Pilatus is about 25 miles from Zug in Luzern, so we hopped on the train and headed for Luzern around 9am. We decided to take the funicular (a steep train) up the mountain. It's the steepest train in the world. In some places it's on a 48% incline! On the ground there were low clouds and you couldn't see Pilatus, but we crossed our fingers that it would be clear once we got to the top. Pilatus is 6922 feet high, so we thought our chances were good.
Well, we were PLEASANTLY surprised when we got to the top. It was more beautiful than I could have imagined. As we headed up the funicular, it was incredible how we went from overcast skies, to fog and then to clearest of clear blue skies! Here is the progression of our trip:
Yes, there are chairs for sunbathing! There is a hotel and two restaurants on the top of Pilatus and it was actually quite warm with the sun beating down on you!
There was a church just on a mountain with nothing else around it. It was pretty charming. I got a picture of it when we went down the mountain via gondola. I loved it!
When we first got to the top of Pilatus, we saw a paraglider that had gone down on the mountain. There were about a dozen people running down towards him and we assumed he was injured, but this was confirmed when we saw a medic helicopter approach and later carry the injured person off the mountain. It was cool (well, not for the injured guy) because the helicopter dropped medics off on the incline where the paraglider was, then it landed for a while up by the resort, then it went and picked up the paraglider and medics by a hanging cable and then took them to a flat space where they could load them onto the helicopter. It was quite the sight to see.
Whoa, Fabio! Don't fall off that cliff!!!!
We took a gondola (cable car) down to Luzern from Pilatus. It's always so stunning to see the world this way!
Here is that incredibly isolated church on the mountain!
We decided to stop half-way down the mountain to go on an alpine tobagan ride. Both of us have never been on one before. This was evident when Fabio came down to the bottom and there were 4 people right on his tail! I couldn't stop laughing. I told him he owed each of them 8 francs (cost of a ticket)!
This was the view as they pulled you back up the mountain in your tobagan. This was almost as cool as the ride down the hill!
Alp horn players were all over Pilatus. The sound coming from those horns is so soothing and peaceful! Perfect for a morning in the mountains! :)
Pilatus was wonderful! There are two main peaks, and we were able to hike to each of them. The weather was perfect (probably 50 degrees) and there was no wind. There were clouds in the valley, but it made it special in its own way, and about half way through our visit, the clouds began to clear and we could peak down into the valley and even see part of the lake. Today I was so happy to be in Switzerland!
FYI: I decided to make our blog public again. I know, I'm wishy-washy, but I figure, I put so much work into posting, and I'm thinking that people who do google reader don't read my blog anymore. And let's be honest, when I spend an average of 30-60 minutes per post, I want people to read it!
4 comments:
Well what a pleasant surprise to see your blog come up on my google reader. I too have often thought about going back. I think people forget to check and let's be honest, I love comments. :) I don't know what I would do though. I would have to be a bit more private about Ella (who is the main person I'm trying to protect by going private). I'll talk to Scott. :)
So can I say that I am so completely jealous we didn't go. On the other hand, I don't think it would have been as cool with Ella there. (No offense Ella!) But really, after all the journeys we made, I'm sure it was awesome being up there, doing what you wanted and not worrying about a little baby who needs a nap, is hungry, and can't be in the sun for too long, etc? I was also going to say something else but forgot. Blah.
Great Post Ms. Em!! Just within the last 1-2 days I saw something on PBS about the funicular so it was fun to read about someone's real-life experience with one.
Aunt Beth
Legit post Em. It all looks spectacularly amazing! I would be way interested in checking out that church. Those things are so cool. Of course I also would have been way excited about the helicopter. I laughed too when I saw the pic of Fabio with two boys right on his tail. Pretty funny.
I'll have to get Abbie to explain the google reader thing to me . . .
Loved the Post. You didn't mention once about getting a bit queezy going up that mountain. I felt it just from your pictures. Man o man!
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