Breathtaking in more ways than one!
Written: May 29 '00 (Updated May 03 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Where else will you ever get the chance to walk in an iceberg?
Cons: Can be a bit pricey if you let it.
The Bottom Line: As long as you live you will never regret going here.
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| tralfaz7's Full Review: Jungfrau Region |
The Jungfrau region is one of the most beautiful places on the planet earth! Every stereotypical picture you have ever seen of German speaking mountain regions holds true for this area. You will see chalet after chalet with flower boxes from every window on the side of beautiful snow capped mountains. If you are nature lover at all, Jungfrau is for you.
Jungfrau is a mountain, the highest in Europe, not a town. The place to stay, if you can afford it, is Grindelwald. Grindelwald is the base of operations for the train running to the top of Jungfrau, more on that later. There are 2-3 hostels in Grindelwald but you MUST call ahead in order to get a room there. Take my word for it, call ahead. It is the only way to get in unless you are the luckiest person in the world. If you are lucky enough get a room at one of the hostels in town, GET DETAILED DIRECTIONS! Write them down in great detail! None of them are really close to the train station and the air is very thin. If you are lugging around your bags looking for these places you will regret it! The walkways are concrete but turn to stone once you get close to the hostels. It may not seem like you are walking on a path that is on a down slope but you probably are! If you get lost and have to backtrack you WILL be sorry! You never realize how steep a path is while you are walking down it, it kills you when you have to walk back up.
If you cannot or do not want to get into a hostel there are several hotels right near the train station. They are all very nice, clean, and include a big buffet breakfast of good food! However, they are not cheap! They range between $100-$170 per night but are worth it if you have the money. The rooms have TV's, big bathrooms, phones, a desk, and the most beautiful view you will ever see from a hotel room in Europe! If you are willing to spend and extra $20-$30 for a room you will get one with a mountain view and a balcony. If you can afford to stay in a hotel spend the extra money for the view! You can always shave off a few dollars from your food budget! It is worth it!
Food prices are all over the place. If you want to eat at a really nice, expensive restaurant there are plenty of them around. If you are looking to save a few bucks because you bought the mountain view, you can eat a huge portion of spaghetti for about $4-$5 at any moderately prices eatery. Just because you didn't pay a lot for it doesn't mean it isn't good. These people know how to eat!
The pubs in town are very friendly and the beer is cheap and delicious! Try are many as you feel comfortable drinking! If you are staying in a hotel you won't have very far to walk, if you are staying in a hostel they have bars near them too, you won't miss out.
But let's be honest, you aren't going there for the food or the beer. You are going there for the view! For the mountain. Your eyes will deceive you! You will look up the mountain and think, "it isn't that far up there." It is! Some people walk up quite a ways to Kleine Scheidegg, some of them are older people, and seeing this may make you think you can do it too. You can't! Unless you spent your life in the mountains or are a LONG DISTANCE runner, don't try. Buy a ticket for the train, sit back and enjoy the ride. It takes about a half hour to forty-five minutes to get to Kleine Scheidegg by train. Looking at it, you would never think it would take that long but it does. Once there, you will have to switch trains to go to the top. The view from here is breathtaking enough but you are only half way there. You can eat, they have a restaurant there but you would be better off just buying a bratworst from the little stand there. They are cheap and you don't want to be full when you get to the top. Just a bit more about Kleine Scheidegg; it is not a town or a village. All that is there is a train station and some houses, nothing else. Eat a little, then hop on the train for the top.
The ride to the top is long a steep! It takes another forty-five minutes to one hour at a forty-five degree angle to get there. About two-thirds of the trip is in a tunnel carved into the mountain. Once you get to the tunnel there is nothing to see. You will want to bring something to read. Twice, on your way up, the train will stop and let you off at lookout points where you can see out windows overlooking the glacier there. These stops are a nice way to wet your whistle for the top.
When you do reach the top be careful! If you are not used to high altitudes you will be light headed! It is not uncommon to see someone pass out or vomit in trash cans. Walk slowly and deliberately, never run. You may think you can take it but unless you are used to it, you cannot. The station up there is the highest train station in the world and the view is unlike anything you will see anywhere else on the planet. You can go outside and feel how cold it is, you can sit and look out the windows and marvel, you can buy all kinds of over priced souvenirs, or you can go into the Ice Palace. The Ice Palace is a gigantic ice sculpture carved right into the glacier. It is something to see but watch your step--it is ice. The one thing I did that I thought was pretty cool was to call home from the top. There is one phone booth there and most people don't use it because they are enjoying the view. It's just an idea.
An important thing to remember is to dress warmly! No matter what the temperature is in Grindelwald you can bet the house that it will be freezing up top. There is a glacier up there that has never melted, so do the math!
Jungfrau is one of the most beautiful places on earth! It is something to see and something you will never forget. The view will take your breath away, in more ways that one.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tralfaz7
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Member: Derek Hunter
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 7 members
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