After our city tour of Lucerne on Friday, we headed out for our Alpine Mountain Excursion. We drove around the lake to Vitznau, a small lake town.
We actually stopped in Weggis (kind of like Vegas) but missed our boat by about 3 minutes so Reinhard decided to start our trip with the cog wheel train ride up the mountain and finish it with a boat ride across the lake. It worked out just fine!
The cog wheel train is a Swiss invention and it was a wonderful ride up to 6000 feet to the top of the mountain. There were actually stations on the way to the top and houses and businesses. We were told later, by a local, that many of the homes were "second houses" - summer vacation homes.
We made it to the station at the top but there was still a climb to make it to the very top of the mountain for some 360 degree views.
To walk to the top, you could pick the young man's way - steep and direct - or the old man's way - long and winding. Both ways had some snow and ice on the paths.
Several in the group chose to make the trek to the top and even with some cloud cover, it was worth it.
This huge radio tower (or whatever it was) sits atop the mountain.
I caught Reinhard, our tour guide, getting some sun on the way down. There was still some snow on the path but with the lovely weather we were experiencing, I'm sure it's gone by now.
There was another overlook point on the way down and I caught some of the group there.
On the trip down the mountain in the cog wheel train, I sat on the opposite side of the car and caught these views.
We had just enough time for some lunch at the bottom of the mountain before catching our boat.
Zola took in the view as we waited for the boat to take us on the short 15 minute ride to Veggis, the next town over where the bus met us.
Here's a few shots from the top of the boat.
Next up...a free afternoon in Lucerne.
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