We are at the train station in Luzern - with our luggage. We've had a pretty easy day so far. It was a short, downhill walk from the hotel to the train station in Lauterbrunnen, a simple connection at Interlaken and a short walk down the platform in Luzern. Our tour says the hotel is walkable - "15 minutes by foot". It's 80 degrees. We look across the lake to our hotel, over there, a mile away on that hill. Taxi!
Our Hotel is called The Art Deco Hotel Montana. An older place that has had very nice recent renovation. The Art Deco part is understandable. The Montana part is not. There was neither a Ted Turner or Bison anywhere in sight.
Luzern is on a big lake, ringed by hills and mountains. We went for a quick walk along the lakefront, and then headed back to the hotel for cocktail hour.
The hotel had a lounge on a roof overlooking the lake. It was a faux-beach, covered in sand.
One of several steamboats that run in regular service on the lake
Cocktail hour. Followed by dinner here.
Last view of the day on out hotel room balcony
Tomorrow. A big day. A walk, a cruise and a mountain.
By now, we were pros at riding trains in Switzerland. There was little mystery to it. We understood the message boards in the stations and on the trains. Understood that we had to find the right track and sector to board the car we wanted. Understood that we needed to have our Swiss Travel Pass available for the conductor - sometimes - and seat reservations, when we had them - always.
But we didn't really know what we'd see while we were getting from "here" to "there".
I'll say it again.
All the train rides in Switzerland are scenic.
Getting to Luzern proved that point. We travelled back to Interlaken and transferred to another meter gauge line, the Zentral bahn to ride the Interlaken Express.
A Zentral Bahn train at Luzern.. These trains are built by Stadler, a Swiss railcar manufacturer. They are called FINKs (yes really)
The train cruised along the Brienzer Lake and then down the valley to Meiringen. Here the train changed direction and climbed the steep grade up the north side of the valley using a rack.
We enjoyed a snack on the train shortly after leaving Interlaken
A old steam train excursion at Meiringen. Let me off!
Heading uphill on the rack
Once over the hill we found ourselves in another valley with two picturesque lakes before winding down into Luzern.
Lauterbrunnen literally means "loud springs". The valley that the town is in is a classic U shaped valley carved by glaciers. All along the edge of this valley are water falls that flow down the near vertical valley sides.
After coming back from Jungfraujoch, we spend a nice evening poking around the valley floor.
Flowers, particularly geraniums, are common in planters and window boxes all over Switzerland. These at a store front.
The big waterfall near Lauterbrunnen is Staubbach Falls.
There is a trail that leads you underneath the bottom of the falls.
The view of Lauterbrunnen from the falls trail
At the end of the valley are the Bernese Alps
Hang gliders and base jumpers are common in the valley
...as are sheep
Nice bell.
Flowers, wild and arranged
The valley floor was largely farms a mile outside of town
River flowing along valley floor
Back in town
Sun peaking under the clouds lit up the valley wall
Evening at Hotel Silberhorn
The next morning, music.
It was almost impossible to take a bad picture here.
This day, we were leaving Lauterbrunnen we had to check out of the hotel fairly early, but we didn't have to leave right away, so we decide to take in Trümmelbach Falls before catching a train. Leslie decided to skip this one. She had a cold... (uh, oh.)
Trümmelbach Falls has cut its way into the side of the valley wall over the years and really can't be seen from the outside. You take a funicular up to the middle of the falls and then walk stairs up and down to see the entire falls.
There are channels that connect a series of cascades
Looking back toward Lauterbrunnen from the falls
Looking away from Lauterbrunnen towards the mountains
One last look (But, not for me! More later...)
more flowers
So far, tourist town, tourist town, mountain town. Next up, a city.
