If you’re going to schlep all the way out to Interlaken, Switzerland, you’re pretty much obliged to take the lengthy and pricey journey up to the Top of Europe. Jungfrau - the highest point accessible by train in all of Europe and standing just shy of 12,000 feet. All you need is a few hundred dollars, six separate trains, the better part of an entire day, and some warm clothes. That clearly did not deter the masses, however, as we were far from the only ones to make the trek. But what a stunningly beautiful and amazing trek it was – perhaps even voted by The Wandering Walkers as the most amazing scenery of the entire trip. Thus far anyway – I guess we still have like 5 months to go or whatever.

The day began by taking the first of the trains from Interlaken to Kleine Scheidegg, which acts as a stopping point for the train switch to get to Eigergletscher. Here we went for a quick hike up into the hills where Joy impressively popped-a-squat (seriously – click on that link) with some of the local cows. Giddy with nature, we ran back down the hill and threw down a quick Braut and side of potatoes. The Swiss, by the way, are not known for embracing the whole healthy cuisine movement. I have never seen a more fat and cholesterol laden food culture, yet somehow they manage to not drop dead in their teens like one would think.

Finally, the train that takes you all the way to the top. There’s a couple stops along the way at viewing platforms, but the real party starts when you pull into the Jungfraujoch. The first thing that makes an impact on you after stepping off isn’t so much the view as the fact that one of the options for getting some food is an all-you-can-eat Indian restaurant called Bollywood. For real. I couldn’t make that up if I tried. We somehow managed to elude its temptations (hey, Indian food is good whether you’re at sea level or on top of one of the highest peaks in the world), and made our way through the ice caves and onto the observation platforms, and then onto the glacier itself.

It’s really hard to describe what a view from that high is like. It’s not like being in a plane at all, especially since the top of a mountain isn’t pressurized. It was another one of those sad times of being so out of breath (in this case because the air is so thin) that you’re dizzy and about to pass out. And then getting pushed out of the way by some 80 year old lady who’s trying to get around you. The most striking thing is just how bright the sun’s reflection on the snow is. For the most part you’re actually above the clouds, so there’s nothing stopping the glare. It’s tons of fun to slip and slide around on the ice – which was a little different than when we did this in New Zealand since here we were just in regular shoes. Am I a bad husband for secretly wanting Joy to take a little tumble while she was showing off? Guess that’s not a secret anymore…

Sadly, there was no magical way to get down from the top. A helicopter would have been handy, but instead it was three more trains and about three hours to the bottom. As luck would have it – and it always does – we managed to get sandwiched in between an Italian family with an impossible amount of children. No problem since we had our headphones, but it got a little awkward trying to look out the windows since it appeared like we were staring at their children. When we did finally make it down we had a nice ten minute break before dinner with Debs, Ethan and Liam. Just another day in the life of a Wandering Walker! How much longer did I say we have again..?