How do they do this? And more importantly, why can't we? We catch a train in Zermatt and ride to Visp. 10 minutes after we arrive another train picks us up and wisks us to Interlaken. Just as we arrive in Interlaken a passenger only ferry sets sail down one of the two lakes of Interlaken, dropping people off and picking them up at lake shore towns. At the same time connecting trains leave for the Swiss Alps at Grindelwald of Lauterbraun. This happens everytime we ride the train. It always goes where we want to go, we never wait long for the train. It has to be more than luck. It must be excellent planning and lots of trains. We cannot just happen to get great connections and trains going where we want to go everytime. Build the infrastructure and they will come.
Why this rant about rail transportation. We rode from Zermatt to Visp, Visp to Interlaken. While enroute we noticed our Eurail passes gave us free passage on the ferry on either of the two lakes at Interlaken, so we jumped from the train to the boat, cruised the mountain rimmed Lake Brenzensee for three and a half hours, met a lovely Swiss widow 74 years of age on board and received a wonderful lesson in French as well as a few hours of wonderful company and laughter, then stepped from the boat onto the train to the alps at Grindenwald at the base of the Eiger. All on trains, boats and with our backpacks.
The Eiger has the most deadly north face of all. 38 people died trying to be the first to climb it. As a teen I read extensively about the Eiger north face and the attempts to climb it. The first ice field, Hinterstoisser Traverse, The Swallows Nest, the White Spider. It was awesome to see this great face and all it's place names. We ate dinner at a restaurant in the patio facing the north face and watched the clouds swirl around the face, revealing all at times, concealing first one part, then another, like a tease in a Las Vegas floor show. We set our alarms for 6AM so we could catch the first train up to the Jungfrau. This train runs in a tunnel right thru the Eiger, spiralling up through the mountain's center for over six miles.
When the tunnel was drilled they dumped the spoils out tunnel openings right in the middle of the north face, about half way up. The train stops at the "windows" so the passengers can look down from the north face. I am excited to take that train tomorrow and look out on the face I have read so much about.
Chuck
Why this rant about rail transportation. We rode from Zermatt to Visp, Visp to Interlaken. While enroute we noticed our Eurail passes gave us free passage on the ferry on either of the two lakes at Interlaken, so we jumped from the train to the boat, cruised the mountain rimmed Lake Brenzensee for three and a half hours, met a lovely Swiss widow 74 years of age on board and received a wonderful lesson in French as well as a few hours of wonderful company and laughter, then stepped from the boat onto the train to the alps at Grindenwald at the base of the Eiger. All on trains, boats and with our backpacks.
The Eiger has the most deadly north face of all. 38 people died trying to be the first to climb it. As a teen I read extensively about the Eiger north face and the attempts to climb it. The first ice field, Hinterstoisser Traverse, The Swallows Nest, the White Spider. It was awesome to see this great face and all it's place names. We ate dinner at a restaurant in the patio facing the north face and watched the clouds swirl around the face, revealing all at times, concealing first one part, then another, like a tease in a Las Vegas floor show. We set our alarms for 6AM so we could catch the first train up to the Jungfrau. This train runs in a tunnel right thru the Eiger, spiralling up through the mountain's center for over six miles.
When the tunnel was drilled they dumped the spoils out tunnel openings right in the middle of the north face, about half way up. The train stops at the "windows" so the passengers can look down from the north face. I am excited to take that train tomorrow and look out on the face I have read so much about.
Chuck
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