One week in Interlaken – Day 5

Day 5 – Wednesday 26th July 2018

Today was a super busy day after our much more relaxing one yesterday. Early in the morning we headed to Interlaken East station to make the most of the day. We purchased tickets that took us from this station up to Jungfraujoch – a saddle between Jungfrau and Mönch mountains 3,466 metres above sea level.

We had to get a couple of connecting trains up the mountain, first getting off at Grindelwald and then again at Kleine Scheidigg. Here we changed to a cog train that took us the rest of the way up the mountain. At one stage the train stopped for a few minutes actually inside the mountain, and we were allowed to get out and see how the tunnels were built and to get our first views from the top which you could see through a glass wall built into the side.

Eventually we made it to the top, and we realised that our adventures had only just begun. There is a special tour route through the many exhibitions and activities both inside and outside. We found ourselves flying over the Alps thanks to a 360 degree cinema; braving the cold and venturing into a beautiful ice palace filled with intricately detailed ice sculptures; and traipsing around the highest Lindt chocolate shop in the world whilst choosing what treats to take home with us (the pick and mix Lindt balls were a firm favourite).

For me, the most exciting part of the morning was actually going out onto the glacier, which was a pretty surreal experience. You would expect it to be really cold outside but actually it was quite pleasant, I had on a long sleeved top and 2 hoodies and was fine! We all had a bit of a snowball fight which was really cool (no pun intended), before we began to make our way back down the mountain.

We caught the cog train back down to Elgergletscher which is actually the stop before Kleine Scheidigg. My dad had found what promised to be a lovely alpine walk down the mountain which wasn’t too steep and had great views – it certainly delivered. It is about a half hour walk between the two, but we decided to stop about halfway have have some lunch we had packed.

Once we arrived at Kleine Scheidigg, we caught the train back to Grindlewald, then a gondola up to Grindlewald-First to encounter probably the most exhilarating part of the holiday…

There are loads of activities to try in this area, click here to view their website and prices. We as a family settled on having a ride on the First Flyer. These are basically big seats that you are strapped into, then the gates open and you zoom down the side of the mountain from First to Schreckfeld along a 800m long cable. It is said you can reach speeds of up to 84 kilometers per hour! What I do know though is that everyone loved it, even my dad who is scared of heights said he would do it again (as long as he didn’t look straight down!).

Next up was the First Glider. Mum and I being the more adventurous out of the four of us were the only ones who were up for this. When you first look at it, it looks the same as the Flyer, but its when you look closer that you realise the people are hanging onto the eagle frame in a hang glider style. After being suited up into some particularly fashionable gear, we were strapped to the eagle. After a countdown, we were flung backwards at a speed of 72km/hr up to First. Then, we are released and flew back down to the base at 83km/hr, which was incredible and the views were fantastic.

Although these activities weren’t cheap, if you can I would highly recommend doing at least one of them because it truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Unfortunately we didn’t get time to walk onto the First Cliff Walk by Tissot, which sticks out 45m from the cliff and apparently boasts the best views of the area. This was the only thing I regret not being able to do of the whole holiday.

Only 2 more days to go now… Stay tuned!

Happy travelling!

Zoe and David x

Written by Zoe