Even a 'couch potato' can enjoy the Swiss Alps with a train ride up the Eiger

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Mountain train takes the scenic route from Interlaken to Kleine Scheidegg
From there, another train takes you to Europe's highest train station
The quiant town of Interlaken offers a great base for Alps adventures

Published: 19:29 EST, 7 November 2015 | Updated: 21:02 EST, 7 November 2015

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I have always skipped over holiday articles about the Alps, put off by photographs of brightly clad skiers whizzing down the slopes. It looked wonderful but it didn’t seem like a promising destination for a bookish couch potato like me. How wrong I was.

Who, among my family and friends in Shetland, would ever believe that I was heading up the north face of the Eiger – even if it was by train?

We had set off from the Swiss town of Interlaken in unpromising weather, but as the mountain train started the climb from Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg, the sun came out and the breathtaking scenery was revealed.

Enjoy the Swiss Alps on board the started the Jungfraubahn train from Interlaken to Kleine Scheidegg

My partner Adie, who had booked this surprise trip to Switzerland, peered nervously at the drop. Usually, I am the nervous one but I kept my eyes trained on the glorious snowy peaks, wishing this journey would never end.

At Kleine Scheidegg, we disembarked and waited for the distinctive red Jungfraubahn train. Nearby is the Bellevue des Alpes Hotel, which featured in the film The Eiger Sanction. In the 1930s, spectators would gather on the terraces to watch the climbing parties and, unfortunately, the accidents that occurred all too often.

When the train drew up, we boarded for the hour-long trip to Jungfraujoch – the highest station in Europe. The train goes briefly up the outside of the Eiger’s north face before entering the tunnel and stopping twice at viewing windows.

The tunnel goes through the Eiger and the Monch mountains. At the Jungfraujoch there are several restaurants, a gift shop and a viewing platform.

On a clear day there would be a fantastic view, but by the time we got there the sun had disappeared once more and a blizzard had developed.

Mountain marvel: The stunning Alpine village of Kandersteg in Switzerland

I felt a little breathless as we took photos, but exhilarated at the same time. It was definitely the most exciting train journey of my life.

We came back to Interlaken via Grindelwald, the train packed with skiers returning from their day on the slopes. Next to us were a cosmopolitan bunch: a Dutch girl, a boy from Singapore and a Finnish man and his Russian wife. Of course, had they known that we were from Shetland, they might have found us exotic as well.

The next day we went to the stunning Alpine village of Kandersteg. With deep snow and brilliant sunshine, it was the ideal day to visit. Adie persuaded me to go in a cable car to the top – luckily, it was enclosed and not one of those open, feet-dangling chairlifts. That was just as well because Adie would not have persuaded me into one like that. Even so, I still had to suppress feelings of panic as we glided silently upwards.

At the top, we sat outside a restaurant, ate soup and watched the skiers and two eagles flying overhead.

On the way down we were alone in the cable car except for a girl who kept her nose buried in a book. I couldn’t see what she was reading, but missing the view seemed a bit of a waste. Either she was so used to it that the book seemed more gripping, or perhaps she was also nervous and it took her mind off the descent. Unusually, books were the last thing I wanted.

By the time we returned to Interlaken, the moon was peeking out above the mountains. I wished I could have stayed there, worshipping the scenery.

Interlaken was a great base. One night there was a fireworks display set to the James Bond theme tune. Our hotel was very friendly and comfortable with four different places to eat. On New Year’s Eve we ate in the chalet-style restaurant where we ended up doing the conga – I blame the champagne.

There were watch and cuckoo-clock shops galore in the town, but I ignored them all and bought a Mont Blanc pen, a notebook and a copy of Heidi instead.

Perhaps through writing and reading I could recapture a magical Alpine experience.

TRAVEL FACTS

The Swiss Holiday Company (swissholidayco.com, 0800 619 1200) offers three nights’ B&B at the City Hotel Oberland in Interlaken from £395pp. This includes return easyJet flights from Gatwick to Geneva including luggage allowance, rail travel to Interlaken, and half-fare card for buses, lake steamer and most trains.