Jungfraujoch day trip

Old Dec 12th, 2005, 10:03 AM
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Jungfraujoch day trip

We are staying in Kandersteg in July. I'd like to take my 13yr old to the Jungfrau (haven't been there since I was 8!). Suggestions on what to see up there- there seem to be many different attractions- and what to skip? I'd like to stop in Wengen on the way down (other ideas?) and would like to take an easy hike from that area. Suggestions?
Aside from those questions, how much time would you allow for this trip? I'm planning to get on an early train up to try to avoid some of the crowds I've been reading about.
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Old Dec 12th, 2005, 10:18 AM
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Hi ilana25841,

Well, you're going to have to get a *very* early train! If you leave at 7.53, you still won't get to Lauterbrunnen 09.40, and you'll probably already have a lot of company. The total time for the trip Kandersteg-Jungfraujoch will take 3h44, so if you leave at 07.53, you won't get to the Jungfraujoch until 11.37. This seems like a looong day trip.

Can you stay someplace closer, like Thun or Spiez?

Train schedules at www.rail.ch.

There have been a lot of good suggestions for hikes in the area -- you can do a text search here or someone soon will offer some.

Good luck!

s
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Old Dec 12th, 2005, 10:29 AM
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ok, maybe I need to rethink this. I'm committed to Kandersteg for part of the time. We're coming from paris via TGV to Bern. Perhaps, go from Bern to Wengen for one night to facilitate the Jungfrau day trip, then go on to Kandersteg. Thanks swandav.
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Old Dec 12th, 2005, 05:09 PM
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The SBB website confirms that 3 hours, 44 minutes is your shortest travel time from Kandersteg to the Jungfraujoch, with changes in Spiez, Interlaken Ost, Lauterbrunnen, and Kleine Scheidegg.

Given the long hours of daylight, I don't think it is a bad trip. After all, you are sitting for most of it.

Once at the Joch, walk the snow trail out to the hikers' shelter known as the Mönchsjochhütte. The hike itself is very doable because the snow trail is groomed for hiking. Just don't stray off of it or you will bog up in snow to your waist. I do think you need lug sole hiking boots, but I have seen lesser footgear on that path.


You can get food and beverages at the shelter, which is a larger building than you might think. It sleeps 125 plus staff dormitory style and has a kitchen and eating area.

The views from up there are incredible.
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Old Dec 12th, 2005, 05:55 PM
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The train times listed by swandav and bobrown are a little misleading, because even if you started from Lauterbrunnen at the bottom of the Jungfrau, it would still take you between 1.5 and 2 hours to get to the top of the Jungfrau. From Kandersteg, you are only adding 1.5 hours to the trip. Admittedly a bit of time to add to a longish day, but it is doable, esp. in July when daylight hours are so long. While I don't think the trains to the Jungfrau run extended hours in the summer, you can still walk until dinnertime or later, and of course could have dinner in Wengen and still take a train back to Kandersteg in daylight or at least twilight which IMO makes the day seem like not so long as you aren't returning in darkness (nor will you be going out in darkness as the sun is up quite early, go to sunrisesunset.com for times).

Everyone makes the Jungfrau as a day trip, it just depends where you start from.

A good, easy hike would be to take the train down from the top of the Jungfrau and get out and walk from either the Kleine Scheidegg stop down to Wengen, or one of the intermediate stops between Kleine Scheidegg and Wengen. This is below the snow line in July and below Kleine Scheidegg is also mostly below the tree line. Lots of meadows, cows and still some wildflowers in June. Downhill, mostly gentle. The steeper parts would be between Kleine Scheidegg and Allmend stops, so if you want to have a shorter, more gentle walk, stay on the train until the Allmend or the Wengernalp stop.

If you can overnight in Wengen, however, you will save yourself some time and more importantly you can get the first train out of Wengen in the morning up to the Jungfran and should therefore have an relatively empty train. Your chances of a good clear view are better in the morning, and you can get a hike in The main day trippers come from Interlaken and other parts further out in the valley and won't hit Wengen.

Of course if you overnight in Wengen you can also do the marvellous walk from Maennlichen to Kleine Scheidegg.

If you don't already have them there are two excellent books on walking in Switzerland. The first is Swiss Bernense Oberland by Philip and Louise Alspach. This gives an overview of the BO and gives details on several walks. The second is the Lonely Planet book "Walking in Switzerland". This rates walks by fitness level, even walks for kids. It also gives directions for using public transport. I find both accurate and very helpful.

There are of course some great walks in Kandersteg.

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Old Dec 13th, 2005, 04:43 AM
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Thanks bob and cicerone. I am so impressed at how well this forum works. I like the idea of walking down- my daughter has never done this kind of hiking and we have a harder hike above Oeschinensee the next day- so I don't want to overdo it for her.
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Old Dec 13th, 2005, 08:03 AM
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Over do it for a 13 year old? Neither of my grandsons would be bothered! I would be more concerned about the adults.

Or do you mean the hiking from the boredome viewpoint?

The older of my two thought the Canadian Rockies were awesome (favorite teenaged word these days it seems). He just about sprinted up the Whaleback in Yoho NP in Canada. Then he helped carry water from the creek to the filter in the chalet after we got back while Mom and Dad collapsed in exhaustion.

If you want to do a shorter walk, get off at the Eigergletscher station on the downward trip and walk both east and/or west. One way takes you to views of the ice coming off the western flank of the Eiger. The east side is where the Eiger Trail starts. It descends rather steeply and leads all the way down to a station called Alpiglen. You can go part of the way and get a close up view of the north face of the Eiger, which is impressive!

I still think the walk out to the hikers' shelter is my most fun one. I last did it when I was 70 and it posed no problems other than the ice on the steps leading up to the shelter entrance.

The trail is on the lee side of the ridge, so there is usually no wind. The sun was blazing that day, and there were people walking in shorts and short sleeves on snow. I had taken off my windbreaker and Polarfleece until I came out from behind the ridge right into the teeth of the prevailing wind which chilled me in about 60 seconds before I get my Polarfleece out of the pack and back on.

In the summer, the last trip down from the Joch to Kleine Scheidegg is listed as being at 18:05.
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Old Dec 13th, 2005, 08:11 AM
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OOPS B O R E D O M.
Active finger syndrome.

For the record, the last train from Kleine Scheidegg to Lauterbrunnen is at 18:45 during the summer.

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Old Dec 13th, 2005, 09:04 AM
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One thing to keep in mind is that a trip to the Jungfraujoch is pointless unless the weather is excellent. The morning you plan to set out be sure to check the live video feeds to see what the weather is like (I think some of these are in Interlaken, as well as on the internet -- see below). Remember that the weather in Interlaken or Lauterbrunnen can be very different than at the Jungfraujoch.

Personally, I thought the whole Jungfraujoch experience was overrated. It was spectacular to be sure, but I would have had more fun and gotten more "wow" from a good hike. Given the time and the cost of the trip to the top, I think there are better ways to spend half a day.
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Old Dec 13th, 2005, 09:05 AM
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Forgot to include Jungfraujoch video feeds.

http://www.swisspanorama.com/html/jungfraucam1.html

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Old Dec 13th, 2005, 10:29 AM
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Thanks Edward. I've been told to check the webcams in the morning.
1. I'm open to other suggested trips- this one is pretty pricey.
2. I'm trying to figure out if I reserve (do I pay the whole train price to reserve?) and it is a cloudy day- am I stuck shlepping there for no view? But if I don't reserve- will it be a problem to get a seat in mid-July?

Given the distance from Kandersteg- I'm starting to wonder?
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Old Dec 13th, 2005, 11:33 AM
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A less expensive (in dollars and time) trip would be to the Schilthorn. Although not as spectacular as the Jungfraujoch, it costs about 45 sf from Murren and you can do the whole thing and be back in Murren in less than 2 hours. You could even hike down if so inclined (pardon the pun). The crowds are much smaller than for the Jungfraujoch.

I'm not sure how reservations and refunds work on the Jungfraujoch line. I don't think I would do reservations due to the weather-dependant nature of the trip. In terms of crowds, I was there in late May and on a nice day it was packed. I think you'll have to deal with that on a nice day no matter what month you go. About the only remedy is to take the very early trains from Kleine Scheidegg.
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Old Dec 13th, 2005, 05:52 PM
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Yes the Jungfrau train trip is pretty pricey, although you have a rail pass I think you get a discount. If you aren't buying any type of rail pass for train travel in Switzerland, at a minimum, get a Junior Card for your child, she then rides free on all transport for which you have purchased an adult ticket, this includes the Jungfraubahn. I believe they Junior Card costs CH15 or something like it, check the rail.ch site. This is a great value, it includes ferries, trams, buses, railways and most cable cars and mountain railways.

The other thing to remember however is that the valley itself is quite spectacular (one of the most beautiful in Switzerland IMO and that is saying something) and worth a visit just for the views up to the trio of Jungfrau/Monch/Eiger. Even if the top of the Jungfrau looks cloudy on the webcam, the views of the mountains from valley will most likely still quite clear and really beautiful. There are waterfalls at the bottom of the valley and very good walks from both Wengen and Murren through meadows with the obligatory Swiss cows wearing their bells, and several fun, shorter and cheaper train trips, like the one up to Wengen and the cable car and train over to Murren. You could spend a whole day here that would not involve going up to the top of the Jungfrau. You could also do the excellent, scenic and very easy walk from Maennlichen to the Kleine Scheidegg stop on the Jungfraubahn train, and then either continue walking down to Wengen, or take the train down. If once you get to the Kleine Scheidegg stop, the webcams indicate that it is clear at the top, and if time permits, you could even make the train journey from there up to the top of the Jungfrau (that portion takes about 45 minutes).

As suggested, an alternative is to go up to the Schilthorn, you can access cable cars to this mountain from the bottom of the valley near Lauterbrunnen and also from mid-way up the mountain in Murren. Of course if it is cloudy on the Jungfrau, it is going to be cloudy on the Schilthorn too.

I would think if you start early you could make this trip and see how the weather and crowds look as to determine what your actual plan will be for the day. To be that close to the valley and not see it would be a shame IMO, regardless of whether you make it to the top of any of the mountains.

I just looked at the Swiss Rail website and see trains that will get you from Kandersteg to Wengen (where the Jungfraubahn trains really start, the other parts of the journey are just on regular Swiss Rail trains) in 2 hours. There is a train departing at 7:50 am which would put you in Wengen at 10. You could then get a Jungfraubahn train and be up on top by 11:30. This may well be a crowded train as you would be hitting Wengen when a lot of day trippers also would be joining. If you can make a really early start, there is a 6:50 am train from Kandersteg that would put in Wengen by 9 am, which means you could make the 9:05 or 9:30 Jungfraubahn train, this would help to beat a lot of the day trippers who typically don't hit Wengen until an hour or so later. (Re-check the train times a few weeks before your trip as they change a bit seasonally.)

I don't believe you can reserve seats even if you buy a ticket in advance . I hunted around the Jungfraubahn website and could not find any info that indicated you could reserve seats. If you can do this, my guess is that you can only do it in first class which will cost you more but IMO might be worth it in July to save the rush for seats. You might want to call the reservations to ask, see the website for the number. Tickets are generally refundable, but again check the website or call and ask. Other than saving you time waiting in line the day you take a trip, I don't see any reason to buy tickets in advance.

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Old Dec 13th, 2005, 06:52 PM
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I understand your concerns about the weather. You do not need to buy a ticket all the way to the top when you start out from Kandersteg. You could delay the decision until you reach Lauterbrunnen, or even Kleine Scheidegg, but you would probably miss the
immediate connecting train.

In the summer, however, the delay would be about 30 minutes because trains leave Interlaken Ost at 8:20, 8:51, 9:20, 9:51, etc. which make connections to the top.

The first leg is from Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen.

The second leg on a different train is from Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg.

The third leg, again on a different train, is from Kleine Scheidegg to the top.

In all, once you leave Interlaken Ost, you ride 3 different types of mountain trains, each designed for the grade of the track. The last stage, to the Jungfraujoch itself, is the steepest.

Any time you are in the mountains, anywhere, weather is always a factor.
Even if you were in Lauterbrunnen, the weather on top was cloudy, there are still activities available. Within itself the Lauterbrunnen Vally is worth visiting.

Trummelbach Falls are interesting.
The villages of Wengen and Mürren are nice to visit.

Not far from Brienz is the Museum of Swiss Life. It can be reached by train from Interlaken Ost to Brienz and then by bus to Ballenberg West. The Post Buses in Switzerland are usually timed well to incoming and outgoing trains.

Brienz is a pleasant place that is famous for its wood carvers.

If the weather is cloudy in the Lauterbrunnen area, there is a good chance the mountains above Kandersteg will be cloudy too. The areas are not that far apart in terms of linear distance, but the mountain ridge between the two is high and steep.

If I were in Kandersteg and really wanted to go to the Jungfraujoch, I would take my chances, but I would do it in stages because of the expense of the last part of the journey.

If you left Kandersteg at 6:49 you would be in Lauterbrunnen by 8:40. Or a 7:49 departure puts you in an hour later.

At that point you could make a decision of go or no go. Or you could delay until Kleine Scheidegg which is reached 45 minutes later.

From that point on, you are stuck because the last stage of the journey is also the most expensive. But at Kleine Scheidegg, you could get a very good idea of what conditions at the top were like before committing to the final part of the trip.
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Old Dec 14th, 2005, 10:33 AM
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Thank you all! I've got lots to ponder and its a nice distraction from the less glorious snow here in Detroit.
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