Switzerland

The Viking Sun finally made Basel, Switzerland, and we had to get off - a few pounds heavier as it's been a while since I had 3 square meals per day. We took a taxi to the train station and got tickets for Lauterbrennen via Interlacken.

Wengen, Switzerland

Mürren, Switzerland

Männlichen, Switzerland

Tram from Wenger to Männlichen

Kleine Scheidegg

Mannlichen Ban to Kleine Scheidegg

 This little Alpine town is located in a deep glacial valley in the Jungfra region. Just above Lauterbrennen (elevation 2612 ft), and only approachable by cog train or tram is Wengen, the home of the famous Swiss World Cup races named after the Lauberhorn peak. When we got to Wengen (elevation 4180 ft), Jane said she wanted to go to the top of Mannlichen (elevation 7317) on the tram and the views of the Eiger, Monce, Jungfrau (elevation 13,642 ft) were breathtaking. It was warm, even up there, with temps around 80 F in the sun. The next day we hiked the Mannlichenbahn, about 2 1/2 miles down to Klein Scheidegg (elevation 6762 ft) at the foot of the Eiger (elevation 13,026 ft), where we had a beer and "pomme frites" or French fries, before getting back on the train to Wengen (and yes, it took us a bit longer than Bodie Miller's run when he won the Lauberhorn downhill in January, 2008).