Montag, 18. Juli

Hello everyone!

After having slept in past 11 for the past two days, waking up at 6:30AM today was a struggle, to say the least. And I will admit that I almost fell asleep twice during the two-hour bus ride to the Rigi. But once we finally arrived and saw the Swiss Alps spread out around us, I decided that it was definitely worth it.

Even before we headed up the Rigi, the view was amazing. With the lake before us, the Alps surrounding us, and the sun shining down on the water, it was like we'd just walked into a nature documentary. It was so beautiful, it almost didn't seem real.

First we took a train up to a station closer to the peak, then walked the rest of the way up.

The view during the train ride up.

At some point during the hike, Heather and I accidentally lost the rest of the group, but decided to just keep going. The hike was very strenuous, and by the time we reached the peak, my legs were practically begging me to sit down. But the scenery around us as we hiked more than made up for it.



My medicore phone pictures don't even do it justice. Standing there at the peak of the Rigi and looking out over the lake, with the snow-capped peaks of the Alps in the distance ... it was an inexplicable feeling. It was like nothing I've ever seen before.

The view from the peak.

After a (very well-deserved) breather, many pictures, and some Apfelschorle, we took a train back down. And then, after another bus ride, we arrived in Luzern! According to Google, Luzern is the "storybook image of a Swiss town" -- and it really was. Two hours wasn't nearly enough to explore everything! First, Maeve and I headed across the Chapel Bridge, or Kapellbrücke, a very old (and beautiful!) bridge built in the 14th century. Many pictures were taken.

Kapellbrücke

We then walked through the old city, stopping to buy gelato and chocolate. For a while we just walked around, admiring the beautiful architecture and the scenery around us and taking pictures. Once again, it almost didn't feel real. Everything was like it had jumped right out of a postcard -- the sun glittering on the river, the centuries-old buildings, the beautiful bridge. Even now I still can't quite believe it.

Once I got back home, we had some really amazing Älplermagronen for dinner, which I did not know about before and is apparently a traditional Swiss dish made of all the ingredients that were available to Swiss herdsmen when they herded their cows in the slopes of the Alps (potatoes, cheese, pasta, and applesauce -- a strange combination).

In conclusion, the Rigi (and the rest of the Alps) and Luzern are absolutely beautiful, and I loved every minute of today's excursion. It's definitely one of my favorites so far. Hiking the Rigi was arduous, but fun, and the view at the top was a pretty nice reward. And I had an amazing time walking around Luzern.

Looking forward to our visit to Straßburg tomorrow!

Gute nacht,
Sarah