Lost & Found in Zurich: Mount Pilatus July 6, 2011

Our friend Dottie had been to Mount Pilatus twice. Once, it was so cloudy you could see nothing and the second time, when she took visitors to visit the peak in the summer, they arrived to find they were definitely underdressed ... for a blizzard! So we watched the weather reports carefully and chose a day that was predicted to be clear and sunny. And, miracle of miracles, it was (well, long enough anyway).
We took a train to the Lucern train station and then a bus to the seilbahn (funicular) station. Our train tickets included the trip up to the peak and back but I didn't know you had to trade your ticket in for a token. Fortunately, Dottie did or I'd probably still be there trying to jam my paper ticket into the turnstyle thingy. Cute little four seater red cars slowed down just enough for us to hop in. We had the car to ourselves which made for perfect photo ops. And, on this trip, there were a plethora of photo ops. Kodak would have bankrupted itself putting up those "Stop and take a picture here, Dummy" signs. (You young 'uns probably don't know what I'm talking about. In the old old days when people still used funny black tapes called film, the king of film was a company called Kodak and, to generate more picture taking and thus more revenue, they used to put up signs demanding you take a picture.)

It was a very long and very steep ride up to the top - only it wasn't. The top, I mean. We had just reached the first stop and had to board a large, crowded gondola for the last leg. At one point, the gondola swooped over a ridge. My stomach swooped, too.

This is where we swooped. That's a church. Its congregation must be very determined.

We passed a summer stainless steel toboggan run that I know son-in-law Heath will want to do. I'll take pictures.

There are many tracks down the mountain. The Swiss being Swiss, there was a schematic to show the tracks, length and time needed to complete the trek, and degree of difficulty. I want to take Greg back one clear day and trek down. (We did see people treking up as well but they're the overachievers.)

The scenery at the top was drop dead gorgeous. Dottie must have gotten tired of hearing me say, "Now this is what I think of when I think of Switzerland!"

At lunch, we were joined by some shy and elusive crows. Not.

Dottie and friends.

It was starting to cloud over and we had a ferry to catch so we headed down the mountain in the world's steepest cog railway. But first, we stopped to listen to a wonderful little band playing unusual instruments like brooms.

Now that's where I want my house. (I might have to relearn how to ski to get to it in the winter.)

This is the path I want to take down the mountain.
If I can get the cows to move.

On the ferry, we sat outside on some really comfortable loveseats - the kind you'd buy for your patio. When it started to rain, there was a stampede for the covered deck but Dottie just pulled up her hood and I cracked open the umbrella and we thoroughly enjoyed the solitude.