October 14, 2018

DAY TRIP! Ok so today Caoliang actually had off. They just finished their last show in Zurich the night before and we have a week off until Paris work day begins! We’re starting our holiday off with staying in Switzerland and visiting a nearby city, Luzern. While researching Luzern, one of the things that kept popping up with this “Golden Round Trip.” What is that? It’s a path that starts at Luzern and goes up to Mount Pilatus and back using different forms of transportation; boat, cogwheel and aerial cable way. The ticket to do this was a little pricy but being in Switzerland I was more interested to see the mountains than the city of Luzern. So the night before we purchased tour tickets to go on this “Golden Round Trip.” For each of us, the tour costed about 112 francs. If you’ve kept up with my travels, you see that we often do tours. In all honesty, yes it is a little annoying you have to stay with a group, but when you are on a time crunch and you rather just have someone else do the thinking and guiding, it is totally worth it!

So once we left Zurich, we arrived in Luzern’s main station shortly after. The tour didn’t start until noon which gave us some time to walk around the station and see sights that were nearby.

One of the “to-see” items in Luzern was this wooden bridge, called the Kapellbrücke. It is the oldest wooden covered bridge in European and a popular sight in Switzerland. It was conveniently located near the central station so it was easy for us to go walk around and check out the different perspectives from there. The bridge was pretty nice, being covered in flowers and having paintings inside dating back to the 17th century.

Soon it was noon and time for us to begin our tour! The first leg of the tour was a short bus ride to the start of the aerial cable way. The tour guide was more like a sheep herder. He would make sure everyone was together, give us our tickets, tell us what time to meet, and then let us go. The aerial cable ride was quiet long. When seeing the height and length, you can’t help but wonder, how did they build this thing!? From Kriens, the cable car took us up to Fräkmüntegg, about thirty minutes, where we boarded a different, larger, cable car up to the top of Mount Pilatus, an additional five minutes. It was truly amazing being on the side of this mountain.

Once we got to the top, our guide instructed us to be back at the meeting point in roughly an hour and a half. From the top, there were different walking/hiking paths you could partake or you could just sit at one of the many public seats and enjoy the view. This mountain is also famous for having Capricorns! Unfortunately for us, we didn’t get to see any.

Anyways, Caoliang and I decided to try to fit in as many routes as possible until we had to be at the meeting point. First, the Dragon Trail! In the Middle Ages, people believed that dragons actually lived on Mount Pilatus. The Dragon Trail is an easy walking trail that is etched into the side of the mountain. There are pockets in the trail where you can see out the side of the mountain. It was beautiful but so cold! The summit is 2,132 meters above sea level, just FYI.

Once we got to the end of the Dragon Trail, we were linked to another viewpoint that gave us a stunning view of the mountain and surrounding areas. Even though the wind was blowing and chilly air creeping through my jacket, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day to enjoy the views. Again, Switzerland continues to be like a post card. There were perfect views in every direction you look.

I think we spent a little over an hour exploring different trails and view points before we rushed to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Again, Switzerland is expensive so we actually ended up sharing an Ala carte plate (it was pretty big) that costed us 19 francs (about 19 usd). We quickly inhaled our food as the meeting time was close approaching.

Onto transportation number two, the steepest cogwheel in the world! Many people also do the Golden Round Trip the opposite way we did. We even ran into one of Caoliang’s coworkers who came up the cogwheel, instead of going down it, like we would. It sounds scary, “world’s steepest cogwheel” but from where I was sitting, it actually was a breeze. The trip down allowed us to see the mountain from a different perspective. The ride down was actually so slow, and I was so tired, I actually fell asleep!!

Our last mode of transportation was going back to Luzern by boat. The boat ride was very smooth with no bumps or swaying. There was even a small cafe inside the boat if you fancied a glass of wine or snack. We kind of just hung out til getting back to the city. It was really spectacular to see the view from the top though. Now that I think of it, I rather enjoy mountains and getting to see what the view is like from the top. Let it be cable car, cogwheel or even hiking, I think mountains are beautiful pieces of Mother Nature’s art.

Once we returned to the city, we had a bit of time till our train back to Zurich. With our extra time, we decided to go visit the huge lion monument that wasn’t too far away from the main station. The lion monument commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution. The lion’s expression is sad as a huge stake is in its side. It is hard to tell from pictures, but this lion is actually pretty massive.

After the lion, I still wanted to see if we could get a higher view of the city of Luzern. We then headed to Zytturm. We actually were headed towards something else, but with tie dwindling, we ended up at the Zytturm. It is a clock tower that dates back to 1535. Inside, you could see all the working mechanics of the large clock tower. It was pretty interesting how the public could go all the way up into this clock tower.

Times up! The city of Luzern and Mount Pilatus were gorgeous. This short day trip concluded my time in Switzerland, for now. I am definitely leaving with a good impression. With super clean streets and post-card like views, this country really lives up to it’s reputation. Until next time Switzerland!

 

 

xx
t.