Day 6: Lauterbrunnen

Group Photo in Lauterbrunnen
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The alarm goes off at 6:30 and we promptly ignore it for a while, but make it over to the cook tent for 7:30 and enjoy a nice breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast, and make a sandwich lunch for later. About half our group is going up Jungfrau (for the 130 Swiss Francs – about the same amount of CAD dollars), and we head off at 8:15 for a 15 minute walk to the train station.

I thought I had heard some sort of commotion earlier in the morning, but was in a half asleep stupor and wasn’t sure if it actually happened.  Well, turns out it had, and I gradually get filled in on the gossip throughout the day. Apparently, Wellsy had gotten extremely hammered and in the early morning hours had decided that the cabin floor was close enough to the bathroom, pissing all over it, and getting Ryan’s backpack as well. But that wasn’t the only thing – Chris, the annoying ape-like guy from the other tour, had decided to stumble into the wrong cabin, causing a ruckus (the yelling was what I heard). It was quite a late (and rough) night for a number of people…

At one point, in a fit of rage, he grabs the mallet...

Get that shot Ting!
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At the train station, we find our reserved car, and our guides wave goodbye but don’t come along with us – this leads to some confusion later as we’re not exactly sure where to switch trains. The station staff even makes fun of us for our lack of guidance. But we do get where we are going – it’s about a 90 minute trip up the mountain, through some absolutely amazing scenery (check the photo gallery!). Despite the views, several people fall asleep due to the previous night’s shenanigans, especially once we start traveling through tunnels rather than open air. The train makes several stops on the way up, at tiny little towns where the only link is the train station. We marvel at how people make use of the land that’s so high up and on a slant, with gardens and pastures. I didn’t think cows were mountain animals!

Lauterbrunnen Valley
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It’s quite cool at the top (about 3C), and I’m glad I have my hoodie (the only time I actually use it the whole trip). We take the super fast elevator up to the Sphinx observation tower (it kind of looks like a Sphinx from a distance), and take in the gorgeous views. Mt. Jungfrau, at 11782 ft, is the tallest point in Europe. We head out into the snow, where Jeff and Ting build a little snow monster and a couple snowballs are thrown. There are number of activities to partake in for those willing to pay, such as riding a husky sled, skiing and the flying fox. We and Kenny hike about 45 minutes to a chalet on the other side of the peak, which is pretty tough in thin air and through snow. In the process, we all get sunburned on the face, as we neglected to think of sunscreen – d’oh.

Lauterbrunnen Valley
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Kenny goes looking for the rest of his group, as they have his lunch. We eat our sandwiches in the observatory, our feet absolutely soaked (we’re not exactly equipped with winter footwear). After eating, we go slide around in the “Ice Palace” which is full of various ice sculptures, and then check out the view from other plateau, before going to catch the 2:15 train down. We doze off in the long tunnel (and for some of the rest of the ride) – the trip seems much longer on the way down.

I'm trapped in ice!
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We get back to camp around 4:00, freshen up a bit, and then do some laundry. The machines are small and crappy, with the washer taking 50 minutes to complete a small load. The dryer only gives you 10 minutes per Franc, and it takes a lot more than 10 minutes to get stuff dry. In the meantime, we go do some shopping – Ting and I pick up Swiss Army Knives, and I buy a bunch of other cheesy Swiss souvenirs, because Switzerland is cool! Jeff splurges and buys a single postcard.

I hop onto the internet terminal to send a quick email update home before dinner, which is being served up by the staff in the bar. It starts off with a cheese fondue, which is kind of fun, followed by a main course of sausage and veggies (including some sort of white carrots – interesting), and then a tasty apple and cream dessert. All in all, very good! The dinner conversation is sometimes hard to follow sitting amongst a bunch of Aussies and Kiwis – they start talking about aboriginees and Maoris (with the accent, I think they are saying “Marys” for a while), as well as TV shows and other pop culture things that I don’t know anything about. Oh well. Tori joins us for a while and tells us that we are going to be doing karaoke tomorrow night, which intrigues a few people.

Power crystals!
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It’s significantly quieter in the bar tonight, as a lot of people are still a little haggard from the previous evening. We hang out there for a while…Jeff and Renato play a lot of fooseball, and Jeff actually ends up with blisters on his hands. The hammer game again makes an appearance as well – our skills seem to have improved a bit. The bartender seems to be suffering from severe mood swings: sometimes he’s very friendly and seems like he’s having fun, then gets really pissy and mean. At one point, in a fit of rage, he grabs the mallet and pounds a bent nail into the stump like a madman before storming off, effectively ending the game. He of course returns later with a smile again. Ok buddy…

Ice Sculpture
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Tori gives out some coasters for us to write on so that they can be added to the roof. Besides the usual name and date, I write something to the effect of “Canada Kicks Ass”, while Jeff again announces he’s on a search for a woman. Not much going on as the night goes on, and we are in bed by midnight. I’ve managed to use up all my Swiss money, except for some shower change – woot. We can all definitely “feel the burn” on our faces today, and we’ll look nice and rosey for a couple days. Oh well – another successful day on the Spirit of Europe tour!