A train journey of 1 hour 45 minutes took us to the town of Engelberg. Here it was a long, 4 person gondola ride to Trubsee Station, with wonderful views all the way.
Engelberg valley.
At Trubsee we alighted and moved onto another Gondola, taking us higher to Stand Station, with its dramatic views over Trubsee Lake and up to Stand Station.
View up to Stand Station.
Our destination, Titlis, appears on the right hand side.
The previous days had been extremely warm, and foolishly, I expected the same on this day. Our friend Tony announced that it was to be 2C at the top. Before we continued on the final amazing rotating cable car, the only one in the world, I put on all that I had with me.
Photo curtesy of 'My Swiss Alps', of the rotating cable car.
Difficult to spot, against the rock.
It wasn't long before we realised that the extra layers were not required, although many people were rugged to the hilt.
Such a glorious feeling to be on snow, seemingly on top of the world, with 360 degree views. Wow and more wow! Click, click, click!
And the miracle of nature - in a rock crevice near the suspension bridge.
We descended as far as Trubsee Station, to have lunch by the lake, before hiking along its shores and further down the valley, to an interesting chairlift experience.
Hammocks for summer time relaxation. Impressive.
As we approached the chairlift station, one chair arrived, but we didn't see anyone set off walking from it. About 10 mins later we walked into the station, which was a small, wooden, barn like building, with an open front for the chair to dock. To our surprise no-one was there to sell or check our ticket. The chair's door was open. We entered. Frank pushed buttons. Nothing happened. He pushed the phone button and a voice asked what the problem was. We were given the information that the chair would descend in 10 mins, so we sat and waited. Sure enough, 10 mins later the door shut and we were on our way.
D O W N, D O W N, D O WN!
.................. into a wonderful, lush green, wildflower filled valley. We happily hiked along it to yet another cog rail, taking us down to Engleberg. 13 kms hiked altogether.
We passed through a forest, to reach the cog rail dropping us to our train, to return to Lucerne. What a spectacular day we had experienced!
Two days later we took the train from Lucerne to Lauterbrunnen, a journey I have happily taken 4 or 5 times in all seasons, bar summer.
The view of Schynige Platte, as our train wound along Lake Brienz. Two days later we took a cog rail up to this plateau, but we were totally enshrouded in fog, so missed its spectacular panoramic views.
The view from our room in Lauterbrunnen.
Our view at breakfast.
We arrived here about midday. After finding our hotel and depositing our luggage, we were quickly off exploring. Where, will be revealed in my next post.
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