This is part 2 of our trip to the Top of Europe … continuing with our train journey from Interlaken up to Jungfraujoch … see our earlier post here.
We stopped briefly at Kleine Scheidegg to change train again.
Located at Kleine Scheidegg is the Hotel Bellevue des Alpes (building behind the souvenir store). Built in 1840, the Bellevue des Alpes was last extended and renovated in 1948. Apparently, many great mountaineers of the 20th century as well as sports and entertainment celebrities have stayed in this hotel.
The mountain air was fresh and the visibility was great. Looking around, there was much drama in the scenaries around us. Try this musical piece that match the mood.
The Kleine Scheidegg railway station serves the two rack railways, the Wengernalpbahn (since 1893) and the Jungfraubahn (since 1896), allowing passengers to change trains.
The Wengernalpbahn has two branches: one begins at Grindelwald; the other commences at Lauterbrunnen and climbs to the pass via Wengen (the one we were on).
Click this pictorial map to get the full page image. You will better appreciate what the mountains and the area offer in terms of activities and vistas. Can you find Kleine Scheidegg ?
The Jungfraubahn runs 9 kilometres long from Kleine Scheidegg almost entirely within a tunnel built into the Eiger and Mönch mountains and contains three stations, while two are inside the tunnel.
The journey from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch takes approximately 50 minutes including the stops at Eigerwand and Eismeer; the downhill return journey taking only 35 minutes.
To better appreciate the scale, see the earlier train that departed Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch (photo below).
The first stop is at Eigergletscher at 2,320 m (7,612 ft). There is hardly anything here except the entrance of the tunnel, summer pastures, and mountain fresh air.
No one got off here. With an open window, it was just open vista and the sky.
Fallbodensee, a small pond that can be later seen clearly from the top.
In case you are wondering, our trip was taken in early September. Seasonal snow had not fallen yet.
In the photo below, we think that it is Wengen in the distance – the resort village we passed through a little while ago.
… then we entered into the mountain via a long dark tunnel.
Eigerwand
Eigerwand is an underground (or more aptly under-mountain) railway station situated at 2,864 m (9,396 ft). The only access to the station, other than by train, is a door in the sheer face of the mountain. This exit has, on occasion, been used to rescue mountaineers stranded on the mountain.
The station is situated just behind the famous north wall of the Eiger, and its principal purpose is to allow passengers to observe the breathtaking view through a series of windows carved into the rock face. The holes were used to remove excavated rock from the tunnel during construction. The photos below were taken from the giant windows through thick glass.
Uphill trains stop at the station for five minutes; we got off to take in the panormic view through the giant viewing windows. One can see Fallbodensee and Kleine Scheidegg in the pictures above and below.
That’s how much we climbed in only a short while. The uphill journey continues to the summit in our next post here.
Originally posted on April 10, 2014. Last updated in November 2022.