Today was our first rest day but that doesn’t mean we were not active. We woke at 6am to leave the apartment by 7 and begin an adventure to the top of the Alps. Jungfraujoch is the highest peak in Switzerland and claims several other “-ests”. At over 11,000ft of elevation it is an alpine adventure of its own. But this one was more than we’d want to have done on our own, so we took the cable car and then the cog train to the top.

The cable car views were stunning. After all we are surrounded by the Alps.

The train up the mountain was completely inside the mountain. I had not expected that. You could tell we were traveling up at a steep angle.

Once we left the train we were exploring the museum, discovery area,  ice cave,

and the glacier walk which should really be called a mountainous hike in the snow, ice, and wind. It was a strenuous hike because of the snow but mostly because of the altitude. The elevation once we were at the top of the trail was 11,975 feet.

The last few yards of the climb were incredibly challenging physically and also terrifying.  The wind was whipping around and the gusts were strong enough to move you a step or two. Plus the ground underfoot was icy and very steep. We took a few minutes to appreciate the views and recover.  (I’m beginning to wonder if Mark AND Allison are out to kill me… I’ve suspected Mark this whole trip!  Allison hung back with me…good cover hun? 😘)

The walk down was much nicer. We all had fun making a snowman. Our creation was popular because many people stopped to take pictures.

We stopped to eat lunch at the base of the walk. There were beach chairs to sit in and admire the view, so we did just that, enjoying our peanut butter, Nutella sandwiches on pretzel bread listening to a mix of Rap, Elvis and Dean Martin…quite funny!

Unfortunately there was a lady who was experiencing a medical emergency. A medical rescue helicopter flew in to transport her to the appropriate medical facility. The helicopter landed on the edge of the mountain in a tiny spot of packed snow.

Tonight we made cheese fondue… Swiss style!  It’s fun to try new things, in a foreign country, with Celsius temperatures, and directions in German and French…. Always an adventure!!