Train Travel Netherlands
The North Face of the Eiger mountain in Switzerland is synonymous with extremity, hardship and danger. Nicknamed Mordwand ('Murder Face' in German) it witnessed the death of over 50 climbers who attempted its towering 1,800 metre face since 1935. The Eiger's North Face is considered one of the ultimate challenges in alpine mountaineering.
The first succesful ascent was achieved by a quartet of climbers from Austria and Germany. Among them was Heinrich Harrer, the unparallelled Austrian skier, climber and explorer who is known by most from his book Seven Years in Tibet. Despite of being surprised by an avalanche near the summit, the four managed to brace themselves and came out unhurt. The ascent took them four days and three nights, during which they bivouacked on the fearsome face by hanging suspended from ropes or crouching on small rock ledges. In his magnificent book The White Spider Harrer describes this miraculous first ascent, as well as giving gripping reports of all the Eiger attempts from 1935 until 1963.
Despite of that first victory and many subsequent ones, the shadow of death was never far from the mighty face. The first pair to seriously attempt the ascent froze to death at 3000 metres altitude. A year later in 1936 a party of four perished while trying to descend down the face after bad weather conditions marred their journey upward. Three of them fell to their deaths, while the fourth tragically and dramatically died mere inches away from his rescuers. A knot in the rescuing rope did not fit through his snap-link and his last frantic efforts proved fatal: he died of sheer exhaustion. Countless tragedies followed, yet the Eiger's fearsome reputation kept calling on the bravest of souls to pit their skills against it.
Not only its frightening steepness and its tremendously difficult pitches, but also and especially the constant bombardment by stone and rock breaking off from the face and its unpredictable avalanches higher up near the summit have made the Eiger into the supreme test for the world's most qualified climbers. The weather poses another formidable and ever-unpredictable foe. Many have had to beat a retreat when one of the Eiger's notorious storms set in. That climbing the Eiger's North Face is no summer picnick shows clearest in the shared vow by all those who reached its summit that they would never climb it a second time. It is considered a once in a lifetime experience.
One should read Harrer's book to get a true and first-hand glimpse of the arduous and frightening, yet life-changing and illumining experience of mountain climbing. Overcoming the obstacles and challenges encountered on the face brings courage, responsibility and wisdom and make the mountaineer into a more complete and competent human being. As Harrer himself writes,
"My memory of the Eiger's face has often given me the strength, the patience and the confidence to cope with apparently hopeless and dangerous situations, and helped me to believe in life at times when all the circumstances seemed most hostile to life itself." Heinrich Harrer
Abhinabha Tangerman is a marathon runner from The Hague, The Netherlands. He enjoys writing both prose and poetry and loves newness and adventure. He is a member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team http://www.srichinmoyraces.org/
Train Travel Netherlands Questions
what is the cheapest way to travel in europe?
im going around england, and from there to paris, around france, to germany, around germany, to netherlands and then taking the chunnel from brussels back to london.
is train the cheapest? raileurope.com?
Trains are the most convenient and reliable way to travel around Europe as you're going from city centre to city centre. You only need to be at the train station 15mins before the train leaves, while with a plane you'll need to get to the airport at least one hour before the flight, check baggage, wait to pick up bags at your destination and then try to find your way into the city.
RailEurope is simply a rail pass and ticketing company and is one of the most expensive ways to buy train tickets. Once you've worked out an itinerary, look at the national train companies in the countries you're visiting and check the point-to-point fares, these are often much cheaper than using a pass, and much cheaper if you buy in advance.
Netherlands train tickets?
If I land in Amsterdam and have to travel by train to another city, should I buy the train ticket in advance on the website or can I buy it at the station? Is one cheaper than the other? are there always places left in the trains?
Thank you!
At Schiphol Airport, the train station is below the main hall, behind the shops after you get through customs after picking up your luggage. There are ticket machines where you can buy your ticket (see below for website with information on how to use the machines) and you can buy tickets at the NS ticket office (€ 0,50 surcharge).
Depending on when you return (same day or later) you can buy a one-way or return ticket (return tickets are only valid for one day).
In general, there are alwaus places left in the train, especially since a lot of people get off at Schiphol Airport. You cannot make reservations for seats when using the train in the Netherlands. Except when you take an international hi-speed train like the Thalys (to Paris) or the ICE (to Germany and Switzerland; though that one does not stop at Schiphol Airport, but leaves from nearby Amsterdam).
Enjoy your stay!
Train Travel Netherlands Videos
TrainTravel Netherlands ~ Utrecht (2/2) ~ Ulrich Schnauss ~ Fahrenheit
