Mt. Titlis- the highest peak in Switzerland

Woke up this morning to find sunshine; lots of sunshine. The first since we have been here in Luzern. On a clear day you head for the mountains. We took a train to Engelberg, then you take a gondola ride up to the first station. Thus area is a huge ski resort. Then it is a larger cable car to station 2, another cable car to the rotating gondola that turns 360 degrees while ascending to the summit. The views were outstanding until we reached the very top where we sat inside a cloud. It was snowing and about 30 degrees. There us a 5 story building at the top with restaurants, gift shop, chocolates, etc. we could see nothing!
On to the Galcier Caves. They tunneled thru the glacier and you walk thru this cavern of ice. Once thru this section you go to the cliff walk, a series of stairs that run along the side of the mountain. Again, in a cloud, nothing to see. Decided to wait it out a bit and enjoy some authentic  hot cocoa- the best. Time was on our side. We started up the cliff walk and it was getting brighter. A bit if wind and clouds began to move. We had intermittent sun and blue skies.
Then there us the suspension bridge that crosses over the glacier and steep mountain side. We stayed long enough to get some pictures, then took the Ice Flyer, an open chairlift over a huge glacier and back. You repeat the entire process to get back down. A nice lunch in town while we waited for the train back to Luzern.
Walked the old town some more, had a few treats and found a local festival with music,  sausages and beer. Also found the remains of the castle here is town. Walked the wall and climbed the clock tower and other towers. Got great views of the city. Night light stroll along the river, a stop at a pub for a drink and niece time for bed. Pictures to follow tomorrow.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wolfhound Tours- Day 5- Dingle Way, Slea Head, ruins and ring forts

Image
After breakfast, we headed towards the coast. Those looking for a hike were dropped off at the Dingle Way trailhead. There were only three of us. Marty, Emilie and myself. The trail hiked up the mountainside and followed the stone walls. As we got to higher elevation, the views were incredible. We felt sorry for the rest of the group for missing such views. We hiked along with the sheep. We passed a small waterfall, ring forts and many, many stone walls. We could see the beach where we would meet the rest of the group. At the top, we also had views of the Blasket Islands. Our hike ended at Coumeenola Beach. The beach was beautiful with jagged rocks on the edges. We  hiked about 7 miles.                                        Dave gave us a demostration of Hurling- a national Irish game. A bit crazy with a ball and stick. Once agai...
Read more

Durnstein and Melk-Austria

Image
This morning we arrived in the small town of Durnstein. One of the apricot centers of Austria. Everything apricot!!!!!!. Liqueurs, schnapps, lotions, soaps, candies and more. This quaint town has a population of 400. They also are surrounded by vineyards and produce many wines, mostly white. They have the perfect climate for white wine grapes.  Durnstein has many historical sites such as the Augustiner Abbey with the beautiful blue clock tower, the remains of Kuenringer Castle where Richard the Lionhearted stayed after the Crusades and a small town area with shops. We tasted many varieties of apricot liqueurs and other products. We are bringing liqueurs home. Walked back to the ship and we sailed thru the Wachau Valley. Vineyards are terraced up the hillsides. Beautiful churches and castles can be seen from the water. We had a picnic lunch on the sky deck as we cruised. Around 2 pm, we arrived in Melk, Austria. We visited the Benedictine Abbey Melk which is the first Benedicti...
Read more

Heli HIke onto Franz Josef Glacier

Image
Only 7 of our group chose to do the Heli Hike. The rest will go do a hike in the area. We were dropped off at the tour operators and outfitted with a jacket, pants, socks, boots, mittens, crampons and a bag. Everyone was weighed and then placed in the helicopter. We flew up the valley and landed on the glacier. After a safety briefing and putting on our crampons and getting our hiking pole, our guide, Zac had an axe which he used to cut steps into the ice on steeper sections. He showed us an ice cave and asked if we wanted to go through it. Everyone said yes. He tied a rope on each end and one by one we lowered ourselves down and though. It was wet and very slippery and even a bit scary, but fun. After we finished with that, we hiked up towards the large pieces which Zac told us were over 6 stories tall. The sun came out and you could see the blue ice. Incredible! Some areas were starined and streaky with dirt and sediment which gave them black and white...
Read more