Mount Rigi

Some things you don't believe until you see them. And then even when you see them, you might not believe they are real.

There were two things I wanted to accomplish today to best take advantage of my Swiss rail pass - Mt. Rigi and then take the panorama express to Interlaken.

I started my day by taking the bus down to Lucerne central where all of the boats were docked. I personally get stressed in the morning if I am trying to line up things like the bus and boat especially when I don't quite know where to go. So I took the bus down when I was ready and then munched on a croissant and chai while I figured out the boat.

The boat was quite crowded but it was a holiday weekend so all the Germans and Italians had come to visit. I befriended a cute little old lady from Shanghai who was traveling solo and telling me where to go for the day. Honestly, she impressed me. I hope to still be solo traveling at age 70!

The water today was beautiful and I could see the city of Lucerne with the Swiss alps as a backdrop. It was giving laptop screensaver vibes. It was so perfect.

I got off the boat at a little town called Vitznau. I had done extensive research about how to get to the top of Mount Rigi and it seemed there were 3 options - hike, cogwheel, and cable car. Of course I wanted to do all three but I started with the cogwheel. It all seemed so much more complicated reading the directions of how to get to the top online when in reality, I just followed the crowds. The cogwheel ride to the top of the mountain was about 30 minutes and stunning. Honestly I wished it had paused at times so I could just admire the view. Everything was so blue and green! It was also pretty clear from the cogwheel.

The cogwheel kept climbing up and up! I didn't see too many people hiking and I was glad that I certainly wasn't given how steep it was and how long that might take me. The top of Mount Rigi offered 360 degree views. I had expected to be able to see the view that I had initially gotten from the cogwheel but instead was presented with a view of the other side of the mountain overlooking a number of lakes. It was a little misty and breezy but not too bad. I've heard the weather has been awful lately so I am very grateful it perked up today. I walked around the peak of the mountain ensuring I had seen all of the viewpoints.

I was itching to hike because how could I come to Switzerland and not. I enquired about where I could go and the information desk said I could hike down to the cable car and take that to Weggis where a ferry would pick me up. She handed me a paper map although I thought that was hilarious because there was no way I was not getting lost using that. To my surprise I didn't get lost on my way down to the cable car but only because at every junction I came to, I asked people around if I was on the right path.

I reached the cable car about an hour later only to realize I had just missed one and the next one only left in another 40 minutes. A man and his wife had just arrived and he said he had no patience to wait around. I said "same" and asked if I could hike down with him. Turns out he was from Australia so I was all the more excited to chew his ear off about the Australian working visa and what living there is like. He had a thick Australian accent and I think the most memorable thing he told me was how he hadn't been to America since he was scared of it. I learnt a lot about Australia particularly that the biggest two industries for holiday working visa were fruit picking and hospitality. You probably won't be seeing me pick fruit so I guess hospitality it is. I am also convinced that the fact that I keep running into Australians is my sign to move there.

The way down was very steep. I was definitely working muscles I had never worked before. If not for the Australian man I would have likely given up and taken the tram down. But one of the benefits of solo traveling is you can talk to and make friends with literally anyone! I talked to the Australian man for about three hours. At one point we passed by a ton of cows (fwends!) on the mountain. All of the cows had cowbells attached to their collar making music on the mountain! I have gotten to play the cowbell in several ensembles at DU but seeing it on the cows made the origin make so much more sense. The Australian man was not enamored by the cows because he causally owned a couple as well as some sheep. Just #australianthings am I right?

At the base of the mountain we came to the town of Weggis. Weggis was a small harbor town with lots of restaurants and houses. From there we boarded the boat back to Lucerne. While waiting in line I made yet another friend with a man from India who happened to also be solo traveling through Europe for a month. We became fast friends and we talked all throughout the boat ride.

I had been wanting to go to Interlaken next and he definitely wanted to come but the advice the Australian man gave was not to run off with strangers so I left the Indian man in Lucerne and headed to Interlaken.

The train to Interlaken took 2 hours and was the most beautiful train ride. The train passed many houses out in the countryside and I could not stop thinking about how some people just get to wake up to these views in their backyard. In Lungern, there was a green lake that dazzled as the sun reflected off of it. I could not take my eyes off of the views.

I arrived in Interlaken at around 6pm and gave myself 2 hours to explore. Interlaken has one of the steepest funiculars that takes you to the top of the Interlaken mountain. When I reached, I immediately headed to Harder Kulm not realizing that was exactly what everyone else was doing too! The line was insanely long and it wasn't covered under the rail pass meaning I would need to pay for it. I initially got in the line but then decided if I had limited time I was not going to waste it waiting. Additionally the clouds were rolling in steadily and I feared that I wouldn't get the view I wanted. So I decided to check out the hiking trail that said it would take approximately 2 hours to complete. I got on the trail only to realize that I had already walked 12 miles and still had another 2 hours to get home. Mission aborted, I decided to just walk along the river to the Brienzersee Viewpoint. Interlaken as the name implies is situated between two lakes the Thun and Brienze. Both are a beautiful green color. I could not get over the color of that river. At the Brienzersee Viewpoint, I was able to see the huge lake with the mountains behind it. The houses along the river were so lucky too! Imagine living there. There was a rain cloud overhead and it started drizzling but I was still not over how it looked so good even with the rain.

I wandered the marketplatz to get a glimpse of the downtown area. It was very lively with people dining outdoors at the fancy restaurants.

I decided to actually eat a proper meal rather than the usual takeaway meals such as sandwiches and falafel or bowls of some sort. The fastest place I could find was a Thai restaurant. Sadly, the food was so bad for what it cost and I decided next time we are sticking to simple meals that I know can't go wrong. Food in hand, I boarded the train at 8pm and it was amazing how light it was still by 9pm.