Note: I, Peter am now feeling very healthy and enjoying the holiday. Thanks to everyone who has asked about my condition.
Today we travel by coach to Lucerne and then to the top of Mt Pilatus. For some readers this was be a nostalgic journey remembering a visit to these places some 15 years ago. Both places have stayed very firmly in my travel memories.
Let's begin at the Lion Monument, which is to me one of the most spiritual places of this world. The expression on the face of the lion is the epitome of agony and sadness. Just looking at him there is a direct, and very deep, connection to the soul. From whatever background we come, we as humans, instinctively connect with such spirituality. Sometimes whilst travelling there needs a moment to reflect, to ponder one's good fortune, to be spiritually reconnected to the lifestream. And so we began our day this way...
Of course the other reason to visit Lucerne is the bridge, and the one we see today is the reconstructed one following the disastrous fire late last century. Bedecked in flowers it is a mecca for tourists and white swans.
No original paintings, but there is a good feeling of what they would have been like...
including Mt Pilatus. In the photo below you can see threatening cloud.
Lucerne must also have a pigeon problem. I thought that the visuals on the poster were subtle yet right to the point. The Anti Pigeon Feeding Society is watching!!!
And now for the ride to the top of Mt Pilatus. It begins with a 20 minute 4-seater gondola ride up to the second station where you transfer to a 40 person cable car. Let's take a visual look:
After a hearty lunch we descended to the valley floor via the other face of the mountain. This was on the world's steepest cog rail train...
We then left to board our cruise ship at Basel, about 90 minutes away. By this stage we had heard that in fact the Rhine was too flooded to allow the boat to reach Basel and therefore we had to travel a further 20 miles north. Was this new factor going to add to our litany of holiday disasters?
- along the way the bus driver was pulled over by the police who took about 30 minutes to check his driving conditions (they had GPS records that tracked his movements for that day). He passed all checks with flying colours. We just had to sit on the bus for the duration.
- he heard via telephone that no-one else could find the boat at the new mooring so he didn't then know where he was taking us
- when he did get the correct location out in the middle of nowhere on the Rhine we had trouble finding it.
Still, everything turned out for the best and once (finally) on board our journey northwards began.
Here's some of our travel companions riverside awaiting embarkation on the riverside. Notice the lack of EVERYTHING! We all took it as added fun, just another part of the adventure. So the next blog we we begin to traverse the Upper Rhine...
Thank You Peter and Colin the blog is a wonderful way of following in your footsteps, loved the photos of Zurich and Lucerne. The statue of the lion brought back a host of memories of the first overseas trip we did together to that beautiful city way back in 1984, we had New Years's Eve there and woke on New Year's day to see the lion under a blanket of snow. Travel safely you are in our thoughts. Hugs and Love the Mount Martharites XXX
ReplyDeleteWonderful memories from 1999! How was the ride up the mountain? (No Barbara this time.) It looked like great weather at the top of Mt Pilatus. So glad to see that the Lucerne Lion has had all the pigeon droppings washed off him! No wonder they have an anti-pigeon campaign. And I agree with your sentiments about the monument -- when we were there for a week in 2012, we visited the lion at the start of every day. Did you get to see Basel before you had to head further up the river? Hope the cruise has started well. Lotsa hugs, D&D xx
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