Day 4 - Thursday July 20 - Boat Ride on Lake Lucerne and Train Ride to Zermatt

By Ellen Outten

 

My first close up look at The Matterhorn

Today was an "easy" day.  We left the hotel at 9 a.m. for a short ride to our boat ride on Lake Lucerne.  

The train was run by a big paddle wheel engine.  



We traveled from  Weggis Switzerland to Flulen on this boat.  There were many stops along the way.  The boat ride was approximately two hours south down the lake.   This is vacation time for many and there were many families on the boat getting off at the various stops along the way for either a ride up a mountain on a smaller cogwheel train ride but most were off for a hike.  They call it trecking here.  Everyone walks and hikes!

The pictures that follow were from the boat and at the various stops along the way.

The town of Weggis, where we boarded the boat.







Stops were made at Rizi, Switzerland






The next stop along the way was Beckenried





The next stop, Gersau




On to Treib - Seelisberg where you could take a cogwheel train ride up a mountain.


Next Stop  


And then on to Rutli



The next stop was Bauen


And finally on to Flulen where our bus met us and took us to Andermatt, gateway train station to Zermatt and the Matterhorn.


a concrete car - thought it was neat looking


The following are pictures from the Glacier Express train that took us 3 hours to reach Zermatt and the Matterhorn, the most famous mountain in Europe looming over the Alps. It is 4,478 meters or 14,700 feet.

Our guide described the mountains we have seen at the pre-Alps.  Now that we are in Zermatt, we are in the heart of the Alps.  And, the day after tomorrow we drive over them to Lugano.


The train coming into the station down a switchback before entering the station.


Another day, another taste of a german beer on the train ride


glacial water running down beside the train



On the train, the first appearance of the Matterhorn (to the right of the tree)

The train station at Zermatt

We are staying at the Alex Resort Hotel.  It's a funky hotel, very expensive, I'm sure but the decorations are definitely funky.  The bar is big and note the barstools (with the horns and bells on the bottom of the stools).  Lobby furniture is straight out of the 60's.



   




Our room is decorated no less strangely.   Crimson and leopard skin!  


After checking in, we walked to the restaurant for dinner where I got my first REAL good look at The Matterhorn.  Tomorrow we take a train the base of it to see it even closer.



In town, glacial water rushing through the streets of the town.


Switzerland is known for it's chocolate.  The store was already closed, but these are pictures of the chocolate through the window.   Maybe tomorrow I'll get a chance to go inside and take a deep sniff!


























 












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