Our day began with a hotel buffet breakfast-there was an extra charge for this of @ E25 but it saved us time and the food, as expected was very good.
The elegant breakfast room with the buffet in the room at the rear
We were able to buy tickets for this excursion at the hotel's front desk and they offered us options: we could go to the summit via boat and then cog railway, returning via cable car and bus or vice-versa.
We would start with the boat as we were keen to get out onto the beautiful lake.
So we walked to the boat dock, which was across the lake by the Performing Arts Center.
Our boat will be the first one-8.45 to Alpnachstad, where we will join the world's steepest cog railway (at a 48% incline) to the summit.
I was hoping for one of those old paddlewheel steamers with the tall funnel that I saw on the lake but our boat was a very modern catamaran. We sat at the stern, outside in the sun and fresh air so I was able to shoot video and take stills.
Off we go!
Our eventual destination-Mount Pilatus. The ferry makes stops at several villages along the lake as this route is not just for tourists but for locals going to work or returning from a shopping visit to Lucerne. This allowed us to see these pretty villages up-close as we zigzagged across the lake.
This far from Lucerne it is very quiet, but for the sound of the ferry.
Moments like this when I am looking through a viewfinder and seeing the uninterrupted beauty that is the small part of Switzerland I have seen, I realize how lucky I am to be able to travel freely and to have the good health and mobility to satisfy my curiosity.
There's a good breakfast in my stomach-energy for the day ahead-clean clothes on my back, Swiss Francs and a credit card in my pocket, my best friend beside me, the sun is shining and the lake is calm and our day is about to get even better!
We were coming to the end of our ferryboat ride as we could see the cog railway coming down the mountain to the station at Alpnachstad.
Once off the boat we walked over to the station and climbed aboard the little red train. The carriages are small-seating 4 to 6 people (and you face the people opposite) as the rail is narrow. You are sitting perpendicular even though the rails are sloped 48 degrees....like sitting on a flight of stairs.
The train began to move.....
See you at the top!
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