The adventure ducksters visiting the Jungfraujoch (aka Top of Europe) by train turned into a splendid trip with our travel curious ducksters experiencing all the top of Europe highlights like the glacier blue ice caves, the sphinx observatory, the histocial Mönchjoch mountain hut plus a lot of playing in the snow. According to Happy Ducksters and his friends a visit to Europe’s higest train station and Europe’s biggest glacier are well worth it.
Jungfraujoch welcomes the adventure ducksters
Starting from the Kleine Scheidegg Train station Duckster and his friends embarked the famous jungfraujoch train. Built in the late 19th century this train is a master piece of engineering even these days considering the last part goes straight through and under the Eiger North Face in a seemingly never ending tunnel. After the first stop at the Eigergletscher station, which is the end of the famous Eiger hiking trail that the Ducksters succesfully hiked before, the train continues to Eismeer, a viewing point carved out of the tunnel.
If you read this duckster top of Europe blog post till the end you will get a good idea about the diverse and wide range of experiences you can have on the Jungfraujoch and you will definitely find out the answer to the question “Is the Top of Europe pass worth it?”
Top of Europe train station
Arriving at the Jungfraujoch train station, famously and deceivingly known as the ‘Top of Europe’ as it is the highest train station in Europe, you can immediately feel the thin air caused by the high altitude of 3454m above sea level. The Jungfraujoch Top of Europe is far from the highest point in Europe as that is the Mont Blanc at 4809m or Mount Elbrus at 5642m depending on who you ask and what your definition of Europe is.
The first thing the adventurous rubber ducksters noticed after arriving at the highest train station in Europe was a statue of A. Gruyer-Zeller the founder and initiator of the Jungfrau railway. Quick picture and then the real exploration fun could start. Birthday Duckster was keen to see some snow and therefore immediately dashed for one of the outside snowy viewing points.
Outside you have a magnificient view of the Alteschgletsch which is Europe’s largest and longest glacier. Looking back duckster discovered he could see the top of the Mönch mountain and the sphinx observatory at the same time.
Next stop was a closer look at that same observatory. Going up with a high speed lift the Sphinx building seems like a hideout space for one of the bad guys in a James Bond movie. Duckster agreed and said he would rather hide here as a bad guy than on the top of the Schilthorn, where James Bond had to battle his arch enemy in the 1969 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service 007 film.
The Ice Palace & Glacier Cave
The ice palace & glacier cave at the Jungfraujoch is definitely one of the most spectacular top of Europe experiences. You literally enter a network of caves dug deep inside the glacier. There is ice literally everywhere: above you, next to you and below you as the floor is just pure (slippery) ice. It is a super fun experience walking in an ice cave and the sculptures that have been built and are scattered around the caves is truly unique and stunning.
Duckster even met one of his old animal friends, Scrat the acorn-obsessed saber-toothed squirrel that lived during the ice ages, attempting to store his prized a acorn at any cost. This character from the Ice Age animation movie franchise is an old friend of happy birthday duckster and they had a great time catching up!!
A truly glacial experience that you will remember for a long time.
Edelweiss & Snowglobe Cave
It seems like an unlikely combination and one you wouldn’t be able to find in these glacial conditions but there is really a cave on the Jungfraujoch where you can find both Edelweiss and a giant snowglobe right next to it. This half kitschy experience is actually stunning in its own colourful way. Check out the pictures below but duckster had a great time meeting fellow colourful creatures.
After all this exploring, playing in the snow and vista gazing duckster slowly got tired and it was time to head home. Heading back to the train station he passed another couple of historical artifacts, some interesting murals and the highest altitude karst cave in Europe….definitely not a bad way to end this amazing top of Europe experience.
Hiking to the Mönchsjoch Hut
When up on the top of Europe you also do a 40 minute glacier crossing hike to the Mönchjoch hütte. This traditional and historical hut is still operating like a high-altitude ‘hotel’ and is a favourite place for mountaineers that climb the famous Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau summits. Duckster went there as well but had so much to say aobut that experience that he covers it in a separate post….
So is the Top of Europe pass worth it?
Considering all the cool activities, unique experiences and stunning vistas you get with your top of Europe pass duckster definitely thinks it is worth going up to the Jungfraujoch. If you spend more than one day in the Jungfrau region you should definitely buy the 3-day Jungfrau pass as it is the best value offer there is.