From either of the Interlaken train stations, you can purchase a ticket (prices change, but the cost is between $100 and $150). You catch the train in Interlaken, then transfer to a cog railway later in the journey. The view going and returning is like nothing I have ever seen. Every time I have gone, there has been snow. The sights of the small villages in the area sitting on the snowy landscape are as beautiful as seeing the mountains themselves.

Much of the cog rail trip is traveling inside the mountain. The train makes a couple of stops so passengers can get off and look at the glaciers through openings cut out of the mountain. Once at the top, there are numerous things to see. There is an Ice Palace, a cavern made into the glacier; a summer ski school, and sleigh rides pulled by Huskies. These activities are available weather permitting. There are also restaurants, a post office, and gift shops. One restaurant is called the Top of Europe. When you are in it, you can see where it got its name. The outside walls are all windows and when you look through them out over the glacier you feel like you are on top of the world.

If you have high blood pressure or vertigo, be advised that you could experience dizziness and lightheadedness due to the lack of oxygen at this altitude.

It is an expensive trip, but every time I go to Interlaken, I go up the mountain, it is so fantastic. I have taken different friends on my trips and they all agree that a trip to Interlaken is not complete without going up the Jungfrau.

After seeing huge avalanches wipe out everyhing in their path, backers gave up plans for a surface railway up the Jungfrau. But even with 19th-Century technology, the road could be built in tunnels. To make it affordable, they would build in stages --- each stage ending in a vistors’ gallery that would generate revenue while work went on further up.

For safety, the promoters also decided against reaching the summit, settling instead on a saddle-like formation between Jungfrau and the Monch. There, tourists could frolic relatively unsupervised, sheltered from the worst of the mountain winds and with room for restaurants and other amenities. And, they’d have a far more attractive view of the mountain than they would from the summit.

The Jungfraujoch adventure begins routinely enough: a conventional train with a boxy electric locomotive, gliding through Interlaken’s public-school campus before heading up a winding, narrow river valley crossed by antique bridges. The real mountain railroading begins at Lauterbrunnen, where we switch to smaller, narrow-gauge cars with a rack-and-cogwheel drive that can surmount grades of 20% or more. Which we do --- ascending sharply up the lower reaches of the Eiger/Monch/Jungfrau trio. Off to our right, a slender but amazingly high waterfall catches the eye. Its origin is nearly out of sight above; its foot several hundred feet below us. One wants to jump off the train and photograph it.

On the mountain’s lower reaches, below the tree line, flowery Alpine meadows dominate the landscape. However, the country quickly becomes more and more rugged. Clambering on uphill, around ridiculously sharp curves, we continue toward Kleine Scheidegg, another hotel community now recognized as an international skiers’ destination. Many ride the train to here, then walk down.

Another train change at Kleine Scheideg, to cars especially built for the final push into the mountains. Have your camera ready: We’ll go barely 2 kilometers before Eigergletscher Station --- last stop before the train goes underground. The train windows open, there’s a sharp curve to the right that will put the afternoon sun in just the right position, and the restaurant makes a marvelous photo against the mountain backdrop.

The trip from Kleine Scheidegg takes about 50 minutes, including five-minute photo stops at the two observation galleries en route. You’ll notice that the tunnels have no liner or other reinforcement; the rock underneath the glacial ice is so hard and dry that pick and chisel marks left more than a century ago are still there.

The first tourist station inside the mountain opened in 1903; trains reached Eismeer in 1905 and the present terminal in 1912. This is an expensive trip: 127 Francs (U.S. $92) with Eurailpass discount, but will likely be the highlight of your European vacation. Allow at least seven hours for the full round trip from Interlaken.

Now this train trip lasts about 2 hours and there is so much to do at the summit that this is truly a day trip. I took the 4pm train out and was very exhausted.

Take your time once off the train, the air is very thin and you may not feel well...pace yourself and you will be fine. It is a wild feeling to be so high up!

You can walk along one of the snow banks and take a dog sled ride or do as I did and propel yourself down a snow luge course in an oversized frisbee. I did it so well the first time that I went back for more....on the second trip I spun out and flew face first into hard packed snow (busted knuckles and lip). It was still a blast!!!!!

You can also walk through glacier tunnels and explore ice sculptures that have been carved from the glacier (note: bring shoes with good traction...you will be walking on pure and solid ice that is very slippery). Definetly, tour the observation deck and get the most thrilling experience of both joy and terror from the vantage point. You can literally see forever (on a clear day)!

This day trip is a must if you visit Interlaken and don't take a package trip with a company that only allows you a few minutes at the summit. Buy your own ticket and enjoy the full day.

Another hint is that most hotels have a special TV channel that will show the forecast for the Jungfrau region and the visibility at Jungfraujoch. Use that channel to plan your visit...the clearer the day the better views you will have.

Enjoy...I know I did!