Rocky Mountain High

We have been living life on the edge. On the edge of a cliff to be exact, waking up in the morning to the view of the Alps and the Lake of Luzern. We have seen the floating skies from above, and we have been looking down on both ship- and air traffic. We have seen the weather shift between rain and shine not only over our own local valley, but across half the country.

It pays to have friends in high places. In this case, a school friend of ES owns a flat on the side of mount Rigi in central Switzerland. The flat is situated in Kaltbad, the only proper village on the mountain. The «Bad» these days is not so «kalt» anymore, the village has a spa with a heated outdoor pool. The name of the place dates from way back however, when a dip in the mountain creek was by all means as cold as cold can get.

Our daily view. We see the Alps straight ahead and the village of Vitznau down to the left.

The flat is in a house built into the slope of the mountain, and it offers an undisturbed view of the lake 1000 meters below. Weather-wise our four weeks were not the best, we had a wet and cloudy June and very often the curtains were totally drawn. But we always got a glimpse of the world once or twice a day, anything from a number of hours to a number of minutes, and that made also the wet and gray days very much livable. The alternative would have been to rent a room down in some town and live thru the same rainy days there. That would have driven us up the walls. Up here, even though we missed the warm days we could have spent on our magnificent terrace, also the wet and cold days were exiting.

So what did we do on our mountain for a month? Being football fans the Euro Championships on TV would have been important wherever we had stayed, but most of the time we actually did admire the view. When we could see it from the living room we sat there gaping, and when we had the slightest chance to sit outside we most certainly did. We could study meteorology, we could watch the sun shine on one mountain top and the rain fall on another, and in the night we could see thunderstorms and lightning as far away as France.

When the curtain was totally drawn however, there were times when we hardly saw our own railing, let alone the pine trees on the slopes below. Then we talked about the view. And we always heard the cowbells. The Swiss National Animal, the cow, lives in abundance on these hills. The Swiss mountains are not only for sightseeing, there still are quite a few working farms to be seen and also heard. The cowbells came thru the fog, loud and clear, no matter how hard and thick it was.

You cannot drive your car to Kaltbad, but the place is connected to the outside world by two railways and a cable car so communications are actually quite good. From Vitznau on the Lake Luzern to the south, the way our terrace faced, the first mountain cog railway in all of Europe was opened in 1871. Later there came a railway also up the northeastern side, from ES’ home town of Goldau. They both go the very top, to Rigi Kulm some 1800 meters above sea level some 400 meters above our village.

ES watching out for the local wildlife.

From Kaltbad there is even a cable car to the town of Weggis, also by the banks of Lake Luzern. Our friend who owns the flat has a garage there, a parking we had access to while we used her flat. The cable car was therefor the transport we used the most. The cable is very steep, the view is frightening and the car swings when it passes the masts under way. DHH is not a big fan of this particular form of transport, but he puts on a brave face. He very much tries to look like a veteran local traveller when the Chinese teenage tourists scream of joy and fear as the packed gondola jumps about like a dingy on the high seas.

We did get a few sunny days however, and we spent one of them on one of the old paddle steamers that travel the lake. In the summer heat this is the best way of slow travel anyone has ever invented. The ships take five hours from Luzern to the southeastern end at Fluelen and back, making about a dozen stops in the many small towns on the way. The legend of Wilhelm Tell was born in this area, and the ships loudspeaker tell us when we pass the spot where he apparently jumped off the boat of his evil capturers to escape. He was a good swimmer too, Ole Willy, he was much more than a good shot who famously put an arrow thru the apple on his son’s head.

We have travelled the world enough to know how very difficult it is to rate the beauty of lands and landscapes against each other, but if anything is better than the birds view of the Swiss lakes and alps we would very much like to see it. If you know of such a place, let us know. We promise to be along in a year or five to take a look.

The local wildlife consists to a large extent of cows. They can be often be seen, and even more often heard. On this photo however, only the one to the right wears the mandatory bell.

The wildlife on our terrace consisted of a squirrel who came several times a day. In return for some free food he was more than willing to let us take a few pictures.

The local birdlife consisted, among other species, of a fleet of old Junker JU sightseeing airplanes. This one passed us on the level of our living room window.

Another Junker circles over one of the old steamers on the lake, a real meeting of veterans!

The paddle steamer Stadt Luzern stopping in Vitznau and pictured from our terrace!

From Vitznau the first cogwheel mountain railway in all of Europe was opened in 1871.

The Vitznau-Rigi-Bahn traditionally used red cars, while the Goldau-Bahn’s colour was blue. Today both lines are run by the same company, but they keep the traditional colours of the two routes.

The mast at Rigi Kulm, at the top of the mountain, can be seen from miles around.

The hikers are all over Rigi when there ever is a sunny day.

The old and crocked are advised the pathway to the right, the young and strong can take the short and steep route to the left. Guess which one we took…

ES’ school friend, the owner of our flat, came by. Here we are passing one of the stunning views close to Kaltbad.

A selfie with the Alps in the background.

One of the big events of the year is the Rigi Schwingen event. Several thousand people turn up to see a typical Swiss variety of wrestling. We did not have the chance to go this year, but we have been there earlier.

 

One of the most beautiful daytrips you can take anywhere is with a Swiss paddle steamer on a sunny day. We spent 5 hours on the Gallia, and here we meet the Uri. There are five of these ships on Lake Luzern, built between 1901 and 1927.

Calling at Tellsplatte, a boat station named after Wilhelm Tell who is supposed to have lived in this area.

One of the trademarks of the Swiss steamships is the clean and shining engine rooms.

One stop of the route is the Swiss transport museum. Here ES is admiring a very old post carriage.

But she has seen it before, here in 1979.

Back on the Rigi. A farmhouse in the foreground, our flat is at the top floor of the terrace house in the middle of the picture.

The village of Kaltbad seen from distance, from another part of the cliff.

The Dorfladen, the village shop, is a very important part of life in Kaltbad.

The dark nights are not totally dark. We are watching some thunder and lightning way out in the west.

Leaving Kaltbad on the cable car.

The gondola passing the very upper mast. The pic is a little blurred, it is taken from the lake, one kilometer below and one more away.

Back to where our stuff lives, in our Lagerhaus room. We are packing for yet another trip, this time taking the car to Norway.