Lucerne [Luzern]

On Friday, August 1st, also known as Swiss National Day, we went 50 minutes south to Lucerne.  We had planned to go to the Bernese Oberland/Alps to hike in the Alps, but it was horrible weather there so we cancelled our hotel reservation.

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It worked out perfect because Bryce still wanted to enjoy a mountain and I wanted to see the city of Lucerne in central Switzerland.  Mount Pilatus is one of the big mountains just steps away from Lucerne.  AND it's technically part of the Swiss Alps.  There you will find the world's steepest cog railway train that goes from the bottom all the way to the top of Mount Pilatus (6,982 ft high).  The train actually goes up at a 48 degree angle in some parts.  It's crazy.  Madison loved it.  She is in a stage where she loves planes and trains.  I can't remember the last time that I rode an actual train.  It was funny to pass hikers who were probably hiking for hours to get to the top.  It looked like a rough hike from bottom to top.  I kept looking at Bryce saying, "Aren't you glad we're here and not there with both kids?!"

Miss Sassafras

Where you board the train

Isn't that crazy?

Straight up the mountain

The top of the mountain was absolutely beautiful.  There were herds of cows and as we hiked, we could hear their bells ringing far off in the distance.

 

Not sure what kind of mountain goat these are, but they were just hanging out on a ledge below us.

Another train coming up.  The trains actually have 3 breaks on them-one mechanical, one electrical, and another...I forget.  A train conductor came by and was talking to us when the train stopped for a few minutes to let another pass.

When we reached the top, we did a short hike to another peak, ate a snack, and headed back down.

Luckily we went up first thing in the morning on the second train around 9am because it got very cloudy just after we finished the hike at the top.

Then we drove into Lucerne and walked around the lake and old town.  It was gorgeous.  It reminded us a lot of Italy.  The lake was full of sailboats and paddle boats.  The Reuss River runs right through old town and a famous 14th century bridge crosses the river.

Feeding birds on the lake.

The famous 14th century bridge in old town.

On the bridge

The beauty of flowers in Switzerland blows my mind.  Every day.  Colorful bouquets hanging off of houses in windows, carefully manicured gardens in people's yards, and community gardens on the edges of towns.

There were tons of Italian restaurants, but with it being Swiss National Day, we felt like we had to eat a sausage and potatoes.  So we found a quiet little cafe on a side street and took advantage of the short nap that Maddie took.

We were back home by dinner and early bed time for everyone.  It is crazy to think we live so close to such beautiful places.  We will definitely be back.

On the other hand, people all over the world would say the same thing about living just a few minutes from DC and in driving distance to NYC like we did during our first year of marriage.