Thoughts & Reflections

Tag: Switzerland

Experiencing Engelberg

After a morning high in the mountains, the last group excursion of our trip was a journey to the Swiss countryside. Listed as “Swiss Heritage” in the travel brochure, it was an optional outing which I think everyone in my tour group took part in. After a short break back in Lucerne where we grabbed lunch, our bus drove south to the town of Engelberg.

In winter, most visitors come to Engelberg for the skiing; there is a cable car that takes people up Mount Titlis. Our driver let us off right in front of the cable car station where we would wait for our next mode of transportation. With the clouds and the rain, it was getting a bit cold and Kate handed out miniature bottles of schnapps to supposedly warm us up. I received a bottle of plum-flavored schnapps which tasted far too similar to cough syrup; after one or two sips, I capped the bottle and ignored it for the rest of the trip. Even Kate admitted that the brand she bought was not very high-quality.

After a few minutes, our ride finally came to pick us up.

It was about eight people sitting in our carriage: six of us in the main seating area facing each other, and another two or three in the higher back row. Had the weather been better, I think the carriage ride would have been a bit more romantic and picturesque. Instead, the top was pulled up to shield us from the rain so the views were a bit more limited but we were all snug and warm with the thick blankets covering our laps.

We were driven around Engelberg to take in the sights, from shops in quaint buildings to views of the cable car and the surrounding mountains. As we drove past Engelberg Abbey, Kate (who was sitting in our carriage) mentioned that there is a cheese factory located at the monastery.

Eventually, we reached the end of the ride and our next destination, a working farm in the town. Ulli, our hostess was the owner and after welcoming us to her farm, we were ushered inside the barn. It was dimly lit but there were lights hung about around the small windows and along the wall. We were given cups of hot tea (with or without the schnapps) and then she spoke to us about the life of a Swiss farmer and the products they produced (especially the cheese).

After a quick Q & A, we feasted on some light snacks. There was a platter of cheese and slices of a beef that was thinly sliced and more reminiscent of salami; the cheese is one that is only available in the country and never exported. That was followed by homemade cheese pie and rösti; I ended up with a huge slice of the pie which I passed along but I did enjoy the rösti (one can never go wrong with any version of fried potatoes. And dessert was homemade gingerbread and Birnbrot/Birnweggen, a Swiss pastry with a pear filling from a local bakery. The former was fine, though a bit too spiced for my tastes but I loved the Birnbrot.

We were free to explore the barn afterwards and that included getting up close and personal with the bovine residents in the next room. The smell wasn’t too pleasant but everyone enjoyed getting close and personal with the cows, though it was hard to take photos of the animals since they kept moving around. In one area in the back were a few calves, and they were so cute that many people wanted their photos taken with them.

When I returned to the main room, Ulli’s son was preparing to play a little music for us. I think he played a few traditional songs and he was pretty good. We stayed a little longer after that and then made our leave after thanking both Ulli and her son for their hospitality. We walked from the farm back to the cable car station, where our bus was waiting for us. It was a long drive back to Lucerne in the rain and then we spent the rest of the afternoon preparing for our very early departure in the morning to Zurich airport. Dinner that night was at a local Italian restaurant along the Reuss River and then we all went our separate ways, either for a final stroll around Lucerne or back to the hotel to pack (for me and M, it was the latter).

And so our trip had finally reached the end. It’s amazing to look back and see how much we actually did in the span of a week. Here’s looking forward to my next getaway.

April 20, 2015
Queen of the Mountains

The last full day of our trip was one of more fun and exciting ones. After breakfast, we drove west to Vitznau where the views of Lake Lucerne were absolutely beautiful. The bus dropped us off at the edge of the lake, where one can take a train to go up Mount Rigi, also known as the “Queen of the Mountains”.

The train that ascends the mountain is a cogwheel train. The Vitznau route to Rigi is the first mountain cog railway in Europe, with service that began in 1871 and is still running well over a century later. We arrived early, so there was plenty of time to take photos at the base and do a little souvenir shopping at the store at the station. The train itself consisted of two cars and there were signs on the doors letting us know where to go since several tour groups had bookings for the first departure.

There were several stops along the way up to the summit. At every stop, one member of staff on the train would exit and make postal deliveries; their were mailboxes at every station shelter. Not only were people living on Rigi but we saw several hotels and even a ski-lift along the route. The higher up we went, the more the landscape changed–the blues and greens of gently sloping hills and the lake below us gave way to frost-covered grass, dark conifer forests and snowy trails.

It was a steep ascent but we reached the summit in about thirty minutes. Rigi Kulm is nearly 1800 meters (approximately 6000 feet) above sea level. It was white all around us and very cold, but everyone really enjoyed stepping out onto the snowy summit. There were plenty of photos taken as well as snowballs being thrown about. There was a path to go uphill where there is a hotel but everything was hidden beneath the snow and it was already a steep climb just up the small hill next to the train station.

Soon, it was time to warm up a bit. Fortunately, there was a shop and fast food restaurant right there so one could thaw with a hot drink, food or a snack. It was far too early for another meal (it was only 10am when I walked in) so I settled for lighter fare.

I ordered a cup of rosehip tea and from the baked goods on display, settled for a slice of a Swiss specialty, the Engadine Nut Tart. The tart was filled with nuts and honey, so it was sticky and a bit sweeter than I like but it was pretty tasty. There were other members of my group already sitting down at the tables when I carried my tray over to the seating area.

Since our arrival on the summit, there hadn’t been much to look at. The skies had been cloudy all morning and we couldn’t see anything on the horizon. That finally changed and the clouds and fog slowly rolled out, giving us tantalizing glimpses of the mountains across the valley. By the time I finished eating and stepped out, I caught a brief glance of the mountains before they disappeared behind the cloudy curtains once more. This happened several times so one had to always have the camera at the ready but the clouds eventually moved on and we were given spectacular views of the alps in the distance and the forests below us.

The descent was slightly different. Instead of riding the cogwheel train all the way down, our group got off at Rigi Kaltbad to board a gondola/cable car to take us to base of the mountain. As we descended, the gray hues of the landscape around us slowly became saturated with color once more. We rode through thin clouds and so the views out of the windows were a bit blurry but very colorful. It’s amazing to see how green the grass is even in the middle of December! We landed in Weggis, which is another village on the lake and where our bus was waiting to take us back to Lucerne.

April 13, 2015
Last Stop: Lucerne

We were nearing the end of our tour and finally we’ve arrived in the last country, Switzerland. From Vaduz, it was supposed to be a non-stop drive to Lucerne. Instead of being welcomed with a view of Lake Lucerne, we were first greeted by members of the Swiss police.

The short version of the story is that we were on the highway, just a few miles outside of Lucerne, when we (and a truck driver) noticed there was something wrong with the bus. Our driver stopped and stepped outside with our guide and after taking a look, the conclusion was that our bus was breaking down. The goal was to try to drive slowly and make it into the city; we would not need the bus for the rest of the afternoon after we checked into the hotel. About ten minutes after getting back on the road, we were flagged down again but this time by the police. Apparently, they saw smoke coming out from the back of the bus and would not permit us to go further. Instead, they escorted us to the nearest police station.

In the meantime, our guide Kate telephoned the other tour group (they had already arrived ahead of us) and explained the situation. Once Dean’s group was dropped off in the city, their driver came to the police station to pick us up so we weren’t stranded for too long. Our luggage would follow later on and suffice to say, it definitely made for an interesting conversation with members from the other group when the two tours had to share one bus and one guide briefly in the afternoon on our way to the hotel.

There was no introductory tour once we arrived in the city. Those who decided not to participate in the optional lake cruise (M and I did not) were on their own for the rest of the day, including finding our own dinners. Since we were unable to check into the hotel just yet, we began to wander around the streets of city. Our first tourist stop ended up being a visit to the Lion of Lucerne.

The monument commemorates the deaths of Swiss Guards during a great battle at the Tuileries Palace in Paris, in 1792. It’s a magnificent sculpture though the scene is somewhat sad; the Lion isn’t sleeping but dying, a spear driven in its side.

We retraced our steps back to where Lake Lucerne meets the Reuss River. There are several beautiful bridges the span the river; the most famous and photographed one is the Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge). According to Wikipedia, it’s the oldest covered bridge in Europe, dating back to the 14th century. The stone structure in the middle of the bridge is the Water Tower, named for its location in the river and not as a building that stored water for use. And nearby is another old wooden bridge, the Spreuer Bridge, which was completed in 1408. Both bridges are decorated with beautiful paintings, in the towers and in the gable of the roofs.

We strolled through some of the narrow streets near the river but didn’t really venture too far. The skies were grey and the rain came down all afternoon, mostly a light drizzle though it was heavier at times and it grew dark very quickly

After checking in at the hotel, we ended up walking back towards railway station. I love wandering through train stations when I’m abroad because usually they are far more grand and stately than what we have at home (Grand Central Terminal being an exception). I can’t remember much about it, except that it was dark thanks to shorter daylight hours and there were plenty of people milling about at the time of day. There are shops in the concourse of the station, which were far more interesting, and a mini Christmas Market was set up as well. The holiday market did not interest me much but I very much enjoyed exploring the supermarket at one end of the concourse.

And it was at the market where we procured our evening meal. As I walked up and down the aisles of Coop, it reminded me of upscale markets like Whole Foods and other international markets I visit elsewhere (like the CitySuper chain in Hong Kong). Coop’s prepared foods section was pretty awesome; M and I both ended up with a quarter roasted chicken, while I grabbed a small organic salad (fresh veggies at last), a dinner roll, green juice and a chocolate mousse for dessert. Unsurprisingly, I bought quite a bit of chocolate as well.

We headed back to the hotel afterwards and it was nice to just plop down on the bed or at the desk and eat without making small talk with others. And out of all the meals we’ve had on this trip, it was one of the better and more pleasant ones. I really, really missed having vegetables and a simple salad was pretty satisfying. The chicken was delicious (I wanted seconds), the bread roll soft and tasty, but my dessert was a bit too boozy for me. I didn’t think to read the ingredients (in French no less) beforehand but I was drawn to it regardless. With the exchange rates nearly equal, my meal cost about $15 USD, which wasn’t bad at all and sadly, cheaper than some of my lunches in midtown Manhattan.

April 9, 2015