum so we felt fairly secure on the ice. We saw several ice sculptures that had been carved with ice saws and picks. Pictured are sculptures of a dragon and pianist Lang Lang who played at the Jungfraujoch Plateau in 2022. Before we left to return to Bern, we also stamped our Jungfraujoch “passports.”