#24 Lake Lucerne and Burgenstock Bahn

Our first stop in Switzerland was Lucerne (Luzern). As soon as we set our suitcases down our first order of business (as it was in every hotel) was to make a dash for the balcony or the window to see the view. Our room at the Tourist Hotel overlooked the Reuss River and with the windows open, as they always were on this trip, we could hear the water rushing below. It made for wonderful sleeping!
On one of the few cloudy, misty days of our trip, we took a boat trip to Kehrsiten from Lucerne in order to ride the Burgenstock Bahn ( a funicular train). The car carried us up the mountain to the Burgenstock Resort; we then walked along the forest path and dirt track to Obburgen, through meadows and wooded nature trail to Stansstad. We then rode the world famous lift up to the Hammetschwand. Once there we could hear the bells in the valley below, and made use of the restaurant's facilities. We were impressed with the plumbing in all of Europe and the washroom--that we reached by boat, funicular, foot and lift--did not disappoint. To my amazement, it was beautifully appointed!




Our journey to the Burgenstock Funicular station with a boat ride on Lake Lucerne. The fare for both the funicular and the boat was included in the Europass that we had purchased to tour the continent.





















This photo was taken by one of the few fellow hikers that we encountered on our way up to the top. This beautiful overlook of Lake Lucerne was repeated at every turn.









From the boat we could look up and see the lift on the outside of the mountain. If you look closely in this photo, you can see it in the center top.

#23 Don's Mountain - The Matterhorn

Don was a man on a mission when we rode the Glacier Express from St. Moritz to Zermatt, Switzerland, and that was to get as close to the Matterhorn as possible. This was our first glimpse from the glass-topped railcar. We soon referred to the Matterhorn as Don's mountain. In his younger days, he might have fancied himself as one of the climbers. Zermatt was established by and for pioneer

climbing guides and the first trek was accomplished in 1865.

This closer look was from the balcony of our 5th floor hotel in Zermatt. We never knew just how much of the mountain would be visible with the changing cloud patterns. It was especially beautiful late evening with the golden sun shining on the snow and ice. Don made sure that he kept a close eye upon his mountain at all times.

The next step, and rather exciting in itself, was to take the cable car up to the glaciered mountains to get even closer. The terminal for the lift was just 2 blocks from our hotel. I greatly admired the engineering skills and ingenuity of the Swiss. If I could trust anyone with our safety, it would be they.

The sun was shining and it was a beautiful clear day. When we arrived at the first station, we walked around and took some panoramic shots, all the while breathing in the amazingly fresh air. A well-placed bench gave us a front row seat to observe the glaciers, mountain lakes and snow-capped peaks.

We enjoyed this very much, and I could have stayed right there, but Don had his eye on that little tiny hole in the mountain above us. It was the last leg of the ride. I hesitated a bit, or he might tell you that I tried to talk him out of going up there. I did not look forward to riding in the cable car, but he was going--with or without me.

It was very cold in the ice tunnel with the wind whipping through.

The highest glacier palace in Europe 3,883 m.a.s.l.

Don took this shot from the glacier palace, just 500 feet below the peak of the Matterhorn. The thrill of touching the Matterhorn is still reserved for climbers--there is no access by cable car.



A happy man! After lunch we hung out on the "beach." The only sound was quiet conversation and the bells on the goats, brought up to "mow" the grass. We never dreamed that such a wonderful experience would be afforded to us--non-hikers, non-climbers, non-skiers.