A Congenial Moment Enroute to Schynige Platte

A Congenial Moment Enroute to Schynige Platte

The Schynige Platte Bahn is a narrow gauge rack and pinion railway in the Jungfrau Region of Switzerland's Berner Oberland. It
connects Wilderswil, near Interlaken, with the Schynige Platte, a high mountain plateau at 1,987 meters/6,520 feet with superb views up to
the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau Massif, and, in the other direction, down to the Aare River Valley, Interlaken, and Lakes Thun and Brienz.

Its vintage carriages have windows which can be opened, allowing dramatic views of the Alpine scenery.

On this particular journey, most of those windows were probably closed as we departed Wilderswil in unpromising rain and fog. But as we gained altitude, that rain turned to snow, and the landscape, on this late afternoon in early October, began to look more like a Winter Wonderland.

Windows began to go down, heads and cameras poked out, and spirits certainly improved. I thought the faces here, in this interaction
between passenger and conductor at the intermediate passing station at Breitlauenen (1,542 meters/5,059 feet), showed just how much.

Photo+Design ©2011/2013 Steve Ember