Interlaken: Gateway to Jungfraujoch

If you want to stand at the top of Europe, you won't be disappointed by paying a visit to Jungfrau! To get to the Jungfrau, you will enter through Interlaken, a town in the Bernese Oberland region in Switzerland.

Jungfrau

Interlaken looks like a town that only exists in a fairy tale because the view was so charming due to its surrounding environment filled with lakes, mountains, forests, and glaciers. Without further due, let's get into it.

Panoramic view of Interlaken

When I initially arrived at Interlaken OST station, I stored my luggage in a locker at the station. Then I purchased a Jungfrau Pass for 3 days, which covered almost everything, and a round-trip train ticket between Kleine Scheidegg and Jungfrau. As my first stop, I went to Harder Kulm before heading to my hotel at the Lauterbrunnen, which was a village located in the Jungfrau regions.

Interlaken

Harder Kulm
It's a viewpoint allowing to overlook Interlaken and even Jungfrau in the distance. I walked about 10 minutes west from the train station to the Harderbahn where I could take the funiculars to the top of the mountain. There is a restaurant at Harder Kulm, so if you want to get something to eat while enjoying a fantastic panorama, by all means, go for it!

Harder Kulm

Lauterbrunnen
I took the train to travel between any village in the Swiss Alps, which locates on the other side of Interlaken. Note that Jungfrau Pass covered all of these train rides, so I didn't have to buy any ticket, and I used the SBB Mobile app to look up the live time table. Lauterbrunnen is in a valley in between endless mountain cliffs on both sides featuring its most popular attraction, Staubbach Falls, near the end of the village. Surprisingly the waterfall lighted up at night in the summer too.

Lauterbrunnen

Staubbach Fall lighted up at night in Lauterbrunnen

Murren
I came to this lovely mountain village in the afternoon because it was on the way to the Schilthorn peak as my next destination. Little did I expect that the view here was just as good as in Lauterbrunnen if not better. As I continued to explore the town, I considered staying here overnight if I could cancel my reservation in Lauterbrunnen for free. In hindsight, I had a great time staying in Lauterbrunnen, and the night shoot there was absolutely stunning. One little regret that I was unable to actually visit the Schilthorn because it was completely foggy on the top, so it would be a waste to go up there. Tip: Always check the live camera for status where they have it almost everywhere, so you don't have to purchase the ticket first and potentially feel disappointed being up there.

Hotel Alpenruh Murren

Murren

Jungfraujoch
Since Jungfraujoch is such a popular site in the area, I tried to avoid the crowd by taking the first train in the next early morning. One thing I didn't think of was the temperature was lower than I expected at Jungfrau even in the summer. There were some restaurants and a lot of different activities up here such as checking out the Ice Palace or enjoying the view of Jungfrau from the panorama viewpoint. It may take you up to a few hours here easily, so plan accordingly.

View of Jungfrau, Monch, and Eiger from Jungfraujoch

Grindelwald
After visiting Jungfraujoch, I was hoping to visit the Grindelwald First because of the First Cliff Walk. As far as it seemed on the picture, the summit of Grindelwald First was gorgeous. However, it turned out that I didn't have enough time to visit the Grindelwald First after I got to Grindelwald. As a result, I decided to walk around and enjoy this lovely village. In short, Grindelwald is a lot bigger and offers a lot more direct access to mountain activities compared to Lauterbrunnen.

Grindelwald

Paragliding
Before I ended my second day here in Interlaken and Jungfrau region, I decided to try out one of the most popular activities in Switzerland, paragliding. I got to say it was absolutely the best choice I had done. The fly was actually a lot quicker and safer than I ever imagined. When my instructor, Seb, and I were preparing to set off, I was already in the sky before I could even realize it. Seb liked to do some spin around like a roller coaster in the sky, so I enjoyed a lot flying with him. The perspective was so cool to look at the Interlaken, Lake Brienz, and Lake Thun beneath me, and my excitement and feeling were hardly indescribable with words. Note: I went with AlpinAir Paragliding Interlaken, which they had a counter outside of the information center at the Interlaken OST station.

Seb and I prepared to take off for paragliding

Paragliding over Interlaken

Overall, I had so much fun in Interlaken and Jungfrau region, and there was so much to do. In hindsight, I wished that I had 2 to 3 more days here, so I could explore the area even deeper. 3 days were not enough!