Switzerland's Jungfraujoch Railway Station

JUNGFRAUJOCH RAILWAY - TOP OF EUROPE

Alps Views and Eiger Windows:

The Jungfrau, the Mönch and Eiger are three Alps peaks joined into one solid mountain ridge massif which divides the Bernese Oberland Alps from the southern range.  The Eiger is perhaps the most famous of the mountains, known for its treacherous North Face for mountain climbers.  This mountain is also famous for its windows looking out on the permanent snows clinging to the steep crags.  The windows of the Eiger are remnants of the building of the Jungfrau Railway to the Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe.  Conceived by German engineer and visionary Adolf Guyer-Zeller, the Jungfrau Bahn Railway was begun in 1894 and completed in 1912.  The rack rail line for most of its entire length, except for a distance from the Klein Sheidegg station, runs inside the mountain, tunnelling mostly through the Mönch and Eiger mountains before reaching its terminus below the 'saddle' or 'joch' between the peaks with the weather station, restaurant and observation building above called 'The Sphinx' - the Jungfraujoch Rail station is inside the rock.
 

As the train travels through the tunnels of rock, a movie plays on screens telling the story of the ingenious railway, its construction and details about climbers on the Eiger and about the Aletsch Glacier which cloaks the mountain crags.  Visitors are most curious about the windows in the Eiger mountain, made famous in the 'Eiger Sanction' film with Clint Eastwood.  The train makes a stop at the windows so visitors can disembark for five minutes to peer out the side of the sheer face of a mountain.  The windows are remnants of the construction tunnels.  There are two sets at different elevations, the lower set allows views into the distance to the valleys below, the upper level at the Eismeer station look out onto the high crags and cliff face, usually covered in ice.  The train stops at each before arriving at the Jungfraujoch station.
 

At the Jungfraujoch station, there are a few activities to entertain visitors.  The view deck of metal overhanging the edges of the building below the Sphinx Observatory Dome look out across the glacial ice to the long mountain valleys crowded with jagged peaks.  Depending on the weather, you’ll stay her for a long or short time.  When the sun is out, there is perhaps few more impressive mountain views but when the very changeable weather is bad, it can be a daunting experience outside.  Behind the outdoor deck are full view windows in case outdoors is not the best idea.  There is a restaurant and a snack bar to while away some time along with a souvenir shop and a little history corner with a model of the first rack railway trains which climbed through the mountain.  Underneath the Sphinx and the station, an elevator ride down into the perpetual cool is the Ice Palace, a cavern carved from the ice of the glacier.  Tunnels of glistening ice and sculptures fill the cavity, even sometimes a stairway into an upper chamber, lit by coloured light in a translucent iridescence.  Since this is glacial ice, it needs to be re-carved from time to time so it’s never exactly the same if you go back again.
 

Prepare for a minimum of at least three hours for a trip to the Jungfraujoch starting from Interlaken Ost station and return.  A good half day is more leisurely if you have lunch.  If you want to make other stops in Grindelwald or Kleine Sheidegg, you will need to allow more time particularly if the weather allows for venturing out onto the outdoor trail of the Walking Plateau for the best views back towards the Sphinx.  There is not a lot of hiking otherwise and no skiing or sporting centre.  The air is a bit thin at the 11,330 ft altitude although not quite as high as the Klein Matterhorn on the southern range - the elderly and breathing impaired should take note.  A ticket for the Jungfraujoch Railway trip includes the connections needed from Interlaken and you can take one of two routes on the way up either via Grindelwald or through Lauterbrunnen.  It is possible to take one direction up and the other on the way down - with a Swiss Pass or other Eurail Pass the Jungfraujoch offers a 25% discount.

You Are What You Think

Everything you are is determined by your thoughts.  All the past experiences you have had up to this point in your life exist in your thoughts.  Your entire future from this point on exists only in your thoughts.  You've probably grown accustomed to thinking of yourself as your body however, you are more thought than you are physical substance.  Your thoughts are what define you not the molecules and atoms that you happen to carry around with you.  Your thoughts are what allow you to relate to the world and to the other people in it. 

Your thoughts are what control every aspect of your life.  All of your behaviour results from the thoughts you think.  If you are not satisfied with your behaviour or your performance then all you have to do is change your thoughts and you will change your behaviour.  This is what many people refer to as visualisation.

Here are four basic principles from Dr Wayne Dyer that will help to put your thoughts to work for you:

Your actions come from your images.  If you constantly picture something in your mind, you will naturally move toward that thing.  Whatever you see yourself doing, you will do it.  Your circumstances do not determine what your life will be - they reveal the kind of images you have chosen up until now.

Tell yourself that everything you visualise is already here.  Think about the concept that there is really no such thing as time.  When you visualise something then it already exists for you.  Your job is simply to bring it from the world of thought to the world of form. 

Be willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.  Trying hard is not enough, being determined is not enough, giving it your 'best shot' is not enough.  Everything that you can visualise is already waiting for you to be connected to it.  Your willingness to do whatever it takes is what will make that connection. 

Realise there is no such thing as failure - you only produce results.  The concept of failure is based on someone's opinion of how you could have done.  You cannot fail, it is not possible - you always produce results.  If they're not the results you desire then you need to go back and examine your thoughts to see why they are leading you in the wrong direction.  

Visualisation is so powerful because your thoughts are at the very core of your essence - in fact, you are your thoughts.  To change anything in your life, all that's needed is a change in thought and a commitment to do whatever it takes to bring that thought into being.

By Ralph Marston 

Places You'd Never Believe Were In Scotland

France?

This fairytale castle might look like a French château or Bavarian palace but it’s actually Dunrobin Castle, the seat of the Earl of Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands.  It owes its continental appearance to Sir Charles Barry who extensively remodelled the castle and grounds in the early 1800's. 

The Rainforest?

It might look Amazonian but this pretty gorge is actually Puck’s Glen near Dunoon in the west of Scotland.  The tumbling, rocky burn that runs through the glen is criss-crossed by pretty wooden bridges giving it a real Lord of the Rings style charm.

Copenhagen?

Not quite - this is The Shore in Leith which used to be a separate town but was merged with Edinburgh in 1920 even though Leithers voted 26,810 to 4,340 against the Union.  These days, it’s usually referred to as Edinburgh’s Port.

Norway?

Although the Northern Lights do put on some of their most spectacular displays over Scandinavia, the aurora is also visible in northern parts of the Scottish mainland as well as Shetland and Orkney where the lights are known as the Merry Dancers.

The Caribbean?

The white sands and turquoise sea of the Luskentyre Peninsula might look like something you’d find in Antigua but this beach is actually situated on the spectacular west coast of South Harris in the Outer Hebrides.  This image was taken by Scottish photographer Tim Winterburn - you can buy a print here

Sydney?

This croissant like building isn’t Sydney Opera House - it’s actually the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow.  The SECC recently played host to a wide range of Commonwealth Games events - eat your heart out, Australia.

Malta?

The crenellated, palm fringed battlements of Culzean Castle look exotic but this particular fortress is based in South Ayrshire not the Mediterranean.  If it looks familiar, that might be because it was used as the castle of Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) in the cult 1973 film The Wicker Man

Venezuela?

This huge waterfall isn’t tumbling from a Central American plateau - it’s the 60 metre high Mealt Falls on the Isle of Skye.  The imposing cliffs in the background is Kilt Rock, a rocky outcrop with vertical basalt columns said to resemble a pleated kilt.

The Alps?

This sunrise shot was actually taken from the summit of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles and a popular destination for climbers.  The other peaks in view include Bidean Nam Bian, a long ridge on the south side of Glencoe.  Its name means pinnacle of the mountains.

Vienna?

These pretty red and white houses might look like the sort of picture postcard backdrop you’d find in Austria but they’re actually Ramsay Garden, a block of private apartment buildings situated right next to Edinburgh Castle.  They were built in 1733 by a poet and wigmaker called Allan Ramsay, the Elder.

Italy?

Almost - this is the Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm, a small uninhabited island in Orkney.  It’s also referred to as the Prisoners’ Chapel as it was built by Italian prisoners of war held on the island during World War II.

India?

This is actually Logan Botanic Garden in Dumfries & Galloway at the south western tip of Scotland.  The area is warmed by the Gulf Stream, making it the perfect place to cultivate southern hemisphere plants like eucalypts, rhododendrons and chusan palms.

Peru?

It’s actually Glencoe, one of Scotland’s most famous and arresting locations.  Like parts of the Andes, Glencoe was formed by an ancient super volcano which left a huge crater when it erupted in the Silurian period.  It was carved into its current shape by glaciers during the last ice age.

Winterfell?

It might look like a CGI set from Game of Thrones but this is actually Dunnottar Castle, a ruined medieval fortress on a well defended headland near Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire.  Its Scottish Gaelic name is Dùn Fhoithear or Fort on the Shelving Slope.