Our little group had another early start as we left for Lucerne Switzerland at 9 AM. Today we would enjoy both a quick tour of Lucerne, a cruise on its famous lake and lastly ride up to the top of Mt. Pilatus on a cog railway. This last worried me a little bit but getting to a mountain top is a must in Switzerland, even tho the railway is the steepest in the world, basically going straight up.
After about an hour’s drive we reached our first stop, the massive rock sculpture titled “The Lion of Lucerne.” It was carved into solid rock by Lukas Ahorn in the 19th century to commemorate the massacre of Swiss Guards during the French Revolution. The slaughter took place in 1792 at the Tuileries. The sculpture was both moving and impressive,serving as an excellent remembrance of the slain guards.
Next we headed into the center of Lucerne, a city of 80,000 or so, which surrounds a beautiful lake of the same name. This area of Switzerland is still strongly Roman Catholic and a majority of the residents speak German.
As soon as we got off the bus, Bernie took us through the heart of Lucerne at his usual quick pace. Along the way we got a glimpse of shop windows and more buildings with frescoes. Our final destination was the kapelbrucke or the Chapel Bridge which spanned the Reuss River just before it flows into Lake Lucerne. The water in the river and lake is amazingly clear.
The covered bridge was made of wood and has a stone tower at one end. The interior ceiling braces are decorated with paintings, mainly landscapes, which were done in the 17th century, although the bridge was built in the 14th. It has suffered fire damage during the years but today, looks much like it did in days gone by.
Our next stop was the lake itself. We were to take a scenic boat tour of Lake Lucerne. The lake has a beautiful setting surrounded by glittering buildings and mountains, including Mt. Pilatus,which we would visit in the afternoon. The boat ride was fun, the day was beautiful and we learned about the homes and resorts that surround Lake Lucerne. The lake has an interesting shape with several arms and we enjoyed the scenery and the weather as our boat navigated the calm waters.
Our boat tour ended around 1 PM and our group then split into two. Not everyone wanted to take the cog railway up Mt. Pilatus, as it turned out. About half stayed in Lucerne and had a free afternoon to explore the city and have lunch on their own until it was time to return to Basel at 4 PM. However our brave group boarded the waiting bus and headed towards the town of Kriens where we would board the cog wheel train. As we neared the station, the buildings started to resemble the views of Switzerland you see on postcards, although Kriens is actually a suburb of Lucerne and has a population of 20,000.
Several Swiss were playing their long Alpenhorns in front of the station, no doubt to engage the tourists. They succeeded as I can’t imagine having enough breath to get the sound out those long horns. They do have a deep, mellow sound unlike any other.
The ride up the mountain takes about a half hour but our train hadn’t arrived yet which gave us even more time to be nervous about the experience.
Everything is steep about the cog railway, even the platform that leads to the car is at a steep angle. On board, we learned that the railway opened in 1889 and has been operating ever since. It travels about 7,000 ft. to the top of Mt. Pilatus, first through steeply sloping farmland and pastures. We saw several really fit farmers working the land while contented cows wearing large bells grazed on the lush grass.
The final ascent is steep and rocky, but we were surprised to see some hardy souls hiking up the mountain, instead of riding. Then we noticed that there is a foot path that parallels the cog railway. As it turned out, the ride wasn’t that scary, although there are a few spots where you look straight down out your window.
I would have to say I would do it again and would have preferred to ride the train back down instead of riding a gondola. Now that was scary!
We disembarked to find the temperature was at least 20 degrees cooler on the top of the mountain as intermittent fog swirled around us. We would have about an hour to enjoy the view and have some lunch until we regrouped for our gondola ride back to Kriens. The mountain top boasts a hotel, with a mall for souvenir stands and food counters. After walking to the viewing platform and getting our picture taken in front of the Mt. Pilatus sign, we decided to get something to eat. Although there is a sit down restaurant, it was crowded and the Ramblers decided to get the Mt. Pilatus version of fast food, really long hot dogs. Good choice, they were tasty and easy to eat, and we were lucky enough to score seats at a nearby table.
Soon it was time to reassemble for our ride down Mt. Pilatus, Unfortunately Bernie had booked our group on the huge gondola called the Dragon Ride. The dragon is the symbol of Mt. Pilatus. Well, this is a huge car that holds about 60 people. There are seats around the gondola walls but the Ramblers were not in the first rush of passengers and were packed into the standing room only middle like riders on the subway during rush hour.
The one good thing about the Dragon Ride is that the gondola has to stop while the passengers board. The Ramblers no longer appreciate the smaller gondolas that never stop and force you to get in and out while your vehicle is still moving. Unfortunately, the Dragon gondola only went half-way down the mountain. From there we would have to climb into 4 person gondolas constantly on the move. We did manage to get in with a charming Swiss grandmother and grand daughter who told us about their lives in the area.
I will admit that the view was spectacular and everything went well until we had to get out. We let our Swiss friends go first as this was a common experience for us. They were quick but we still have relatively little time to exit.
When the senior Rambler got out, he stepped out awkwardly and experienced severe pain in his back. We managed to get back to the bus, and then to the hotel room but his pain didn’t go away. In asking about a doctor, the concierge told me that we were very close to the emergency room of the University Hospital; of course, it was open 24 hours. We finally decided that our only option was to go to the emergency room. Three hours later, we found that he had no serious damage but must have pulled or tweaked something when he stepped out of the gondola. The doctor wrote several prescriptions for him, and fortunately there is a pharmacy attached to the hospital that is open 24 /7. Prescriptions filled, we headed back to the hotel.
We would be checking out after breakfast and heading to the the Hotel D, about half a block away on the other side of the street. Good thing we had those hot dogs as we never did eat dinner that night. It was the right decision to go to the hospital, as it wouldn’t be long until we had to head for home. Keep in mind that having medical treatment in a foreign country is often expensive and you will have to pay up front. Take a credit card with a high limit along, just in case you have such an emergency. Then you can pay the bill at the medical facility and work on reimbursement when you get home. Best not to travel abroad without some kind of medical insurance, either thru a Medigap policy or travel insurance bought specifically for your trip.