Europe Trip - Mount Titlis, Snow All The Way

Sunday morning, time to explore Mount Titlis!

We checked with the receptionist about the weather on top of the mountain. She told us, partly sunny partly cloudy, -3 degree celcius. We were quite scared to hear the minus but we kept our chin up and proceeded with the plan. What a shame visiting Switzerland without stepping on to Mount Titlis?

So, we took a stroll back to the station and purchased our pass there. The pass the we got included two-way train ticket to Engelberg, two-way cable car rides, and Ice Flyer and it cost CHF 84.3 (~SGD 120). It was way cheaper than online booking. In the website, cable car rides from Engelberg cost CHF 89, without the train tickets and Ice Flyer. 

The train to Engelberg only run hourly. We catched 9:00 am train and reached Engelberg about 40 minutes later.

The train

The town of Engelberg is a town surrounded by mountains, a beautiful one. We walked from the station to the cable car terminus. But beware, there is another cable car here other than Titlis and we initially walked towards the wrong one. It took us almost half an hour circling the town before finally got the terminus.

The view when stepping out of the station

So European

Gorgeous

While we lost our way

Finally on the right track, what a view

Ow yeah this is it

The entrance

After entering the building, we changed our ticket at the ticket box before proceeding to the cable car. The queue was not that long and there were many counters operating. Not long, we had our tickets in hands and we proceeded to the cable car.

The first ride was a normal cable car sending us to the middle station. After that we were transported by TITLIS ROTAIR, a huge rotating cable car that could accommodate 80-100 people. We were supposed to be be able to enjoy the 360 degree panoramic view in the Rotair. But the reality, we could not even move inside since the Rotair was loaded fully. I could only see the back of the person in front of me.

Start to enjoy the view

White snow carpet

Going higher

Transfer station

TITLIS ROTAIR

After reaching the top, we walked out of the cable car and found ourselves inside a multi-storey buildings. Each floor serves different purpose, i.e. restaurant, lounge, photo studio, souvenir shop, etc. It was rather suffocating inside with the volume of people inside the small building.

The view at the top

Taking the view

Our first activity was the ice tunnel called Glacier Cave. It is one of the highlight here. I find it was more fun walking along the side of the mountain like what we did in Pilatus the day before.

The supported section near the entrance

The unsupported part, it's so slippery

Ice wall

The Glacier Cave, must be built by Elsa

We then prepared ourselves before going out to the snow field. And of course, we ate. I find eating is the most important thing to keep the body warm, especially for us who are not so cold-resistant since we are living in everlasting summer country. So, we stuffed ourselves and out we went!

Sunny weather, lucky us!

People were playing with the snow

Mount Titlis stands gracefully at 3,238m above the sea level and it is the highest summit of the range north of the Susten Pass. The everlasting snow here makes Titlis one of the most crowded attractions in Switzerland. Titlis is the place for people to ski or just to walk around, your choice.

A piece of snow ice

Another bucket list: eating the snow!

We climbed to the viewing gallery at the top. It was not easy but it was fun. We were not used to walking atop the fluffy snow but it was surely a cool experience.

On top of the world

My footprints are here

The Alps

A swan on top of titlis, my muscles are all tight and hard 

A giant white Hershey chocolate?

Relaxing on top of the world

I finally lay on a bed of snow

We walked down from the viewing gallery to the Cliff Walk, which is another attraction in Mount Titlis. Titlis Cliff Walk is a 1m wide 100m long suspension bridge that is hanging 3,041m above the sea level. 150 steps and you can reach the other side.

We tried to walk here but after a few steps, the winds blew so hard and it was getting foggy. We did not want to sabotage the rest of the journey so we decided to back off.

The Cliff Walk, fog started to come

It was so foggy!!!

We then proceeded to Ice Flyer station besides this bridge. Our pass included the Ice Lift and what we needed to do was just sit while the Ice Lift did its work. We rode it. The Ice Flyer was just nice for 6 people and it looked scary at first. We sat and we looked down, our feet hanging in the air and there was some part of the track sloping down quite steeply. However, it was a great experience, but maybe not for acrophobias.

Ice Flyer

Thrilled and happy

The ride is suspended on steel rope

The view

After that, we realised it was past noon and we needed to be back. We were lucky because we spent the sunny time up there. When we finished with all the activities, clouds and winds surrounded the area already.

We took the cable car rides back to Engelberg and walked to the station, this time not losing our way. But, we missed our train and we were required to wait for the next train. So, we had our late lunch and than back to Lucerne, walked back to the hotel to get our luggage, and we proceeded to Zurich with train. The ticket to Zurich cost CHF 25 (~SGD 35) one way per person.

Back to Engelberg

Engelberg small train station

Engelberg train station from across the road

Next - Wandering in Zurich

Love is in the air,
Little Feet

Europe Trip - Lucerne, The Pretty Lady by the Alps

There is a family run Korean restaurant nearby the cable car terminus. We had our lunch there before making our way back to Lucerne. Taking the same bus that we took in the morning, we stopped at the train station. 

Brezelkonig, yay

We took a stroll, enjoying the city of Lucerne. Lucerne is the most populous city in central Switzerland, the German speaking part of the country. It is located at the shore of Lucerne Lake with Mount Pilatus and Mount Rigi in the view. The city centre where the tourists flock can be explored on foot.

The history of Lucerne goes as far as the year of 750 when Germanic Alemannic people increased their influence here. Austria then ruled the area before Lucerne, together with Zurich, Zug and Bern made an alliance to throw Austria away. In 1386, Lucerne's victory was granted in Battle of Sempach and Lucerne expanded even more after that.

When most area in Switzerland converted to Protestant after 1520, Lucerne remained Catholic. However, in 1712, the Protestant won the battle in Toggenburg War.

During the French Revolution, French army marched into Lucerne and industrial revolution finally hit Lucerne. The population quadrupled in less than a century. To date, there are 80,000 people inhabiting Lucerne.

View of Lucerne Lake from Seebrucke

Another view

Can't get enough

Strolling is the most enjoyable thing to do

Crossing the Reuss on top of Seebrucke, we then reached the part of the city whereby tourists, especially Chinese, could be seen everywhere. The biggest watch store called Bucherer is one of the shops here. If you come here by tour, you will be dropped off in front of this 7-storey building and asked to spend money here.

We went in and realised that the stuffs sold here were not cheaper than other cities, even Singapore or Indonesia. Moreover, too many people were in the store. So, we just looked around and continue to explore the rest of the city.

Streets full of shops

Department store at the left and more shops ahead

A little square where people enjoy the sun

Actually there were a lot of shops here, but they were not cheap. And it was a Saturday, they were closed at 4:00 pm. The shopkeepers even hushed us out in a good way, saying that they would be closed in any minute. I find the people here are so relaxed. If they were Chinese, during high season, they would certainly extend the operating hours to gain more profit.

So we walked to the bank of the Reuss and cross the bridge to the other side. The bridge is called Spreuerbrucke, which is the furthest one downriver. It was constructed in the thirteenth century to connect mill place on the right bank with the mills in the middle of the river.

The extension of the bridge

Hello from the other side

Looking towards the Reuss

The covered wooden bridge

And we saw a gelateria still operating although it was past 4:00 pm, we went in!

Dolce Amore

Gelato, gelato, and gelato

We continued our walk to reach the most famous bridge in this city, Kappelbrucke or Chapel Bridge. Kapellbrucke and the Water Tower were built in the fourteenth century. The bridge served as a rampart and fortification while the Water Tower served as dungeon, archive and treasury vault. In the seventeenth century, a set of paintings that depicted the development of the city were hung along the bridge. However, on the night of 17 August 1933, a fire broke and burnt most of the paintings. Although replacement paintings were hung afterwards, there were gaps in between paintings to serve as reminder of the irreplaceable damage the fire caused.

Kapellbrucke from afar

It's getting nearer

Another bridge that caught our attention was a newer bridge before the Chapel Bridge itself. It is called Rathaustegg Bridge. From here, the angle of capturing the Chapel Bridge is just perfect.

It is just simply wow

Me with the famous Caphel Bridge

I just can't get enough

We make a turn at Seebrucke and walked along the bank of Lucerne Lake to get back to the hotel. Even though all the shops are closed except some cafes and restaurants, we still saw many people around. I think people used the quiet afternoon to enjoy the scenery and have quality times with their loved ones.

People and the swans

Approaching the hotel

View from the room

We spent a quiet night. It was quite difficult to find dinner that night. Only a few diners were in operation. And the next day was public holiday.

Next - Mount Titlis, Snow All The Way

Love is in the air,
Little Feet