00:00Can you imagine living here, at 3,500 meters above sea level?
00:06With thin air, freezing temperatures down to minus 30 degrees Celsius
00:10and winds of more than 200 kilometers per hour?
00:15It's not for everyone.
00:19We'll show you a day in the life of Daniela Bisik and Erich Führer.
00:24They take care of technology, maintenance and upkeep
00:27at Europe's highest permanently inhabited research station in the Swiss Alps.
00:33For us, this job is like winning the lottery.
00:36If you love the mountains and snow, it's perfect.
00:41Getting to the Jungfraujoch means taking the train.
00:46A cogwheel railway has carried passengers through a 7-kilometer tunnel
00:50to Europe's highest train station since 1912.
00:56At 3,500 meters, research isn't the only thing happening.
01:02The station is also a tourist attraction.
01:05About one million visitors come each year.
01:08The last train back to the valley leaves in the afternoon.
01:12After that, Daniela and Erich are often almost alone until morning.
01:17Except for one railway employee and a few birds.
01:23Yes, it can be lonely.
01:26When storms hit, it gets really isolated.
01:29And you have to be able to handle that.
01:32What we can carry.
01:33Every morning, two worlds collide.
01:37Tourists shop in an alpine setting, while Erich does routine work.
01:42Shoveling snow.
01:47The average temperature here is minus 7 degrees Celsius.
01:51They found the job through a newspaper ad.
01:59A room with a view.
02:01During their shift, Daniela and Erich live in a 45-square-meter apartment.
02:06This is our kitchen.
02:12And living room.
02:15Which we share with the other couple who alternates with us.
02:19When we leave, we clear away all of our personal things.
02:24This is the most beautiful view you can have in Switzerland.
02:29Looking down at the Concordiaplatz.
02:31What more could you want?
02:35Five times a day, they record weather observations for Matteo Swiss.
02:43To do that, they take an old elevator from 1936 up another 112 meters.
02:50Travel time, one minute.
02:56The Sphinx Observatory at the summit offers ideal conditions for weather monitoring.
03:05Daniela and Erich note visibility, cloud cover and precipitation.
03:10We are right on the north-south weather divide.
03:24Conditions can change in an hour.
03:26From sunshine, to snow, rain or hail.
03:31Erich, as caretaker, also helps with research.
03:38For example, he assists in measuring the amount of Krypton-85 in the air.
03:47Meanwhile, Daniela goes shopping.
03:52Shopping works differently up here.
03:57I can't just go down and shop.
03:59That would take me a whole day.
04:01But I can order, and they send everything up within 24 hours.
04:10This is also one of the few times Daniela meets the many tourists who visit Jungfraujoch every day.
04:15Then, it's time for evening tea.
04:20It's not as hot as usual because water boils at only 85 degrees Celsius up here, due to the low air pressure.
04:30That's why a hard-boiled egg takes a full 14 minutes.
04:33But time runs differently up here anyway.
04:39When everyone has left the mountain, it's really peaceful.
04:44Clear air in the evenings and mornings, and it's cold.
04:48That's the time we enjoy the most.
04:50A life where others only come for a day trip.
04:53For Daniela and Erich, it's a dream come true.
Comments