out of the valley, but not far away

This past weekend, we tore ourselves out of our valley and drove to Lauterbrunnen to catch the train up to the Jungfraujoch - a place they call the Top of Europe because it is the highest accessible peak on the continent.

The 3 famous mountains in this area are the Eiger (one of the most deadly ascents for mountain climbers), the Monch and the Jungfrau.  The rail line that takes visitor's skyward was built in 1912 and the trip winds through Wengen - home of the oldest and longest dowhill ski race on the world cup circuit.  After Wengen and a station called Klein Scheidegg, the train heads into a long tunnel right through the Eiger.At 3571m / 11,782 ft up top, the air is thin, the views are spectacular and we were all in awe.

looking to the Aletsch Glacier from the Jungfraujoch

As if the views, the Ice Palace and glacier weren't enough, Jeff and the kids went on a huge zipline in the "adventure park" - a definite highlight for the adrenaline junkies!

graydon flies through thin air

Today's adventures took us to Thun to get our Resident Cards which will legitmately allow us to stay in Switzerland for the year.  After the signatures, fingerprints and photos (they don't mess around), we wandered around the market town built on an island in the River Aare.  We then headed further north to IKEA to pick up a few things to better equip our rental flat.  I find it disturbing that IKEA actually felt like "home" - the same layout, same meatballs, same junk at the check-out.  And the worst - the same feeling of wanting to burst into tears by the time I made my way around the store.  IKEA, swedish for "get me out of here"......