So today Allison, Mary and I braved "The Top of Europe" aka the Jungfrau. It was actually an accident. We were aiming for the Eiger but through a mix up that I blame on Mary we ended up on a train toward the mountain known as "The Top of Europe". We had to pay 24 francs for a one way ticket to the top. Not wanting to pay our way back we decided, "Hey, let's climb the Jugfrau." And thus our adventure ensued.
First thing to know: we were severely under dressed. Because we weren't planning on hiking on a snowy mountain our attire was less than adeqaute. Allison and I were in shorts and none of us had hats. So after climbing up and rolling in the meadows of flowers and hiking up some hills in victory we skiddaddled over to the souvenir shop for hats. I purchased a miracle scarf, and let me tell you, it's pretty miraculous. We then grabbed something to eat (bratwurst and fries for Allison and Mary, peanut butter crackers for me) and began our descent.
The entire four and a half hour journey was worth every franc. The mountains, meadows, clouds, sky...everything was perfection. We were alone and basking in the Swiss sunlight. I took over 500 photos of the most beautiful sights. I'll never witness something like that again.
We stopped at almost every meadow to frolic in fields of wildflowers and roll down hills. We screamed like crazy people as we ran around the Alps completely off the trail. We were charting our own path, leaving traces of ourselves behind us. Our laughter would echo and our silence would as well. We could go an hour without saying a word because what we were experiencing couldn't be described. There are some things that cannot be put into words, cannot be explained with any adjective in the English language; we said nothing.
We drank from the streams again and it was sublime. The water is so pure because it comes from the snow on top of the mountain. It trickles down and forms waterfalls, I think we probably took a picture of every single one. We ran into cows and goats and horses and random people who all spoke a different language. It was beautiful to behold.
At some point we began to cut corners and go off book. Into the wild we ran; screaming and laughing and soaking it all up. Trying to hold on to the moment, because the sun and the air, the very atmosphere, would never be the same again. We tried to hold on until we had to let go and move away, back into the wild.
At some point, probably around the third or fourth hour, we came upon a cabin. Secluded and hidden among the pine trees, the cabin reminded me of the Alm Uncle in Heidi. Not because it had some goats around it or because it was on top of the Alps, though those are all honest comparisons, but because it was so close to the way I had envisioned it in my head. I loved reading Heidi because it was a novel with no hidden agendas or messages. It was a book of pure storytelling. A book about how one person can make a ripple in an ocean of so many. A book about how a place can save a person. The Alm Uncle's cabin represents all of this. So, when we saw the isolated cabin, saw the wind caress the grass and the Jungfrau's reflection in the windows, I thought of all the Alm Uncle's cabin stood for and I smiled. I was standing in a place of magic and healing. I was watching the sun set behind the Swiss Alps. I was organic. I was alive. I was happy.
We did make it back to civilization. Our bodies hurt, but our minds were rejuvenated and numb with awe. And so they remain. We made it to the top of world today and I hope we never come back down.
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