Western Europe Road Trip: Jungfrau & Bern Switzerland

After our stay and adventures in Murren, Switzerland, we were excited to head to the Top of Europe – Jungfrau! As part of our Western Europe road trip we would spend one more day in Switzerland before heading back into France and on to Paris.

Western Europe Road Trip
Jungfrau & Bern, Switzerland

First thing in the morning we headed back on the short train ride and down on the trolley car from Murren into Lauterbrunnen. From there, we switched over to the train for Jungfrau and Top of Europe.

The train ride to the Top of Europe is about 1.5 hours, each way.

After spending some time up at Top of Europe, our plan would be to drive on to Bern, Switzerland, where we would stay for the night. Our travel time overall for the day would be about 4.5 hours, but most of that was leisurely spent looking out the train windows and taking in the scenery.

Driving Time: 1 hour – Lauterbrunnen to Bern, Switzerland

Jungfraujoch “Top of Europe”

The train route took us up the other side of the alps which gave us a really neat view across to Murren and the trail we hiked the day before. You can see from this view the town of Lauterbrunnen down in the valley.

It was so neat to wind up, and up, and up into the alps and eventually through an enclosed tunnel. At one point, the train stops and you can get out to see a view of the glaciers. The picture can’t do the view justice, as it was through a glass window, but it was so incredibly beautiful!

Once we made it to Jungraujoch, Top of Europe, we were off to explore. What better way to get started then by heading outside and attempting a hike on the mountain top!

Near the snow fun park, that operates at certain times of the year, you can leave the enclosed building tucked inside the mountain and follow a 45-minute path up to a hut with food and drinks available.

We started up the path and hiked about 20 minutes, but my calves were completely sore from the day before and the drifts and wind made it really difficult to see. We decided it would be better to turn around, than overdo it.

Even so, it was worth the short walk we were off on to be secluded on the mountain side with views of pure white in every direction.

After heading back indoors we explored some of the other attractions including the large snow globe, the Lindt Swiss Chocolate heaven – of course picking up some of those to take home with us, and the Ice Palace. We also had lots of views of the alps and glaciers.

The Ice Palace has a bunch of carved ice sculptures and the room was completely enclosed in ice including the walls, ceiling, and floors. It made it so neat to slide our way through the area checking out all the different sculptures.

Visiting the Top of Europe was a really neat experience, and definitely worth the visit.

When you’re ready to leave the trains head back down the mountain at regular interval so it’s easy to head out when it’s most convenient for you.

Once down from Jungfrau, we returned to our car and were off the short drive to Bern. We checked into our airbnb and then went off to explore the town. After finding a place to park, we wondered around the town and searched for a cheese house for dinner.

The cheese fondue was yummy, and such a fun experience! You’ll want to order cheese fondue when you visit Switzerland. It was served with a huge helping of bread. We would have appreciated a little more variety, but still enjoyed the meal and it was very filling.

We both fell in love with Bern, it’s a really neat city with a lot of rich history. The clock tower and cobblestone streets and even a river that winds around the town, it was just such a beautiful city we really enjoyed just walking around.

Our next step was to work our way back to Paris through central France including Troyes and Provins, France.