Mt. Rigi, Swiss Cows and Dinner on Lake Lucerne

When you set out to visit Switzerland, you think first of the Alps--the mountains. (Well, maybe chocolate. Cheese. Swiss Army knives.) Since arriving in Lucerne, we had taken every opportunity to stand on our hotel balcony and look at the mountains: Mt. Pilatus to our right, and Mt. Rigi on our left. We took endless pictures of the mountains.

Mt. Pilatus

Today, we would visit Mt. Rigi and finally get "up close and personal" with a Swiss mountain. Finishing our lunch on the Ruess, we walk to the train station, and take a train to Arth-Goldau, and then transfer to the Rigi Bahn, the oldest cog railway in Europe (1871). Stopping just short of the top, we get off the train to take an easy hike through the fields and countryside before re-connecting with a separate line going down the backside of the mountain, taking us along a different route and to Vitznau on Lake Lucerne.




The center "rail" is for the cog on the
 railcars which prevents gravity from taking over on the steep climb and descent.

We start our hike

The weather was perfect. Clear, warm but not hot. The view was everything we'd imagined. As the path wound around, we heard them before we saw them: The cow bells! 

As Swiss dairy farmers send their cattle up to higher pastures in the summer, they use the bells to help keep track of the cows. But they are also symbolic. In Alpine cow culture, the best cows get the biggest, most impressive bells. Some of the bells are enormous! And the gentle sound of 15 or 20 bells all ringing in harmony has to be heard to be appreciated. We will never forget it.

Along our walk, we came to a field where we were able to come very close to the cows, and take these photos and video. We concluded that this must be "the most famous cow in the world" as she has ended up in thousands of tourists' photo albums! She seemed quite content to let us add her to ours too!

Of course, we brought home a souvenir cow bell to remind us of the beautiful music made by Swiss cows!

After our leisurely hike, we came to the train station where we would ride the cog railway back down Mt. Rigi on our way to the lakeside and Vitznau. While we waited for the train, we had the chance to visit a lovely little chapel tucked into a grotto in the rock. The spring outside the entrance is said to have healing powers.

We caught our first glimpse of para-gliders soaring and drifting in the updrafts. David was ready to sign up; Peggy wasn't so sure! You will see them more clearly in the embedded video below.

In Vitznau, we were able to see the cars on the roundhouse turntable getting ready to turn around and head back up the mountain.

But it was time now to board a paddlewheel boat to return to Lucerne. The boat, which is actually a side-wheeler, is over 100 years old and well maintained. We enjoyed our catered dinner of fresh fish and salad aboard and had time to see the other activity on Lake Lucerne as we made our way back to downtown.

It had been a LONG day, and we had now only to grab the bus, and then take our "easy walk--10 minutes--no problem" up the switchback hill to Hotel Royal.

We had to pack up and get ready for our first transfer, as we were headed to Interlaken the next morning!

Today's trip: Lucerne to Mt. Rigi to Vitznau and then across the lake back to Lucerne.

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Lucerne and the Swiss Transport Museum

"The Duck"

Our second day in Switzerland began with lectures on the history of the Cantons (states) after an early breakfast at 0630 hrs. Flakey croissants, butter, jams, sliced meats, cheeses, muesli, strong kaffe, fresh orange juice and pure mountain water fed by glaciers are laid out for our meal. No eggs, bacon and hash browns here; we're in Europe and many of our dining companions have already been up earlier for a morning walk. 

David and Andrea

Two interesting lectures were given by Andrea John, one of our hosts (pictured), and a local retired newspaper reporter, Peter Frey. Covering everything from the banding together of ancient tribes, various alliances and the formation of governments up to the present day, it was both informative and helpful. In our upcoming travels we would experience the four languages of Switzerland; Swiss German, French, Italian and Romansch. Both our presenters, who are Swiss, are so proud of their country, and that enthusiasm is infectious. We can't wait to start discovering!

Debb and Rauati

So we are thankful to take a walk down the hill, following the Duck to the bus stop, and then a quick bus ride to the Swiss Transport Museum. Lunch there reminded us of the Pennsylvania Dutch connection to Switzerland; the potato, apple and pasta casserole was absolutely delicious. 

The museum staff along with our two other leaders, Debb and Rauati, led us through the various displays of rail, bus, boat, and aircraft. Outdoors was a charming children's area with ships to pilot, trucks to move dirt with, and a miniature driving range designed to help kids learn about highways.

Children's activity area

Of course, David, got a chance to operate the train simulator before we left for some free time touring the city shops.

Swiss aircraft history

How do we look as pilot and
flight attendant?

Dozens of vintage vehicles
displayed on gigantic shelves

Getting to various parts of the city is easy, fast and enjoyable. We could take the walking path all along the lake shore; electric buses run every nine or ten minutes; or, if further out, a local train will whisk you into the shopping district.

Mt. Pilatus from our hotel balcony

Lucerne shopping district

One thing you always hear about Switzerland is that it's expensive. Our presenter Peter explained that Swiss salaries are higher than in most of Europe, so if you're Swiss, it evens out. But in American terms, things are a bit pricey! Even a couple of Big Macs and some fries will set you back $40. Our leaders steered us to a couple of the most popular department stores that carry everything from foods to clothing to outdoor patio items and we went there first when we needed to pick up a snack or something simple. We found there is a Migros and a COOP in every town! Of course there are wonderful specialty shops with everything from paper goods, antiques, bakery items, shoes and clothing.

Some of our best experiences came from shopping and sometimes bargaining. A combination of David's German, Peggy's French, the shopkeeper's English and sign language resulted in what would have been a genuine friendship had we stayed in the country. And we got a great price as well!

We ended our day alongside the River Reuse waiting for the bus to take us to our stop for a "short walk--no problem--back to the hotel."

The Chapel Bridge

From time to time, we are going to imbed some short YouTube videos into our narrative. We decided early on that we would try and take pictures of things we wanted to remember, but we would also rely on the "professionals" when that could add to the story.

Today, the Swiss Transport Museum: