Luzern - Mt. Pilatus

It was an early morning for us - 6am wake up call so we could take the first boat out at 8:45 to Mt. Pilatus. It was a chilly morning which made sitting on the deck of the boat a bit difficult. We sat inside and ordered coffee and watched the scenery pass by for the 90 minute ride. Some gorgeous views, however very overcast. Which I knew would kill the view from Mt. Pilatus, but I had hope that the sun would burn through it!

We then arrived at the dock right on schedule and walked over to the funicular to take us up the mountain. I had never taken a funicular, so I was pretty excited! It was a STEEP journey up the mountain.

As we got higher and higher up the mountain, the overcast skies completely covered the view. In fact, we reached 7000 feet and the view was supposed to be spectacular, but we couldn't see ANYTHING. You got the occasional glimpse a few hundred feet down, but we couldn't see down below. We scaled a little trail to a peak above the station where we arrived via funicular, which seemed to be the highest point.

Quiet, chilly, and just a few of us sitting upon this perch with a "blind" view below, we could hear the horns playing below, about 3 or 4 of them. It seemed to get even more quiet when they played, as if there was some sort of noise in the background below, but when they played all was still. The horns echoed ever so slightly, and the music they played was amazing... We sat and listened for quite some time, when a couple who had arrived at this perch prior to us stood up and started singing... as if they were inspired by the horns. They sang two separate times, and it made the experience all the more magical. I've included the video I shot of them as they sung in the gallery, labeled Singing Couple.


We sat for a short while longer, then scaled back down towards the station to take us down the mountain in aerial cable car. Much of it was "blind" from the overcast/fog that engulfed the mountain. As we got further down the mountain we could see more... and it was quite beautiful. I have decided that I need to return to the mountain again, on a clear day, to take in the majestic beauty.

We arrived to the bottom in one piece and took the bus back to Luzern so we could head out for Bern, Switzerland. I enjoyed the trip to the mountain, even if we couldn't see anything. There is something about Mt. Pilatus... Not sure exactly what, but I do want to return to see the view from the top.

As we left for Bern, we stopped by the Lion Monument, which was well worth it. Mark Twain called the Lion Monument 'the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.' It was... I didn't expect it to be so big, and the emotion coming from the monument was intense... causing goose bumps to travel up my spine, literally. I enjoyed Luzern... I hope to return to spend more time strolling the streets, climbing a mountain, and spending some time at the monument again... On to Bern!