The Roof of Europe

We'd been checking the weather reports for the last 36 hours. Would it be clear enough to make the trip to the Jungfraujoch worth the extra price of the ticket? It would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a special train up to the "Roof of Europe," but would be pointless if the weather were overcast.

We were in luck: it's a bright, sunny day as the duck leads the way to the train at Interlaken Ost for our trip to the village of Grindelwald and the Jungfraujoch mountain via the Kleine Scheidegg. Passing the airport at Interlaken, we see the remains of a weekend festival being cleaned up to make the airport useable again. Apparently, everyone attending had a great time listening to the bands and other entertainment.

The cog railway winds its way through the Black Forest countryside, moving ever upward. Grindelwald sits at 3400 feet in the Bernese Alps and has about 3800 inhabitants. From most anywhere in town you can see the glacier, Kleine Scheidegg, looming above you on the mountainside.

We take a walk "slightly uphill, about 10 minutes" to the quaint little Grindelwald Museum. The museum sits next to a lovely church where we can hear the service going on, as it's Sunday morning. 

The museum gives us a view of early life from Alpine living to rescue teams and equipment. This area was very popular with the English and others who vacationed and often took up the challenges of the various peaks. Peggy zeroed in on the fabrics, dresses and weaving artifacts while David took an interest in the bicycle-like ski vehicle. A modern version made from wood is available but would have been difficult to stuff in a backpack or suitcase for the trip home.

After a tour of the museum, we enjoyed another great luncheon at the restaurant "Hirschen" in Grindelwald with local dishes at tables next to open windows looking out over the town and surrounding mountains. It was a perfect day - - almost.

We will now take a short intermission before the film on Jungfraujoch for a brief look at the Swiss Medical System and how it operates. For those of you who don't know, Peggy tripped and fell on the way downhill to get our tickets for Jungfraujoch tour. (As of this writing, Peggy is doing fine and the last scan has shown the epidural hematoma on her brain re-absorbed by 85%.) I was getting bottled water in a local market for our trip when Rauati came running up to tell me what happened. I was greeted by a very badly bruised and bleeding Peggy with EMT's caring for her.

A local doctor was called to her office and arrived as we did by ambulance. Holding Peggy's hand and telling her for the umpteenth time that everything's going to be okay and I was there to take care of her, the doctor looked for approval that I wasn't going to be fazed by blood and stitches. Eight of them later (two in her upper lip outside and six inside) I had learned a new surgeon's knot tying for my fly fishing hobby. After a tetanus shot, some prescriptions, and taking care of the expenses, the ambulance crew gave us a ride to the train to Interlaken and we walked the mile back to our hotel to rest and begin to recover.

The problem in Europe is that they seemingly don't believe in ice. We got some cold packs at the pharmacy, but can you believe a hotel with no ice?

The next morning we would leave Interlaken and travel to Brig. A little battered and sore, Peggy would make a quick trip to a gift shop near the Interlaken train station for some oversized "movie star" sunglasses to try and disguise the bruised cheek and swollen lip. 

Now for the movie. They say that adversity brings people closer together. I'll never forget Peggy saying I should "go ahead" and my reply - "I'm your husband; this is where I belong. I love you and would never leave without you."

Ours was a great honeymoon.

First, a quick overview of Grindelwald:

And the Jungfraujoch (and now you've seen as much of it as we have!)