Grindelwald is a small alpine village perched at 1,034 m (3,392 ft) above sea level in the Swiss Bern Canton. It was first mentioned in 1146 and is now a famous tourist destination due to its location below the north face of the Eiger Mountain. The village is a great venue for alpine climbers, hikers, hang gliders, and tourists like me. Some of you may remember the 1975 movie thriller “The Eiger Sanction” staring Clint Eastwood which has spectacular vistas of the mountain.
(Our hotel)
My wife and I drove to Grindelwald and stayed at a local small hotel with restaurant above the village along with curious livestock.
We had daily gorgeous unobstructive views of the Eiger with cool fresh alpine breezes on our balcony while watching the many hang gliders in action.
Our ultimate destination was to see the Jungfraujoch and its glacier at over 11,000 feet. Jungfraujoch is a snow saddle located directly between the summits of Mathildespitze (west) and Sphinx (east) and the lowest point between the Jungfrau and the Mönch mountains. Modern folklore has it that the Monk (Mönch) guards the Virgin (Jungfrau) from the Ogre (Eiger).
Dressing for freezing temperatures at the mountain top, we boarded a Grindelwald train which took us to the Kleine Scheidegg summit railway station at 6,762feet. There we changed trains and boarded the Jungfrau Railway which is a rack railway and the highest railway not only in Switzerland, but all of Europe. The railway runs essentially within the Jungfrau Tunnel, built into the neighboring Eiger and Mönch, to protect the line from snow and extreme weather.
The Jungfrau Tunnel has stops where passengers can disembark for a short time to observe the neighboring mountains through rock windows built into the mountainside. The lower one, Eigerwand, gives access to windows in the north face of the Eiger. The upper one, Eismeer, gives access to windows in the east face of the Eiger, overlooking the Eismeer (the "sea of ice"). Diane and I disembarked at these “tunnel windows” for some spectacular experiences. When we finally arrived at the top, we were rewarded with magnificent mountaintop spectacles.
Grindelwald is a charming village with local craft shops and delicious restaurants.
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