The departure from Zermatt was normal enough, but when we changed trains at Visp, we discovered that ours had been swapped out for a smaller one. Apparently, the passengers hadn’t been downsized to match. It was standing room only, with everyone packed in tight. When a man announced that he needed to get through because he was in first class, a woman next to me replied, “We’re all in first class.”
I knew I liked her. She and her husband were heading to Interlaken, the next stop.
Guess where we ended up going?
Eigergletscher
With a side quest fully in motion, we stashed our luggage in Interlaken and took the train to Grindelwald.
We were going to see Eigergletscher! We briefly entertained the idea of continuing to Jungfraujoch, aka the Top of Europe. That was going to be a hard no from me, but with all the clouds up there, the decision practically made itself.
This map shows our route from Grindelwald Terminal up to Eigergletscher on the Eiger Express.
Here we are on the Eiger Express. We had the entire gondola to ourselves!
At the top, we took in the views, wandered around a bit, and had lunch.
For the return trip, we took the train down through Kleine Scheidegg and made our way back to Interlaken to collect our bags and continue to Luzern. This map shows our route down.
On the way to Luzern, I stared out of the train’s enormous windows. We passed Lake Brienz, which was the most beautiful shade of turquoise I’ve ever seen. If you ever need to leave me somewhere, leave me there.
Luzern
Such a pretty city.
Pilatus Golden Round Trip
I was thankful this adventure came toward the end of our trip because, by now, I was no longer a complete coward. The Pilatus Golden Round Trip takes you around Mount Pilatus near Luzern using five forms of transportation: a bus, panoramic gondolas, an aerial cableway, a cogwheel train, and finally, a boat.
The first gondola ride was easy enough.
The larger cable car, called the Dragon Ride, was where things got a little scary. As we arrived at the top, the cabin bumped one side, then the other, before coming to a stop. A young man behind me announced, “OK, now I’m scared.” He was simply saying what everyone else was thinking.
We spent a good amount of time at the summit.
We had some more climbing to do, and since I wasn’t wearing my high heels, I was clear to go.
There were views for days.
Connor made it down before us (shocking, I know). There he is, waiting on a bench (in the red circle) while we take selfies. His knee was telling him to take it easy on the climbs.
The cogwheel railway down boasted a gradient of up to 48%, making it the steepest in the world. But the ride was surprisingly comfortable.
And the boat ride back across Lake Lucerne? Glorious.
Older, Not Wiser
Our last stop in Switzerland was Zurich, with a little time in Schaffhausen and Stein am Rhein, and a birthday to celebrate. After all the mountains, cable cars, and unexpected detours, we were ready for a slower finish to the trip.
Happy birthday to me, indeed.
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