Lucerne

Lucerne

We were up nice and early as we planned to journey up to the top of Mount Pilatus. I was really disappointed as it was grey and very foggy and I figured we wouldn't be able to see anything. How wrong I was!!

The coach took us to Kriens where we hopped on a cable car that took us up to Fräkmüntegg, which is about half way up the mountain. After only a few minutes we had risen above the fog and it was a glorious sunny day. Below us were farms and forests and you could see tracks where the skiing might be in the winter.

From Fräkmüntegg a Gondola carried us the rest of the way to the top of Mount Pilatus (2132m). Here we spent an hour or so doing some of the smaller tracks, taking lots of photos and chilling out enjoying the view. The view was incredible!! The fog had pretty much cleared by the time we got to the top and you could see the city and the lake. You could also see snow-covered Alps in the distance. The air was very crisp and it felt very exhilarating, like we were on top of the world

To get back down the mountain we caught the rack rail car (or cog railway) which is the steepest in the world. We passed lots of tracks and shale and it reminded me of some of the tracks around Whakapapa at home. We stopped briefly at a farm with heaps of cows all carrying this huge bells. It must drive them crazy.

At the bottom (Alpnachstad), there was a boat waiting for us to take us for a cruise along Lake Lucerne back to the city. It was very relaxing and with a beer or two we kicked back to watch the scenery. What a way to see Lucerne!

We got back into downtown Lucerne about lunchtime and had the rest of the afternoon to explore the city. We visited the Lion Monument which is carved into the hillside. It is a wounded lion inside the shape of a boar and is a memorial to commemorate the hundreds of Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution.

We had lunch in a mall and spent the rest of the day exploring some of the churches and bridges around Lucerne, and checking out some of the shopping. Compared to the cities we'd been to in Italy, it seemed very chilled out.

For dinner we headed to a local restaurant for some Swiss cuisine. For dessert we had a chocolate fondue with pieces of bread and fruit to dip in.

Then it was on to a local pub for some drinking :-) First of, a small group of us headed to an Irish bar by the river overlooking the Chapel Bridge for a pint. A couple from our tour where on the bridge, and we were blown away when he got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. We all cheered and I think they were a bit surprised to see us all watching them. Gliebenhoff shouted a bottle of champagne and we all celebrated in style. They are the second couple on our trip to get engaged!

Later on we ended up at a bar recommended by Red Bull. It was full of the Contiki people so I think they like to keep all the foreigners together. It ended up another big night, fancy that.

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