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Jaw-Dropping Journeys in the Swiss Alps


Swiss Alps

Swiss Alps: Kleine Scheidegg, Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn

The Swiss Alps. From a base in Wengen, you can take the cogwheel railway all the way to the Jungfraujoch – it’s a truly jaw-dropping journey. Or simply explore the Kleine Scheidegg Region with its many attractions. Or make the awesome cableway journey to the Schilthorn?

Kleine Scheidegg, Jungfraujoch, Schilthorn

Jungfraujoch – ’Top of Europe’

Being on top of europe was one of the best experiences of my lifetime…                                                                 pictures didn’t justify how incredible the scenes were”

Jungfraujoch (Top of Europe) is not only a jaw-droppingly awesome place in the Swiss Alps but the incredible cogwheel journey up through a wonderful mountainscape is a Must-Do (pictured is the Sphinx on the mountain saddle). From Wengen, the Wengernalp Railway wends its way through dense pine forest and across snowy alp, first to Wengernalp and then on to the Scheidegg. From here a short hop brings you up close to the Eiger Glacier, not to mention the wall of rock that is the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau massif itself. From here begins a journey through the famous Eiger itself, a mountain that has challenged mountaineers throughout this century and the last. The train makes a short stop from which to see the ‘sea of ice’ from within the Eiger itself. At the Jungfraujoch, feast your eyes on the Swiss Alps in all their glory. Sliding away below is a carpet of ice and Four-Thousander peaks pierce the carpet of ice, soaring up into the blue.

Skiing Jungfrau Region

Kleine Scheidegg

The areas of Kleine Scheidegg and Fallboden are mostly featured in the spreads above. For instance, a section of the really beautiful walking trail/sledge run up/down to Eigergletscher is imaged on page 5. As you can see from these images, this whole section of the Swiss Alps is a revelation. Simply scanning the horizon and scrunching the snow underfoot can lift the self to another plane. Kleine Scheidegg is definitely a buzzing ski-hub in the winter months. Ski slopes, lifts and train transport criss-cross the Lauberhorn and Eiger and connect them with the resorts of Wengen and Grindelwald. After a day outdoors in the Swiss Alps, you can ski, sledge or walk down the mountain to Wengen where your Alpine Holiday Services’ apartment awaits. Journey to the high spot of Piz Gloria and Schilthorn tomorrow.

Stunning Sights in the Swiss Alps – Mönch Mountain and the Eiger Glacier

The Mönch Mountain is the middle one of the trio of mountains that form an impressive wall of rock and ice. But it’s no less intriguing for that. Poets and musicians have been inspired by these Swiss Alps for centuries.Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) saw grandeur in the particular, and his down-to-earth similes both surprise and please; a counterpoint to ‘Romantic’ prose.
‘Then one of their beauties is nearly vertical places the fine pleatings of the snow running to or from one another, like the newness of lawn in an alb and sometimes cut off short as crisp as celery.’ 

Swiss Alps Glacier

Stellar Sledging in the Swiss Alps

Sledging is exhilarating, sledging is fun; enjoy the Swiss Alpine landscape at speed! 

Swiss Alps Sledding

Wengen Resort

Have fun sledging on the Wengen village nursery slopes. Here you are never far from the warmth and the backdrop of the Jungfrau Mountain makes for a stunning venue to enjoy both sledging and ice skating or even curling. 

sledging-wengen

Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen

Or have fun sledging down the mountain from Kleine Scheidegg or from Wengernalp, just over half way up. This long sledge run dives down the mountain, across  snowy alp and through dense pine forest. What better way to enjoy the Swiss Alps, ‘en famille’. And you can stop off at Wengernalp and indulge yourself with refreshments in the traditional hostelry of Hotel Jungfrau Wengernalp.Imagine sitting out on the snowy terrace (champagne on ice?) and imagine you are lucky enough to catch the small flutters of snow in their headlong plummetting down the steep rock faces of the Jungfrau opposite. Booking is recommended if you are intending to dine.

Jungfrau Region Winter

Eigergletscher to Scheidegg

If you are looking for an added frisson, we recommend the newly-prepared run down from Eigergletscher to Kleine Scheidegg with its breathtaking twists and turns. Not to mention the rock faces of the Swiss Bernese Alps rising into the blue, their snowy peaks glistening in the sunshine (we hope). 

Eigergletscher skiing Swiss alps

Faulhorn to Bussalp

It is said to be the longest sledge run in Europe and it certainly combines stamina with fun. Situated in the  First-Faulhorn Region, the run ends at Bussalp, a very scenic mountain hamlet above Grindelwald. The start? Climb up from the First Cableway top station and across to the Bachalpsee. (from around this point a shorter sledge run is sometimes open). From there, if the trail and run is open, the way winds upwards to a little below the Faulhorn summit where you will find the downward route marked clearly. The scenery from this high vantage point is stupendous, enjoy the Jungfrau massif, one of the jewels of the Swiss Alps, as you climb.Check in advance, at  journey’s end, Bussalp, the Bergrestaurant  might  have a warming fondue on the menu. Then it’s transport on to Grindelwald by bus; be sure to check the online timetable.

Swiss Alps

Sledge Hire

Sledges can be hired from many different sources depending on the run you choose. Central Sport in Wengen hire out sledges to our guests with a 10% discount. 

Wengen to Scheidegg

Energising Eats in the Swiss Alps

There are so many unique options when it comes to dining out in the Jungfrau Region and so many breathtaking vistas of the Swiss Alps to gaze out at. So it’s a hard act to know where to start our tour of energising eateries.  Pictured above is the little community of the Scheidegg, a Clapham Junction of the Swiss Alps if you will. 

Hotel Bellevue des Alpes

Lashings of Belle Époque style is to be found at the Hotel Bellevue des Alpes. This charming hotel with a to-die-for terrace offers fine views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau Mountains. And its history is fascinating.‘The mule train which carried goods and guests up from the two valleys either side of the Scheidegg, a climb of some 1000 metres, were also part of the successful solution to the logistics problem. The inn “Zur Gemse” became known as the “Bellevue Hotel” and – long before the railway was built in 1893 – business  boomed… Alongside the Hotel Bellevue they built the Hotel des Alpes. In 1893 Zürich tycoons built the Wengernalp Railway from Lauterbrunnen over the Scheidegg to Grindelwald. And in 1912 the Zürich banker-engineer and multitalent Guyer-Zeller constructed the highest railway line in the Alps, through the Eiger mountain up to the Jungfraujoch. So it was goodbye to the mules.     scheidegg-hotels.ch

Bergrestaurant Kleine Scheidegg

Find the Bergrestaurant Kleine Scheidegg at the train station on the Scheidegg. It also enjoys a sunny aspect, including the late afternoon sun slaking across the terrace which, besides, faces the iconic trio of mountains.

Restaurant Eigernordwand

Restaurant Eigernordwand has extensive indoor and outdoor seating. Newly built, it is in a prime location for viewing, as you might expect, the North Wall of the Eiger.

The Grindelwaldblick

The Grindelwaldblick is ideal if skiing down the black run from the top of the Lauberhorn or perhaps climb up to this scenic height from Kleine Scheidegg?

Start Bar

For skiers, the Start Bar is the real deal. At the top of the Wixi chairlift, take a moment to take in the beauty of the Swiss Alps from this world famous location. It takes its name from the ‘Starting Hut’ for the International Lauberhorn Downhill Ski Races which is close by.  

Eigergletscher Eateries

Eigergletscher Station is now a much more popular location. Not only is it the end station of the Eiger Express from Terminal but also its a way-station to the Jungfraujoch and enjoys a high mountainscape all its own. Here there are two eateries – Skibar Schreinerei and Restaurant Eigergletscher which overlooks the fascinating Eiger moraine.

Piz Gloria, Schilthorn

Piz Gloria revolves slowly at 2970m, on the summit of the Schilthorn mountain of Bond Film fame.  From here, It is said that 200 peaks can be made out on a clear day. This is a momentous venue in which to celebrate a special event, anniversary or birthday. You can of course simply indulge yourself without excuse.

Eating on First, Grindelwald

Berggasthaus First is at the top of the First-Grindelwald Cableway, adjacent to the Cliff Walk, another high spot of the region.  Berghaus Bort and Bergrestaurant Schreckfeld are other options located at the interim stations of the Grindelwald-First Cableway.

Vivifying Wengen

The charismatic and charming resort of Wengen has enabled dreams for centuries. Situated in the very beating heart of the Jungfrau Region, it offers an ideal base from which to explore the entire beautiful region. Like a ‘Memory Maker Machine’, countless families have sojourned here over the years and have squirrelled away so many echoes of the place.  Just one more time they cry!I have a calendar featuring photographs taken in the 1930s. Those faces look out to me from their historic world, from their heritage railway carriage. They look out across the years to me in my 21st century realm. They look into the future and I into the past. We have both seen the same timeless mountains.Lyricism aside, planning a holiday in the Jungfrau Region is worth the crack. Alpine Holiday Services offers a wide range of unique apartments in this World Cup Village perched on a plateau between the towering Jungfrau Mountain and the unrelenting flatness of the valley floor. Etch it in your memory, book now at alpineholidayservices.chWellness Walks in the Swiss Alps

Wengen to Scheidegg to Fallboden, Männlichen and Eigergletscher

I love to make my annual pilgrimmage along these mountain tracks. With my knapsack on my back as the song goes. Although many people walk downhill I prefer the vigour of the uphill challenge. Unique trails, each with their own ‘loveable bits’.I like to hike from Wengen to the Scheidegg. Another favourite is from the Scheidegg to Männlichen or the reverse. The twisted old pines in particular resonate with time-worn stories of blizzards, winds and blessed sunshine. The trail to Fallboden Reservoir and Eigergletscher holds so many visual moments in my memory. The landscape is never the same no matter how many times one sees it.



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