Sunday, May 10, 2009

Trip to Mt. Pilatus - Luzern..SWITZERLAND

PICTURES OF LUZERN AND MT. PILATUS, SWITZERLAND


Lake Luzern

The beautiful, fascinating buildings of old town in Luzern

The lake side cafetarias next to the wooden chapel bridge are always buzzing with people...


Stunning views from Mt. Pilatus



The steepest Cogwheel train in the world, which took us down Mt. Pilatus....Was an experience in itself




People paragliding on Pilatus...Was good fun to see them take off and fly over your head





Mt. Pilatus














The trekking steps up there would take one to the highest peak of Mt. Pilatus and is definitely worth the efforts as the views are mindblowing.


The stunning views from Pilatus.

This was one of the best views that we could stare for hours, as it looked like heaven.....It looked like small beautiful islands in the midst of the clouds



Another stunning view...


Midway to Pilatus....


The fun and adventurous Siel Park/Rope park, where there were activities lined up for everyone...


People trying to cross the rope....



The childern's playground, made completely of the wooden forest logs


The gondolas that we took up to Pilatus



The Lush green views while moving up in the Gondolas....


This weekend we went to see Mount Pilatus. From Zurich we took the train at 9.14 AM. What i love here is that travelling is such a pleasure by public transport, everything is so neat and clean and at time. Our train was a double decker and we had a very very beautiful scenic journey for an hour till we reached Luzerne. Zurich and Luzerne..both railway stations were as crowded as we see in India, and here I see many Indians everywhere.
In the Luzern we took a bus (tram type) to our stop Pilatus.It was a 15 minute journey and from there 15 minutes walk to the Gandola ride(yes for the 4 seater cable cars they call it Gandolas). It was 30 minute scenic ride taking us thru lush green fields to the top at another station for cable car. At this station, there were lot of activities going on........Basically it is a recreational area with well marked circular paths,inviting picnic places, a funfilled children's play ground and much much more.

From here we took a cable car for another 20 minutes and we reached MOunt Pilatus......a type of top station from where one can enjoy the view of city Alps etc. Here evrywhere one finds everything to eat, enough sitting places, shops selling souvenirs. Though stuff was quite expensive..a tshirt for 50 swiss F.There was a cave also and another top point for which one had to climb 100 steps at least, I didnt go there.My son and DIl went and see the surprise..i met a person there who was from Bareilly..rajendra nagar Awas vikas... dunia kitnee choti ho gayi ha ajkal:)
We had our lunch of wraps, coke, iceream and then coffee and enjoyed the view, there were para gliders also. Many myths surround this area..in the middle ages the bleak crevices were believed to be the haunt of a well meaning dragon and spirits
For our way back we took their special train ......from Pilatus Kulm to Alpnachstad, the world's highest cogwheel rialway winds up through lush meadows carpeted with alpine flowers ,past sparkling mountainstreams and fascinating rock faces. Over 900 species of flora are native to the Pilatus region..many of them protected species.....and that was the high point of our trip. This train goes down at a 80 degree angle , at times one cant see the track even, but its very comfortable and stable. Earlier I thought that the train for Mettupalayam to OOty had the most scenic and enjoyable ride, but this is one up on that also.Earlier I had travelled in a train like this while going to Chamonix, but that was nothing compared to this.It is a complete mind blowing experience.
After coming down to Lucerne we took a round of the city and saw Chapel Bridge..a 14th century chapel and and then sat at the bank of the lake Lucerne. All in all, it was a wonderful trip and I enjoyed every moment of it.and i would recommend everyone visiting Switzerland to include it..is a must see place.






29 comments:

Smitha said...

Renu, Lovely pics! We hadnot done Luzern - and thanks to you - I get to see it as well :) Switzerland has a beauty of its own!
Yes, we get to see Indians everywhere these days - even more so in Switzerland, thanx to Bollywood :)

the blogger formerly known as sansmerci said...

renuuuuuuuuuuu am so jealous of u not jus cos of those awesome pics i c ... but cos ur enjoyin it with all ur heart i dono if i can do it even after 10 yrs from now... i was thinkin i shud c as many places as possible b4 m 30 cos after that i mite not enjoy it as much... but no u made me realise life is fun wenever we want it to b .. its all in the heart!

but damn i wish i was with u on ur trip (esp cos m sittin inside this single room for a week now without even seen the road :()

m loving it! lookin fwd to even more pics! i dono if i ll ever get to c these places ur posts makes me feel like m with u on the trip well written travellogue with that personalisation!

Renu said...

Smitha:From UK its not a big distance, You can still pln sometimes:)..this is the must see place.

Sanmerci: You should beeeeeeeeeee:), this place was awesome, why are u sitting in a single room?

I am very fond of seeing the places , and whatevr we desire god gives us:),If u want, u will certainly get to see all the places.
In a day we normally take 150 photos:)...I love the food here.When one is with the people who love and whom u love , enjoyment is always doubled:)

Shilpa said...

Getting to see Europe through your eyes.

Anya said...

switzerland ippadidhaan irukumaaa?

i have seen switzerland only in movie songs...

nice to see some fotos

chriz

Sparkling said...

Beautiful. I totally enjoyed the special train journey to Mt. Pilatus as well, I felt I was perpetually inclined at an angle :)

There is a spot up there (on Mt. Pilatus) where everybody goes and writes their name or stuff, did you find mine? ;)

Renu said...

Shilpa: How do u like it?

Chriz: In hindi movies Yash Chopra has made it really famous.

Still thinking: Hey what was the best part of your trip? If you can give me some suggestions about what to see, then please do so...what to see in Switzerland?

yeah there were many names,but how would I know:) dont know your name?

Sparkling said...

Now that you ask, I shall oblige ;)

I was in Switzerland only for 6 days and travelled all over - short trips, I was in Zurich, Luzern, Interlaken & Montreaux and the best and awesome place was 'Interlaken' - I already told you that. As you said the whole of Switzerland is beautiful but Interlaken completely overwhelms you with its beauty and originality. The one thing I loved here was that ppl never hurried about anything - everything happens at a very slow pace and oh so tranquil (I'm saying this in a french accent, don't know why!) :)

J P Joshi said...

Really beautiful pictures and a wonderful commentary on the trip. You are so very right when you say that, "When one is with the people who love and whom u love , enjoyment is always doubled:)" Love is what matters in the end, nothing else does, I believe. So make the most of it, and may it never be in short supply.

Kanupriya said...

Hey lovely pics & the view of Mt. Pilatus is AWESOME! Hmmm looks like someone is having a great time there :-)

Jiggy said...

Renu, they call these cable cars gondolas? The gondolas of Venice will drown and commit suicide :)))))

Anonymous said...

wowwwwwww
amazing pix
Rope park looks very scary..actually adventurous :)
the playgrnd looks cool as well

Solilo said...

Renu, Lovely pictures and your travelogue is even more interesting.

Renu said...

Still thinking: thank u mam:):)

This tranquility...even we all also like..we go to a restaurant hwere many people are waiting, still the one who are sitting will not hurry and even the staff wouldnt ask them. Cafe's are meant to relax and nobody brings the bill till u ask for it.

JP Joshi: You are so right, I am enjoying my trips more becuase of my children, they take so much of care in everything and make it comfortable for me.


Kanupriya: :):)yeah, someone is having a great time, the place is awesome.

REBEL: Initially I was also confused:)..but really you must include MT. Platys when you take your parents, my children have seen all the places here, even then they found it best.

SWAT: Here people do lot of activities on holidays and they are very adventurous also, did u see the para gliders in a photo?


Solilo: Thanx:)

Salomie said...

We'd been to Switzerland 2 years ago. Had a brief stop in Lucern & then onto the tourist-packed Engelberg. We visited Mt Titlis & Mt Jungfraujoch & we sat in one of those sleds that you ride down the side of the mountains....I had my eyes shut & was screaming at the top of my voice :D It is truly scary to go down so fast with a 11000 foot drop in front of you!!!

Salomie said...

We'd been to Switzerland 2 years ago. Had a brief stop in Lucern & then onto the tourist-packed Engelberg. We visited Mt Titlis & Mt Jungfraujoch & we sat in one of those sleds that you ride down the side of the mountains....I had my eyes shut & was screaming at the top of my voice :D It is truly scary to go down so fast with a 11000 foot drop in front of you!!!

Sandhya said...

Renu, beautiful pictures. All the photos are beautiful but I like the ones from the top of Mr.Pilatus. beautiful scenaries.

Your commentary is beautiful and informative.

Yes, everything will be more beautiful when you are with your loved ones, Renu. I agree with you 100%.

Sandhya said...

The lakeside cafeteria photo looks like a place in Venice! I have seen photos of Venice, not the place, ha ha!

Renu said...

Sjhalom: other places you mentioned are also on our list, lets see what we can cover, now i will wait for my husband to come and then we shall do rest of the sight seeing:)
I found even the train quite scary sometimes:)

Sandhya: These roadside cafeterias are the main beauty of Europe and you will find them everywhere..people relaxing:)
I saw Venice in 79:)...it was beautiful, but now I find that most of the Europe is same..same lake, beautiful churches,gardens and museums.

Reflections said...

Renu, so glad u r having a good time:-)).
Some of those views in the pictures r so mind-blowing & so i can just imagine how good it must have been to see it in real.
Switzerland & New Zealand r my dream destinations.....hope to make it someday.

Have a good time...do everything u think u want to.....dont give any chance for regrets;-D!!!!!!

I scribble here said...

hey, the pictures revived memories of my trip last year, i even blogged abt it.. u are right, its a must see place, i am sure it was an awesome trip fr u

moon said...

Nice pics..I believe you are having a wonderful time...

Renu said...

Reflections: Through bollywood I know that Newzealand is a beautiful place, but now I dont have any strong desire for anything, whatever comes my way..I am happy, and believe me you will certainly visit these two countries, as god always grants us whatever we desire:)


ISH: wow:), I looked for that post on your blog but couldnt find it, can u send me the link?

Sunder:Thanx:) I am enjoying my trip here:)

Destination Infinity said...

Keep enjoying, and posting the beautiful pics...

Destination Infinity

Renu said...

Destinationation Infinity: :)....more fotos in the next post:)

Salil said...

Switzerland, wowie.. envy you :-)
Cheers,
Salil

Renu said...

Salil: Oh yeah:):)

Preeti said...

ah beauiful pics ...admire the energy and enthu u have to travel and enjoy and explore ..

Renu said...

Preeti: :) Earlier my son used to say ..mom always want a hectic schedule even on vacation:) because I alwyas wanted to see as much as I could of any city:)

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