Mount Pilatus - Yes Dr. Friesen, It Was Great

Finally we got to sleep in a bit, and we didn’t have to have our luggage ready to go for the porters, so it was a more relaxed start to the day. First on the agenda was breakfast in the hotel restaurant on the top floor of the hotel (with a bird’s eye view of the roof tops of Lucerne and the surrounding mountains). Then we boarded a new bus (European bus drivers by law can only work 6 days in a row, which meant Massimo had a day off, and so did his bus). Off we went the short distance to Mount Pilatus. This was something both Beth and I had been anticipating because our Dentist, Dr. Blaine Friesen told both of us about it with great enthusiasm when we had had dental work done shortly before leaving on our trip. I was worried about this excursion being a bust because the evening before I had checked the weather forecast which said cloudy and rainy - but the morning had blue sky and sunshine so things were looking hopeful.
Our group went up the mountain on a cogwheel train, the steepest incline tackled by any cogwheel train in the world - 49 degrees in places! A cogwheel train has a third track in the middle of the two normal rails. This middle track is what the gears or cogs of the engine pull the train up with. It was a 40 minute ride to the top, with great views of the mountain scenery and some vertigo inducing moments as the track passed next to a cliff. The cogwheel train was an experience in and of itself that was worthwhile, but then we got to the top and could view the panorama of mountain ranges and alpine meadows from the peak of Mount Pilatus - magnificent! Thank you Dr. Friesen for your encouragement to do this excursion, absolutely worth every cent.

By this point some clouds had moved in, but they moved around enough that during the course of our time up on the summit we had plenty of chances to see the whole panorama. Occasionally the clouds would envelop us completely, but this never lasted more than a few minutes. For the most part it was a beautiful, if a bit chilly, morning.

Beth and I climbed to the two different peaks, enjoying the different scenery available from each vantage point (after catching our breath!) There was also a path that partially circled the summit, which often was right on the edge of the mountain, though also had some tunnels to go through. It was here that I discovered the only thing I was disappointed with the whole morning. While standing on this path, looking down at a church built on the mountain a few hundred metres below us I heard cowbells, lots of cowbells. The disappointment is that I didn’t have my mini-recorder with. This was one of the few occasions on this trip that I didn’t have the Pocketrak with me. I remember thinking “There will be nothing to record up there, I might as well leave it in the safe in our room.” Well not only did I miss recording the sound of cowbells floating up from the valley below, but then shortly afterwards we heard the sound of an alpenhorn being played!

Up near the top of Mount Pilatus is a hotel, and out from the hotel came a fellow dressed in a traditional Swiss outfit and playing an alpenhorn (beautifully I might add). The sound of the alpenhorn echoing off the mountain sides was so amazing that I had to kick myself a second time for not having the recorder with me! The summit of Mount Pilatus is shaped a bit like a partial bowl, so the sound resonated wonderfully in that space. We will just have to remember those unique sounds, make them part of our memories of that day. (Ever since then I have made sure to have the recorder with me at all times - and it paid off later in the day).

Mount Pilatus was named for Pontius Pilate, the man who condemned Jesus to death. According to ancient legend the body of Pilate was buried beneath the mountain. Pilate ended up under the mountain because he was killed in Rome, his body thrown in the river, and this caused major flooding and diasters where the body was carried by the river's current. So Pilate’s body was taken to a sparsely populated area and buried under a mountain so it could do little damage any more. Because of this legend up until few hundred years ago people were forbidden to climb on the mountain for fear of disturbing Pilate’s spirit (which would result in tragic consequences). It was finally a group of monks who defied this ban and climbed the mountain, consequently showing that this legend had no basis in reality. Ever since then the mountain has been enjoyed by many, many people - including us.

When our time on the summit was up we took a gondola back down the mountain (on the opposite side of the mountain that we came up with the cogwheel train). Actually it was two gondolas, first of all a large one that could hold 40 people - most of this first leg of the journey back down the mountain was shrouded by cloud (which might have been a good thing for those uncomfortable with heights, the few times we got a glimpse of the ground it was a long way down). The second part of the trip down the mountain was in smaller cable cars, 4 to a gondola - the only thing that would have made this better was if we could have opened some windows to take pictures, but overall was a lovely and smooth ride down the slopes.

We ended up back in a village right next to the city of Lucerne (the final part of the cable run went over people’s homes, which must feel a bit uncomfortable for the folks living there). We boarded the bus, drove back into Lucerne and thus was the end of an inspiring morning.