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It was another late start but as I looked out the window the sky was clear and sunny. Because the day was perfect Jac & I decided that we were going to head to Jungfraujoch, better known as the top of Europe. We had been searching for a cheap way to do this however it looked like we would just have to fork out the cash. We headed down to the train station to get tickets and found if we caught the last train up we could save £30 each. So we bought our tickets from the station at the bottom of Grindelwald, known as Grum, then headed back in to town to buy a few supplies for the trip. Jo & Sharif decided to explore the town so we said our goodbyes and headed back to board the train. It was a two part journey. The first train was to Kleine Scheidegg which was at the base of the Eiger mountain. When I say train it is actaully a cog railway, as normal trains would not be able to climb the side of a mountain. The journey up to the first stop was just under an hour and we had a whole carriage to ourselves. The views of the Eiger as well as back down the valley and Grindelwald were absolutely amazing. The fact it was a perfect sunny day just added to our whole experience and we knew that we couldnt have chosen a better day for this. We grabbed a feed of potatos and sausages to renew our energy, then wandered around taking plenty of photos as we filled in the 1.5 hours until our next train. We proceeded to climb aboard when it arrived for the best part of our journey. It was about an hours trip and went right through the mountain. It did stop at 5 points on the way through for quick photo ops in small areas excavated from the side of the mountain. Here everyone piled out, clicked furiously, then jumped back on board worried that the train would leave without them. The rest of the journey was in the tunnel and we watch a video about a Swiss mountaineer who climbed the north face of the Eiger in 2 and a bit hours. That is just impossible to comprehend. Finally we arrived at the top and made our way to what is known as the sphinx. It is the lookout and highest point we would be able to use. So as we stepped outside the chilly 1 degree hit us and made us breathless. What really took our breath away though was the views. Here we were standing on the roof of Europe, looking over the Alps. We could see Germany and France. We didnt know which direction though as they didnt have it sign posted. We spent a while taking photos and trying to take it in knowing we would probably never have a view like this again in our lives. As we stood there, with Jac shivering, a little black bird came squarking in and landed on the rail. It moved back and force making its presence known to everyone, no doubt waiting for food that it probably received in large amounts. After a while we headed back inside and down a level to wander through the ice palace, with Jac shivering, before making our way on to snow. Here we took even more snaps, as Jac shivered, and just enjoyed the power of nature, feeling like we have seen something very special. It was nearly time to grab the last train back down so we took one last look and headed in to board the train. As we made our way back through the tunnel we marvelled how they built this railway at the end of the 1800's in about 12 years. Very very impressive. On the trip back down we managed to see mountain goats and a different aspect to the mountain as the evening set in. Finally it was all over and we disembarked and jumped back in the car. The town was quiet but we made our way back home as Sharif cooked an awesome meal, and we settled in for a lovely evening. The heater was on and the drinks began to flow. And guess what? Jac wasn't shivering any more.
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