6/6/10 - Lucerne & Mt. Pilatus

Today was such a lovely day in Lucerne. I woke up at the chalet, ate breakfast then caught the nine o’clock bus to Frutigen. Kate had the day off and was traveling to Zurich so we got to ride together until Bern, then we parted. I arrived in Lucerne around twelve o’clock and Liz was waiting at the train station. Lucerne is a very romantic town and one unique aspect is the Chapel Bridge built in 1333 primarily for defense mechanisms. It was a very pretty wooden bridge as Lucerne is situated on a Lake. Switzerland cities have a vast history and the buildings were built centuries ago. I have really learned to appreciate history while in Europe because everything is so ancient. We ate lunch at La Bonne Café, and I got a lovely pasta and salmon dish! Liz wanted to go on a mountain excursion, therefore we departed for Mount Pilatus. We rode the bus to Kriens. We accidentally got off at the wrong bus stop and had to ask where the cable car location was; we had not realized that it was a 5 minute walk up hill. But, none the less we found the cable cars and we were lifted up the mountain. It was very pretty on the way up and I love being surrounded by green. When we arrived at the top of Mt. Pilatus, we were in a cloud and it felt very eerie. We climbed to the top and took pictures as we heard rumbling thunder. Luckily it was not a thunderstorm and only light showers came with the thunder, and it stopped raining within 20 minutes. Oh how I miss the sound of thunder. We enjoyed some hot cocoa at the top and continued wandering. It was very lovely. Then, our journey down hill was on the world’s steepest cogwheel railway. It took 45 minutes to reach the bottom, but all the different sceneries and views were phenomenal, absolutely breathtaking. I really enjoy being in the mountains and absolutely love waking up everyday to see the beautiful Swiss Alps. After the railway brought us down, we road a train back to Lucerne. Mt. Pilatus is South of Lucerne. We then got back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. Liz and her roommate Courtney and I went to a lovely restaurant that was famous for its wine. It has over 650 styles of wine. After dinner, we met up with her study abroad friends to hang out at a pub. It was a good evening and after the pub it was time for bed.