We arrived by train from Lucerne in the early afternoon. Quickly depositing our luggage, we caught the ferry on Lake Thun and went to visit the small town of Thun, seeing other small towns or settlements, castles and beautiful mountain visitas along the way.
There is a castle in Thun that is often open to the public but unfortunately, it wasn't on this day so we strolled around the town soaking up the ambiance and culture. Thun is different than either Lucerne or Interlacken, not seeming to us to be quite so European, but nice just the same. Finding a restaurant, we stayed to have dinner before taking the ferry back to Interlacken.
The next day we took the train to Jungfrauloch Mountain. At 13,642 feet, it is advertised as being the Top of Europe, and literally is the highest point in all of Europe. On the way up the mountain, there are three brief stops, two having observations windows for viewing the breathtaking beauty of the Swiss Mountains. The train chugs its way passed meadows and countryside and into a six km tunnel travelling through the Eiger Mountain before emerging at Jungfrauloch, Europe's highest train station. At the top, on a clear day, one can see as far as the Vosgas Mountains in France and the Black Forest in Germany.
After leaving the train we went up to the restaurant, post office and souvenir shop where we had a quick lunch of spicy noodles, and then proceeded along a corridor to the Ice Palace which is nineteen meters below the surface. Caverns have been dug into the glacier which has been expanded upon periodically over the years. The ice sculptures include such things as bears, seals, igloos and an assortment of other animals. The entire cavern is ice, including the floor.
Leaving the Ice Palace, we followed the Sphinx Tunnel to an elevator and went up 107 meters to an observation deck where we could see the surrounding mountains covered in snow, and a 23 km river of ice which will eventually find its way to the Mediterranean. We went outside so as to be able to walk a little higher on this vast mountain, partly to say we had, and partly to reach the rise where the Swiss flag was perched, blowing briskly in the howling wind. It was extremely cold and sunglasses were definitely a necessity because of the glare from the sun on the snow and ice. We were fortunate that the stunning views were unbroken by clouds and bad weather. Never having been to such soaring heights on a mountain before, where the glaciers and snow are smooth, barren of any human footprints, it was hard to believe how truly beautiful the expanse of mountains were.
Returning by train to Interlacken, our fingers slowly thawed and our breathing became normal again. (We had been told that at that height, the air would be thin; two of us were able to feel the difference in our breathing while we were at the high elevation.) After arriving back, we explored the town a little.
Our accommodation while in Interlacken was a hostel beside the Aare River. It was clean, quite comfortable and we were within a short walk to both the train station and the ferry. Although German is the primary language spoken in this small town, we had no problems with communication. In fact in most places we've travelled, people have spoken enough English that we have had no difficulties.
When it was time to leave, we all agreed that Switzerland was a country to come back to again. But once more, we were taking our leave and would be travelling into Italy, the next phase of our European holiday.
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