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beelikejTRAVELSCHEDULE DAY 1:
07:25 bus to station Z. ---> 07:50 IC train to Arnhem
09:07 ICE train to Basel ---> 15:17 IR train to Luzern
17:12 boat to Vitznau ---> 18:15 R train to Rigi
Arival 18:33 ---> Total traveltime: 11 hours and 8 minutes:)
Switzerland! View from Rigi Kaltbad. If you listen closely, you can hear the neverending cowbells, the soundtrack of these mountains:)
Day 1: Friday August 10, 2018 - Train and Boat to Rigi, Switzerland
Plenty of legroom in the Intercity to Arnhem; haven't worn these walking shoes in years, but they are still very comfy. Traveling with my SpongeBob Squarepants backpack (bought in USA in 2015, when the airline lost my bag...) and my shoulderbag (that I bought in Ecuador in 2006:), waving goodbye to the office. (That building peeking out behind the trees; I have a view of the trainstation:)
My pretty and pretty flat country (remember this image as we travel along). Changing to the international train in Arnhem. Turns out only half of the train showed up from Berlin due to the severe summerstorm the day before, I was lucky that my reserved seat was on that part! The train was full of people who had to stand! At stops in Germany, several new passengers were told to get off because the train got too full to be able to ride. I've never encountered such a mess before. Our delay ran up to half an hour, which was exactly the time I had to change trains in Basel dundundunnnnn...
But like I said: at least I had a seat \o/ and the views were cool. This is Köln (Cologne); see those dots on the fence? Those are all locks left by people in love (rolling my eyes here).
Ooooh, first hint of mountains, not so flat anymore!
Fortunately at the end of this long journey they managed to make up for lost time and I arrived in Basel with just enough minutes to catch the next train: onwards to Luzern! Another different landscape. I love traveling by train (even more so now I could relax a little, that first part had been stressful!)
Luzern station. From here I walk across the street underneath this awesome arch to the waterside to get on the boat (ship?) for the next part of my journey:)
Going to Vitznau* across the Vierwaldstättersee (in English it's called Lake Lucerne, but honestly "Lake of the Four Forested Settlements" is so much cooler:)
*the town right in the middle of that map.
I'm having a blast watching the engine and standing on deck with the wind in my hair. I may love being on a big boat even more than being on a train;)
Putting my feet up to fully enjoy the view of the lake and surrounding mountains. This is the life!
Right before the ship reaches Vitznau, I discover the little window where you can watch the paddlewheel going through the water, cool!
When I set foot ashore the little mountain train is already waiting for the final part of today's journey.
This rack or cogwheel railway (Zahnradsystem) dates back to 1871! The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail. This allows the trains to operate on steep grades above 10%, which is the maximum for friction-based rail.
The track up to Rigi Mountain has parts with a 25% steep grade!!! This makes the view even more spectaculair :-D
Almost at the top you get an awesome view of the Vierwaldstättersee. Along the way the train makes stops at farms to load up fresh milk (and also mail for instance). The train is the main mode of transport up the mountain.
My hotel in Rigi-Kaltbad is right across the station, and I get even more excited when I discover my room has a balcony. There's also a tiny hotel library with the same great view of the mountains. *hearteyes all over*
I have a local dinner with Swiss cheese, bacon and potatoes (rösti:)
and after that delish dish I take a short stroll around the tiny village to watch the sun to down over the mountains.
*chinhands*
View on my hotel from the platform at the Rigi-Kaltbad station:)
I read a bit on the balcony before finally turning in. *happy sigh*
On day 2 I follow the Panorama track up Rigi Mountain and I finally find the source of those cowbells:)
Day 2: Saturday August 11, 2018
NO TRAVELING today! But a lot of walking up the mountain and then rides down in a cable cart and two cogwheel trains with a finale of swimming in the spa, wahey!
Waking up to this view is pretty damn cool. I'm having a big breakfast in preparation for climbing to Scheidegg on top of the mountain;)
Whoa: clouds drifting in the valley.
First part of the trail is also a flowertrail, that's probably more impressive during spring, I still have fun trying to discover the flowers though:)
"Drink in, oh eyes, all your lashes can hold
Of the golden abundance of the world!" - Gottfried Keller (1819-1890), Abendlied (Evening Song)
Yeah, what he said.
I take a little detour of the Panorama trail to get closer to the cows and finally see how they manage to keep those bells going ALL.THE.DAMN.TIME. (I'm surprised they manage to stay so calm, I would go crazy if eating would make such noise!)
Back on track and another angle of the Vierwaldstättersee.
There are so many signs with fascinating info along the way; this one tells you that even an apparently dead tree trunk is still a lively ecosystem.
I also learn a lot about rock!
So glad I took the advice of the hotelmanager to take this alternative route around the mountain instead of the trail through the woods; it does have a great view.
Hey look, I can see my hotel! *zooms in!* See?
A last look at the lake before I get back on the inland trail.
Here the cows are no longer behind fences, their ears are so FLUFFY!
So many destinations! I'm continuing to Scheidegg (but I'm not taking the red trail, I know my limitations;)
So many shades of green and look at that adorable tree trunk:)
Pfff, that tunnel was a little intimidating, but the new view is worth it.
So thoughtful: a cart with food and drinks halfway up the mountain! There's a little bucket to leave money in. I grab a fruit drink and a piece of homemade Zwetschgen Kuchen (Plum cake), yum. Just what I needed!
I also need to put my feet up; look at this perfectly designed bench. One of my best lunches ever.
More pretty along the way.
Yay, made it to the top! In Scheidegg (1660m) there is a platform where you have a 360° view of all the surroundings. I made vids with my camera and with my phone:)
I manage to drag myself away from the view to get on the cable cart to Kräbel below (761m) for my connection with the cogwheel train that only runs once every hour.
What a ride!
Look at my smug little face, sitting in that fancy old train:)
I'm glad to sit down after all that walking, but I jump at the chance to stand next to the driver for an even better view!
I change to another train in Staffel (1603m) to travel back to Rigi Kaltbad.
Back at my hotel I do a bit of reading on my balcony, then go down to the nearby café for a Südsee Crêpe (with raw sugar and lemonjuice;) before strolling to the Spa across the tracks.
I have a marvelous time in the (hot!) water with all the different kind of bubble areas *innocent face*. I don't get out until they close the pool, two and a half hours later.
Okay, I'm seriously pouting when I find out exactly how sunburned I am from walking through the mountains and hanging in the outside pool, but it was absolutely worth it:)
I devour my second Swiss dinner with rösti and a HUGE bratwurst.
No, yeah, it's really bad, oops.
Good thing I'm too exhausted to feel any pain. I happily snuggle in my fancy bed with my e-reader to pamper myself with some fanfic;) Sweet dreams!
To be continued... On Day 3 I travelled to Italy!
J.
07:25 bus to station Z. ---> 07:50 IC train to Arnhem
09:07 ICE train to Basel ---> 15:17 IR train to Luzern
17:12 boat to Vitznau ---> 18:15 R train to Rigi
Arival 18:33 ---> Total traveltime: 11 hours and 8 minutes:)
Switzerland! View from Rigi Kaltbad. If you listen closely, you can hear the neverending cowbells, the soundtrack of these mountains:)
Day 1: Friday August 10, 2018 - Train and Boat to Rigi, Switzerland
Plenty of legroom in the Intercity to Arnhem; haven't worn these walking shoes in years, but they are still very comfy. Traveling with my SpongeBob Squarepants backpack (bought in USA in 2015, when the airline lost my bag...) and my shoulderbag (that I bought in Ecuador in 2006:), waving goodbye to the office. (That building peeking out behind the trees; I have a view of the trainstation:)
My pretty and pretty flat country (remember this image as we travel along). Changing to the international train in Arnhem. Turns out only half of the train showed up from Berlin due to the severe summerstorm the day before, I was lucky that my reserved seat was on that part! The train was full of people who had to stand! At stops in Germany, several new passengers were told to get off because the train got too full to be able to ride. I've never encountered such a mess before. Our delay ran up to half an hour, which was exactly the time I had to change trains in Basel dundundunnnnn...
But like I said: at least I had a seat \o/ and the views were cool. This is Köln (Cologne); see those dots on the fence? Those are all locks left by people in love (rolling my eyes here).
Ooooh, first hint of mountains, not so flat anymore!
Fortunately at the end of this long journey they managed to make up for lost time and I arrived in Basel with just enough minutes to catch the next train: onwards to Luzern! Another different landscape. I love traveling by train (even more so now I could relax a little, that first part had been stressful!)
Luzern station. From here I walk across the street underneath this awesome arch to the waterside to get on the boat (ship?) for the next part of my journey:)
Going to Vitznau* across the Vierwaldstättersee (in English it's called Lake Lucerne, but honestly "Lake of the Four Forested Settlements" is so much cooler:)
*the town right in the middle of that map.
I'm having a blast watching the engine and standing on deck with the wind in my hair. I may love being on a big boat even more than being on a train;)
Putting my feet up to fully enjoy the view of the lake and surrounding mountains. This is the life!
Right before the ship reaches Vitznau, I discover the little window where you can watch the paddlewheel going through the water, cool!
When I set foot ashore the little mountain train is already waiting for the final part of today's journey.
This rack or cogwheel railway (Zahnradsystem) dates back to 1871! The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail. This allows the trains to operate on steep grades above 10%, which is the maximum for friction-based rail.
The track up to Rigi Mountain has parts with a 25% steep grade!!! This makes the view even more spectaculair :-D
Almost at the top you get an awesome view of the Vierwaldstättersee. Along the way the train makes stops at farms to load up fresh milk (and also mail for instance). The train is the main mode of transport up the mountain.
My hotel in Rigi-Kaltbad is right across the station, and I get even more excited when I discover my room has a balcony. There's also a tiny hotel library with the same great view of the mountains. *hearteyes all over*
I have a local dinner with Swiss cheese, bacon and potatoes (rösti:)
and after that delish dish I take a short stroll around the tiny village to watch the sun to down over the mountains.
*chinhands*
View on my hotel from the platform at the Rigi-Kaltbad station:)
I read a bit on the balcony before finally turning in. *happy sigh*
On day 2 I follow the Panorama track up Rigi Mountain and I finally find the source of those cowbells:)
Day 2: Saturday August 11, 2018
NO TRAVELING today! But a lot of walking up the mountain and then rides down in a cable cart and two cogwheel trains with a finale of swimming in the spa, wahey!
Waking up to this view is pretty damn cool. I'm having a big breakfast in preparation for climbing to Scheidegg on top of the mountain;)
Whoa: clouds drifting in the valley.
First part of the trail is also a flowertrail, that's probably more impressive during spring, I still have fun trying to discover the flowers though:)
"Drink in, oh eyes, all your lashes can hold
Of the golden abundance of the world!" - Gottfried Keller (1819-1890), Abendlied (Evening Song)
Yeah, what he said.
I take a little detour of the Panorama trail to get closer to the cows and finally see how they manage to keep those bells going ALL.THE.DAMN.TIME. (I'm surprised they manage to stay so calm, I would go crazy if eating would make such noise!)
Back on track and another angle of the Vierwaldstättersee.
There are so many signs with fascinating info along the way; this one tells you that even an apparently dead tree trunk is still a lively ecosystem.
I also learn a lot about rock!
So glad I took the advice of the hotelmanager to take this alternative route around the mountain instead of the trail through the woods; it does have a great view.
Hey look, I can see my hotel! *zooms in!* See?
A last look at the lake before I get back on the inland trail.
Here the cows are no longer behind fences, their ears are so FLUFFY!
So many destinations! I'm continuing to Scheidegg (but I'm not taking the red trail, I know my limitations;)
So many shades of green and look at that adorable tree trunk:)
Pfff, that tunnel was a little intimidating, but the new view is worth it.
So thoughtful: a cart with food and drinks halfway up the mountain! There's a little bucket to leave money in. I grab a fruit drink and a piece of homemade Zwetschgen Kuchen (Plum cake), yum. Just what I needed!
I also need to put my feet up; look at this perfectly designed bench. One of my best lunches ever.
More pretty along the way.
Yay, made it to the top! In Scheidegg (1660m) there is a platform where you have a 360° view of all the surroundings. I made vids with my camera and with my phone:)
I manage to drag myself away from the view to get on the cable cart to Kräbel below (761m) for my connection with the cogwheel train that only runs once every hour.
What a ride!
Look at my smug little face, sitting in that fancy old train:)
I'm glad to sit down after all that walking, but I jump at the chance to stand next to the driver for an even better view!
I change to another train in Staffel (1603m) to travel back to Rigi Kaltbad.
Back at my hotel I do a bit of reading on my balcony, then go down to the nearby café for a Südsee Crêpe (with raw sugar and lemonjuice;) before strolling to the Spa across the tracks.
I have a marvelous time in the (hot!) water with all the different kind of bubble areas *innocent face*. I don't get out until they close the pool, two and a half hours later.
Okay, I'm seriously pouting when I find out exactly how sunburned I am from walking through the mountains and hanging in the outside pool, but it was absolutely worth it:)
I devour my second Swiss dinner with rösti and a HUGE bratwurst.
No, yeah, it's really bad, oops.
Good thing I'm too exhausted to feel any pain. I happily snuggle in my fancy bed with my e-reader to pamper myself with some fanfic;) Sweet dreams!
To be continued... On Day 3 I travelled to Italy!
J.