Bonjour and Guten Morgen from Switzerland!
Breakfast in the hotel before setting out in search of a laundromat. Worse luck it was a public holiday today so everything is shut. We trekked back to the main centre of town and used Starbucks wifi to see if we could find any that would be open. After giving up and resolving to do the washing in the sink on pilatus we set out to explore Lucerne for a few hours before making our ascent. Of course bathing in more deodorant first. English shower don't they call it? Might deter the swans...
We found the famous Chapel bridge and crossed from one bank of Lucerne to the other. It's very beautiful and had flowers all the way along the edges.
Once on the other side it was time for me to face the music of 25billion swans. Choosing a spot with an easy escape I took off my heavy backpack (if I need to run I don't want to be held back) and walked down a few steps towards the water and a waiting swan preening itself. Chris all the while giggling like a girl at my terror. Of course, I walked down the stairs, got two feet from the swan and it reared it's head and hisses at me causing me to bolt up the stairs squealing and Chris laughing his head off.
"please tell me you got that on camera?!?"
"um....no, I wasn't ready"
Darn! Now I have to do it again! And this time the swan was anticipating me. Heart pounding, adrenaline pumping, I slowly made the descent again. This time the swan had its friend coming towards me too, better makes this quick! Pose for photo, video, now go!!!! Bolting other stairs safe again.
Then turning to Chris, who's still giggling at my reaction, "your turn" I say.
Squirming he quickly makes the descent 3 stairs, poses, then is up again in a flash. See I'm not the only one scared, swans are vicious!
Leaving feeling mighty empowered we didn't get eaten by swans, we made our way to the marina and onto the boat for Alpnachstad. This boat took roughly an hour to cross Lake Lucerne to Alnachstad, the ascending point for Pilatus.
Onto the cogwheel train and up the hill we go. A slow, steep climb taking around 40 mins. The view was amazing! Beautiful sunny day with soft clouds, people paragliding off the top, and the gentle tinkling of the cow bells as we passed a herd on the mountain.
Checked in at the top, we found our room, began the washing endeavor, hung everything around or room and even took advantage of the heated towel rack. A life saver if you ever have to sink wash your clothes. Everything's dry within 5-6 hours.
Looking out the window in awe, we went for a walk around the hotel and the mountain top. Taking pictures along the way. Such a beautiful day and a nice relaxing view. A quiet drink on the balcony after the tourists have descended for the day. Then to dinner in the dinning hall. Only 12 groups of people remain on the mountain (around 20 people in all).
At around 10pm we witnessed a lightning storm over Lucerne (Chris was only mentioning this earlier how amazing it would look to see a storm from up here). Later in the evening we got to experience the storm for ourselves. High winds and cold, cold rain. Very eerie being up so high and everything so dark, no street lights, or moon visible to light the surrounds. Things are very quiet at night on the mountain, except for the continual ring of the cow bells :)
Off to bed. Tomorrow we get to explore what the mountain trails have to offer.