Portfolio - Special Edition Switzerland

35 Special Edition Switzerland Afterwards, I swanned to Spa Bistro in my robe for a salad and bowl of smoky baba ganoush. ASCENTS AND DESCENTS No trip to Interlaken is complete without a journey to Jungfraujoch via the Jungfrau Rail. It reaches an elevation of 3,454 metres and Europe’s highest, hence its nickname, The Top of Europe. I meet my guide Nik, a former pilot for Swiss International, on the Interlaken Bahnhof platform at 9 AM and we begin the 90-minute journey up to Jungfrau. As we ascended, reports of flooding across Switzerland alerted our phones and the Tschingel Brook running aside the train tracks was rollicking and rolling with whitewater that occasionally spilt over the embankment. While the alps are best experienced on a sunny day when the meadows are bursting with wildflowers, catching them in a storm is thrilling. It’s a reminder of the mountains’ ferocity and the hardscrabble life that many alpine settlers faced. Nik and I both know that storms can turn from dramatic to dangerous in a split second. The higher we climbed, the more violent the water became, now tumbling down in waves that breached both banks. To get a closer look, I open the train window, and with a cold whoosh, the elements burst into our carriage. The sharp smell of antiseptic mountain air and the crashing sounds of brook shake me awake. “Smells like snow,” says Nik assuredly. Sure enough, as we climb higher, the rain softened to sleet, and by the time we changed at Kleine Scheidegg station, it was a full-on snow shower with the station attendants already shovelling a foot of the white powder off the platform. For the final leg of our ascent, we continue through the snow, now thickening like a roux. Impressions of barns became fainter, and silhouettes of pine trees morphed into retreating ghosts. Passing the treeline, we enter a total whiteout. Fortunately, the Top of Europe is an indoor complex and prepared for such things, so there’s plenty to do on snowy days like this. We spend the next hour touring Jungfrau’s elaborate ice caves, a light show called Alpine Sensation, and a touching memorial to the Italian and Swiss workers. They died while building the railroad, a project which began in 1893 and lasted until 1912. In December 2020, the newly launched V-Cable Car Eiger Express was launched. The 26-seat tri-cable gondolas run from Grindelwald terminal to the Eiger Glacier station in just 15 minutes, shortening the journey by 47 minutes. For lunch, we dine at Crystal whose famous floor to ceiling windows were smeared with wet snow, blocking the iconic view, a disappointment that was alleviated by my fragrant lobster and cognac soup and beef filet doused in Swiss whisky sauce. But as we linger over coffee and Eigerspitzli (miniature Eiger-shaped mountains of chocolate), the trickster sun starts to reappear. First slowly in patches of bluebird sky that magically absorbed the lingering swirls of white. And then quickly, in gigantic patches of the open sky. Another expression locals like to say here is, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute,” which certainly proved right today. Going back down was like watching a movie in rewind. All the colour that was swallowed by snow and clouds on the way up re-emerge brighter and more vivid during the descent. “The sky is always bright after a snowstorm,” says Nik, as I roll down the window and begin snapping a zillion photos. Nik was right again. The freshly scrubbed blue sky contrasted sharply against the white carpet of snow and pockets of a green meadow. Descending further, we glide past maple and oak trees that are illuminated in perfectly painted yellow, orange, and red. As the train slithers deeper into the valley, I see farmer’s gardens with Brussels sprout stalks and vine tomatoes sprinkled Sleep in style at these alpine gems VICTORIA JUNGFRAU GRAND HOTEL AND SPA This hotel offers mountain views overlooking the Höhematte. Interiors – Art Nouveau windows, clubby billiard rooms, winter terraces, painted ballrooms – deliver heaps of alpine glamour. The 5,500-square-metre Spa Nescen is a warren of saunas, thermal baths, and sun decks. victoria-jungfrau.ch ROMANTIK HOTEL SCHWEIZERHOF The weathered window boxes overflowing with geraniums at this hotel are a cheery sight after a day in the alps. A sprawling spa is built into the lower level, while an excellent gift shop sells local souvenirs like arven wood pillows, Swiss caviar, and oodles of chocolates. hotel-schweizerhof.com SLUMBER PARTY