Jungfraujoch, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Since I was staying in Wengen, getting to Jungfraujoch was fairly easy. I first took the train from Wengen up to Kleine Scheidegg, then continued toward Eigergletscher (Eiger Glacier). From there, the Jungfrau Railway travels through tunnels inside the mountains before reaching Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe, high in the Swiss Alps.

During the train ride up to Jungfraujoch, the train made a short stop inside the mountain, giving us a chance to get off briefly and look through large windows at the spectacular Alpine scenery outside before continuing the journey to the top.

Much of the train ride to Jungfraujoch goes through tunnels deep inside the mountain, so there was no outside scenery to watch for much of the journey. It felt unusual knowing that the train was steadily climbing higher through the interior of the Alps.

I finally arrived at Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe, high in the Swiss Alps. From the station, I followed the signs into the large complex to begin exploring.

There were many places to explore inside the Jungfraujoch complex, but the first thing I wanted to do was go outside, walk on the snow, and experience the high Alpine surroundings.

After walking through the complex for a while, I finally found a door leading outside and stepped out onto the snow.

A view behind me

Once outside, I slowly turned around and took photos in every direction, trying to capture the full 360-degree view of the snowy Alpine landscape around me.

Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe is one of Switzerland’s most famous mountain destinations, reached by the train journey high into the Swiss Alps. At 3,454 meters (11,332 feet), visitors can walk on snow, explore the Ice Palace, visit the Sphinx Terrace, and enjoy beautiful views of glaciers and surrounding Alpine peaks.

From a slightly different spot, I took another round of 360-degree photos, capturing the snowy landscape and surrounding mountains from a different perspective.

I moved to another spot and took my third set of 360-degree photos, capturing yet another view of the snowy mountains surrounding Jungfraujoch.

After spending plenty of time outside enjoying the snow and taking photos, it was time to head back inside the Jungfraujoch complex and explore the other attractions.

My next stop was the Ice Palace, a series of tunnels and rooms carved into the ice beneath Jungfraujoch. Walking through the cold passageways, I saw ice sculptures of animals and other figures displayed along the frozen walls.

The floors looked like solid ice, so I expected them to be very slippery, but surprisingly, they were not slippery at all, which made walking through the palace much easier than I expected.

Walking through the Ice Palace gave me a sense of what it might look and feel like inside a huge glacier, surrounded by thick walls, floors, and passageways of ice.

After leaving the Ice Palace, I was still inside the Jungfraujoch complex. Here, I could see what it looked like underneath the rocky mountain, with the passageways built directly through the solid rock.

Pictures displayed along the walls showed the workers who built the railway and tunnels through the mountain, giving me an idea of how difficult it must have been to construct this complex so high in the Alps.

Construction of the Jungfrau Railway began in 1896, an ambitious project to build a railway through the Eiger and Mönch mountains to Jungfraujoch. Workers spent years drilling and blasting tunnels through solid rock in extremely difficult mountain conditions. The project took about 16 years, and the railway finally reached Jungfraujoch in 1912, opening one of the highest and most remarkable railway journeys in Europe.

The Jungfraujoch complex was not built all at once. After the railway reached Jungfraujoch in 1912, facilities were gradually added inside and on top of the mountain for visitors and scientific research. Over the years, tunnels, restaurants, observation areas, the Sphinx Observatory, and other attractions were added, creating the large complex visitors explore today.

As I continued walking through the complex, I came across various artistic decorations and displays, adding some color and character to the long passageways inside the mountain.

I came across a map of the Jungfraujoch complex, and to my surprise, I realized there was another outdoor area that I had not visited yet. So, of course, I decided to find my way there.

Along the way, I saw photos showing different sports and activities that had taken place outside at Jungfraujoch, giving me a glimpse of how people have enjoyed this snowy mountain environment over the years.

I finally made it outside again, and this outdoor area was much larger than the one I had visited earlier, with a wide-open snowy landscape stretching out in front of me.

Behind me was a steep rocky mountain cliff with metal stairways built into it, a dramatic contrast to the wide-open snowfield in front of me.

I walked down the snowy slope to explore farther, surrounded by the wide-open snowfield

A view behind me

After exploring the snowy area, I turned around and walked back toward the rocky cliff, where the metal stairways were built into the mountainside.

A view behind me

After spending more time outside on the snow, I headed back inside the Jungfraujoch complex to continue exploring.

After looking at the map of the complex, I decided to head next to the Sphinx Terrace, one of the main viewpoints at Jungfraujoch.

I arrived at the Sphinx Terrace, one of the highest viewpoints at Jungfraujoch. From here, I had a spectacular panoramic view of the surrounding snow-covered mountains and the vast Aletsch Glacier stretching into the distance.

From the Sphinx Terrace, I could now see the same scenery I had seen earlier from the first outdoor area, but this time from a much higher viewpoint.

From the Sphinx Terrace, I could also look down at the second, much larger outdoor snow area where I had walked earlier.

I came back around to the view I had seen earlier from the first outdoor area.

From another side of the Sphinx Terrace, I had a completely new view looking toward the Jungfraujoch train station and surrounding mountain complex.

I stepped back inside the Sphinx building

After spending some time enjoying the views from the Sphinx Terrace, I finally made my way back down into the Jungfraujoch complex.

After exploring Jungfraujoch, I made my way back to the train station, ready to begin the journey back down the mountain.

I had been at Kleine Scheidegg train station before on a cloudy, drizzly day, but today, with the sun shining, everything looked so much better. I decided to take a little walk around and enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery before boarding the train back to Wengen.