Switzerland: Lucerne and Day Trips

A view of the famous Chapel Bridge in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Switzerland
Dates of Travel: Saturday, August 27th – Friday, September 2nd, 2022

Andy and I were supposed to visit Lucerne back in 2020 as part of our epic 10th anniversary travel plans.  Naturally, those plans were cancelled, and so we never made it to Lucerne or any other part of Switzerland.  It was tough accepting that we wouldn’t get to go, especially when I had already crossed the Chapel Bridge, visited the Lion Monument, and ridden the Pilatus summer toboggan so vividly in my mind.  A cancelled vacation feels like ordering a dinner that never comes.  Well, I have stayed hungry for my figurative meal all this time, so at long last we decided to make good on our original plans.  Switzerland is too expensive a country for us to visit for very long, so we only stayed a week.  That said, it was time enough to live out our original travel plans along with a few bonus additions.

Or Maybe Not?

I try not to check the weather report too early before a trip, both due to concerns of accuracy and also because the weather is not really something I can control.  However, I do have to know what to pack, so about 3 days ahead of time I took a look at the forecast.  Whether it was AccuWeather, Meteo Blue, or Swiss Meteo, I did not like what I was seeing…  Every single day throughout our trip was forecast to storm.  And I mean it looked like some serious rain.  If you read my previous trip report, you know that we had just finished getting soaked in Sintra, so I was not really looking forward to “making the best of it” once again, especially so soon.  

Moreover, I worried that after all this time, we still would not be able to live out the travel dreams I had carried with me for the last two years.  I considered rearranging our schedule, but every part of Switzerland, and even northern Italy, showed the same sort of weather for the entirety of our trip.  I briefly considered rescheduling the trip at this point, but ultimately decided I’d rather go and see what happens than not at all.  In the end, I am very glad I made that choice.

Air Travel: O’Hare to Zurich

We flew with United and could not have asked for a calmer, more easygoing flight.  Getting through Zurich Airport after we arrived was likewise simple.  We grabbed our bags, got our train tickets, and, a bit under an hour later, we were in Lucerne.

Our 3-Day Lucerne, Switzerland Itinerary

Day 1: Lucerne

Our hotel, the Ameron Luzern Hotel Flora, was very close to the train station, so it wasn’t too much trouble to drag our bags and ourselves over there.  We arrived at the hotel very early – something like 9:30am – so of course the room was not yet ready.  Thus, we dropped off our bags and struck out in search of some caffeine.  We quickly found some at Taburettli, a café that was both charming and delicious.  Indeed, this was probably the best cappuccino I had on the entire trip.

Since we had arrived in Lucerne early on a Saturday, Andy and I had the opportunity to peruse the large farmers market that is set up on either side of the river.  This market runs until only 12 noon.  While browsing the stalls, we also made a point to pop into a church or two for a quick peek.

This was also an opportunity for us to view and cross Chapel Bridge for the first of many times.  The sky was quite dreary and overcast on our first approach, so my first photographs were not nearly as pleasing as what I was able to take later on.

Andy and I made a point to climb one of Lucerne’s old defensive walls, as well as the clocktower, called Zytturm.  I heard it could be quite loud if the clock rang while visiting, but we did not find it to be painfully loud.  At least, not while we stood on the old wall near its base.

The view from one of the old defensive walls near the clocktower.

Walking the wall.

A VERY close-up view of the clocktower.

Not far from the clocktower is a pastoral restaurant called “Hofbeiz Kulturhof Hinter Musegg.”  There are a few different animals scattered around the restaurant, including highland cows in the pasture, a pig in a pen, and a rooster.  We entertained the idea of having lunch here, but the menu was rather limited and, more importantly, the place was swarming with wasps.  Everyone around us who had a plate of food, also had a plate of wasps.  These dining patrons seemed perplexingly unbothered by this, but I am highly phobic of wasps.  I have had a bad history of being stung repeatedly in some unusual situations.  Unfortunately, this proved to be a problem many times throughout the trip.  We were hardly ever able to eat outside without wasps relentlessly harassing us.  I have never experienced such trouble so persistently before.

Insensitively paired photographs from the restaurant.

Andy and I instead found lunch – the first of many expensive meals – at Wirtshaus.  Even here a wasp or two made sure to bother us, but it was more manageable.  Andy and I split empanadas, a salad, and a burger.  More than once we employed this strategy of splitting a starter and an entrée, in an effort to save a little money.

We wandered Lucerne’s attractive old town, admiring its painted buildings, fountains, and hidden nooks and crannies.  At one point we spied a Mario mosaic while sitting near the river’s edge beside some gregarious ducks.

Secret Mario. Perhaps inspired by Invader?

Other than restaurants, things tend to close early in Switzerland.  In Lucerne specifically, shops mostly seemed to close by 6:30pm, and even earlier (or closed entirely) on the weekend.  Therefore, if there is a place you want to visit, you must be quite deliberate about your timing.  With this in mind, I kept an eye on the clock so we’d have time enough to visit two places: a cheese shop called Chäs (Cheese) Barmettler, and a chocolate/ice cream shop called Max Chocolatier.

Andy and I shared one of the famous cheese pies from Chäs Barmettler.  It was savory, hot, and tasty.  Sort of quiche-like.  Worth seeking out if you are a big fan of warm cheese.  I won’t be craving this the same way as a pastel de nata (which it visually resembles), but it’s not a bad thing to try.

Fresh cheese pies still baking.

As for Max Chocolatier, from their website I was already familiar with their ice cream flavor offerings, and I was specifically craving their lemongrass mango ice cream.  Andy’s choice was pineapple.  Both flavors were pretty good, but honestly I didn’t find the ice cream to be anything very special.  Unless you go to one of their dedicated ice cream-making events, all of the ice cream at the shop is just offered in prepackaged containers from a cooler.  For my part, I pretty much only tasted the mango and not the lemongrass.  Pretty basic.  If you want good ice cream, I would instead suggest Amorino (a widespread chain) or Cuckoo Ice Cream Luzern.  You can’t go wrong with either one.  

I did find it a bit 'extra' how the ice cream flavors are presented like paint swatches at Max Chocolatier.

You have to give them extra points for presentation.

The chocolate from Max Chocalatier was much better.  We picked up some truffles for ourselves and a couple of bars for the folks back home.

No visit to Lucerne is complete without a visit to the massive Lion Monument.  The sculpture is quite sizeable.  It is situated within a rather serene and shady park, so it’s pleasant enough to linger for a while, contemplating both the artwork and its surroundings.

I kept some people in the frame for size reference.

As we continued with our wandering, Andy eventually succumbed to the temptation to buy a Swiss Army knife.  We also visited another church, the Gothic-towered Hofkirche St. Leodegar.  It was surrounded by a cemetery, not too dissimilar to the ones we have visited in Italy.

A peaceful stroll along the edge of Lake Lucerne eventually brought us back to our hotel for a short break.

Lake Lucerne.

That evening, we had dinner at a highly recommended restaurant, the Hotel Wilden Mann Terrace.  At this point I was just starting to realize that almost all of the commonly recommended restaurants in Switzerland skew towards a fine-dining experience.  Whether that is a good thing or not, will depend on your preferences.

From our seats on the restaurant terrace, Andy and I were able to see and hear a tractor parade passing through the streets below.  My eventual research indicated this was orchestrated by the Lucerne punk scene?  In any case, this was only the start of a rather musical evening.

I am not sure whether this is only a summer phenomenon, or a more general Saturday evening phenomenon, but while wandering the old town again after dinner, we came across many different musical performances crossing multiple genres.  We are used to these live musical performances while touring Europe, but the people on the streets of Lucerne were seriously getting down!  These were no mere onlookers, but full-on participants, dancing both on their own and with each other.  It was super charming.  😊

Day 2: Mount Pilatus Golden Round Trip

Ostensibly the world's steepest cogwheel trains, climbing up and down Mount Pilatus.

While certainly pricey, the Hotel Flora’s breakfast buffet was quite impressive indeed.  Better still, they offered a small discount on breakfast for each day we declined room service – and we usually decline it while travelling.

One of the big plans I had while visiting Lucerne was the Mount Pilatus Golden Round Trip.  This was an excursion I had been dreaming about since we had originally planned our visit back in 2020.  Today was our day to finally make it happen.  That said, I was very worried that, after all this time, my vision would still not materialize due to some foreboding weather.  Nevertheless, we made our way to the ferry dock, determined to see things through to whatever extent we could.

We arrived at the dock well in advance of our departure time.  Andy and I were not yet familiar with the free-for-all attitude towards queuing that is present in Switzerland, but we were starting to get a sense of it.  Though we were first to arrive, and at the front of the line, prime seating seemed far from assured, as others started to crowd us.  We were on our guard.  While we waited in this growing mass of people, one of the ferrymen tried to thin the crowd by informing that another, more direct route would soon be departing from ferry port #10.  Some folks took the bait, but not many.

Our readiness to spring into action paid off.  Andy and I were successfully able to get good seats on the front outer deck of the boat.  It was pretty cold out, and gray, and foggy, so the views were somewhat compromised, but still exciting nevertheless.  All of the other photographers and I continually ran from one side of the boat to the other as various small towns came into view through the fog.

Foggy views from the boat.

Eventually our boat arrived in Alpnachstad, where we disembarked to catch the cogwheel train up to the top of Mount Pilatus.  Although Andy and I had our Tell Passes (allowing for free travel throughout the region), we still needed to stop at a (very obvious) counter to receive tickets for the journey between Alpnachstad and Kriens.  This would cover all of our transportation both up and back down the mountain.

It was here that we encountered the most egregious instance of line-jumping.  We were all queued up, waiting to board the next cogwheel train up the mountain.  Attendants were scanning tickets, directing people through the turnstiles, and seating them in specific spots on the cogwheel train.  Andy and I approached the attendant, ready to be scanned in next.  She spoke to somebody behind her, and was informed there was room enough for only “two more.”  Before we could even breathe a sigh of relief, a man and his daughter heard this news, pushed ahead of us, scanned their own tickets (instead of letting the attendant do it), pushed through the turnstile, and seated themselves.  The attendant just watched this happen, looked at us, and said the next cogwheel train wouldn’t be for 40 more minutes.  This sucked, especially since we had lunch reservations at the top, predicated on the idea we would be going up now.  But oh well.  We just accepted our fate, still somewhat in shock at what had just taken place.

As it turns out – and we didn’t make a stink or ask for this – there was still room enough for us after all, so the attendant scanned us through and sat us in the car with the line jumper.  He appeared to be Swiss, or at least spoke German, and he was perfectly pleasant once we were all seated in the car.  He made sure Andy and I were comfortable with how much his window was rolled down, and went out of his way to inform us of how rare the alpine ibex were, when we happened to encounter some during the ride up.  Baffling behavior, but I have since read how generally lawless queues can be in Switzerland.  Some people will want to contradict this notion, or say that it is rare behavior, or claim that rude tourists are the real perpetrators, but multiple online accounts exist to corroborate my own firsthand experience.

Alpine Ibex, as seen through the window glass of the cogwheel train.

All told, Andy and I made it to the top of Mount Pilatus in good time.  At that point we were so high up that we had actually transcended weather; whereas the world at ground (and lake)-level had been dark and dreary, the skies above now spanned clear and blue, while the sun shone warm and radiant.  In fact, it was so warm and sunny up here that Andy and I had to peel off our layers of jackets and hoodies.  Sun chairs were well-occupied by other visitors, soaking up the rays.  

While the sky was clear above, white clouds sank into the valleys below, entirely blanketing and thus obscuring the lakes and land.  Honestly, I could not bemoan the lack of views, because it felt more otherworldly this way; like we had ascended Olympus, or were in the Air Kingdom of Avatar: The Last Airbender.  A city of clouds.

Andy and I were able to arrive for our lunch reservation at the Pilatus Kulm restaurant with plenty of time to spare.  It was not possible to reserve outdoor seating, as nice as that would have been, so we were seated indoors.  Once again, this felt rather like a fine dining experience.  I had to laugh, though, because despite all of its formality and expense, we were essentially eating things you could find on the stereotypical kids’ menu: Andy had a highfalutin mac and cheese topped with some apple sauce, while I had fried perch – so, basically fish sticks, to stick to my analogy.

Following lunch, I had two Pilatus hiking trails earmarked for us.  One was the Flower Trail/Blumenpfad, and the other was the Dragon Trail/Drachenweg.  Incidentally, we came upon the Flower Trail first.  This was by far the more impressive of the two, offering lofty views along the mountain’s towering edge.  It is called the Flower Trail because there are a few alpine flower specimens signposted along the way, but that aside, it offered sweeping views of cliffs, valleys, and a sea of white clouds.  We could hear the cows and their jingling bells far below, and at the same time watch ambitious hikers and red cogwheel trains climb the mountainside.  Black alpine choughs cheeped and swooped aloft the cliffs, giving us a more impactful sense of our altitude.  It was sublime.

I wish we had spent even more time on this trail, but before long we headed back towards the visitor’s center to find the Dragon Trail.  During my online research, this had been characterized as an easy, family-friendly 40-minute loop.  In truth, it must have taken us about 10 minutes to do the whole thing.  Maybe it is 40 minutes long if you are travelling with a toddler who is still learning how to walk.

At this point, it made sense to begin our descent down the mountain.  Andy and I rode the cable car down with about 20 new “friends.”  We all bonded over that jarring, stomach-dropping sensation when the cable car met part of the track – just an FYI, for those who are afraid of even momentary rollercoaster-like thrills (like my husband).  After the 4-minute journey, we arrived at Fräkmüntegg, where we disembarked in search of the Frakigaudi summer toboggan (about a 6-minute walk, mostly uphill, from the cable car station).  

A cable car back into the clouds.

I had been waiting to ride this toboggan for 2 years, and even now I was worried that it still wouldn’t happen.  Our altitude was low enough that weather conditions had resumed, and so once again, it was dreary and cloudy.  I was afraid rain would start at any minute, thus cancelling further toboggan rides and crushing my dreams.  To add to the tension, the line to ride the toboggan turned out to be very long.  (The cost to ride was about 9 CHF.)

About 40 minutes later (so four times longer than the Dragon Trail 😉), Andy and I made it to the front of the toboggan line.  It was still not raining, so at long last my dreams would come true and I was able to ride!  In my opinion, they were a bit overly conservative with the frequent signs advising to hit the brakes, so it was mostly a slow and ponderous ride, but still fun.  That said, Andy followed the signs so well that his toboggan actually came to a complete stop inside one of the tunnels.  He had to use his hands to scoot himself along the track, building up just enough momentum to get going again.  This created a bit of a bottleneck at the finish line!  

The toboggan course.

The trip back uphill involves your toboggan being hooked up to a bungee cord, and then being dragged back up a track to the starting point.  This backwards-facing journey was actually much faster and more thrilling than the trip down.  It was also a bit surreal, being dragged at high speed through peaceful fields of flowers, cows, and cow pies.  At one point I felt like a train whizzing by, as a group of three hikers had to stop suddenly in their tracks to avoid hitting me as I passed.  We shared a friendly wave.  😊

I had heard horror stories about the line for the gondola down to Kriens.  In fact, there was even a pre-recorded message advising that lines could be avoided if you leave the mountain before 2pm.  It was about 3pm when Andy and I were ready to leave, and so we just accepted we would be waiting in a giant line.  However, as it turned out this was probably the shortest line of our entire day.  Everyone was able to ride in their own private gondola, there were so few people waiting.  The ride down to Kriens was about 30 minutes long, so it was especially nice to have the gondola all to ourselves.

The town of Kriens made for a quiet and pleasant walk.  In order to get back to Lucerne, you have to find the bus station in Kriens, which is about a 15 minute walk away from the gondola station.  Andy and I stopped at a bubble tea shop en route.  The kind lady there made sure to explain how drinking bubble tea works, apparently unaware that I have like 20 bubble tea shops within like a 5 mile radius of my house. 😉 In any case, it was good bubble tea.  The shop was called Karma Take Away.

That evening we had another dinner reservation, this time at the Wilhelm Tell Ship Restaurant.  Again, it was another pricey fine dining experience.  It would have been enough for us to do one or two of these, instead of hitting up all of the top recs, which were starting to feel pretty samey (and honestly, never worth the high cost).  So, take heed.

Day 3: Brienz, Giessbach Falls, and Aare Gorge

A street in the town of Brienz.

The next day we had an ambitious day trip planned.  First, we would take the train to Brienz.  After finding some lunch there, we would catch the ferry to Giessbach Falls, both to see the waterfall and to get some dessert at the fancy old Grandhotel Giessbach.  Following that, if we still had the energy, we would take the ferry back to Brienz, and then the train back to Meiringen to hike through Aare Gorge.  I wasn’t sure if we would actually manage to do every one of these things, but – we did it!

First, the 1.5hr train ride to Brienz was quite pleasant.  The weather was the best of the trip so far, with sunny blue skies overhead.  This made for some nice photography from the train.

A mirror image in the lake.

While in Brienz, we stopped for a simple, greasy fast food lunch at Brienzer Express.  This was fine.  It was cheap, if nothing else.  The town of Brienz was cute enough.  Lake Brienz was particularly striking, with its turquoise-green, still, and pool-like water.  The town overall had kind of a resort-y feel, with B&Bs, restaurants, tourist shops, and plenty of people sunbathing and swimming in the lake.

The ferry schedule was the most constricting part of this plan, as boats were relatively infrequent.  Our planning was very precise, and in the end it all worked out.  We took the old steamboat to Giessbach, rode the funicular up, and hiked up to the waterfall (to about the second bridge – the one that passes right behind it).  The Grandhotel Giessbach’s restaurant terrace was fairly busy, and at first it seemed our plans for dessert might not be possible, but they were able to seat and serve us after all.  Andy and I shared a pleasant view of the lake along with our sweets.

We could have easily lingered at the hotel for longer than we did, but we were concerned about making it to the return ferry on time.  Thus, we too quickly departed, taking the funicular back down to the lake’s edge.  From here we were able to sit and gaze upon the water for almost another full hour.  I might have even dozed off for a bit on Andy’s shoulder.

We rode the same steamboat as before back to Brienz.  From here, we caught the train back to Lucerne, but disembarked at Meiringen.  There is some fictional Sherlock Holmes history in Meiringen, so his figurative presence is heavily felt throughout the town.  Furthermore, the town of Meiringen purports to have invented meringue.  That said, neither was the reason for our visit.  Instead, we caught a local train and rode it to the west entrance of Aare Gorge.  From here, following a small admission fee, we were able to hike through the gorge.  It was very impressive, winding between the cliffs on a walkway above the river.  Andy was quick to let me know that it was well worth the trip to come here, although we might have felt a little tired upon our initial approach.

While completely satisfied with our day, we were also good and tired by the time we made it back to the west entrance of the gorge.  The train schedule showed that it would be about an hour before the local train came back, so we chose to enjoy a casual stroll back towards the main train station, downhill through the town of Meiringen.  I am glad we got to take this walk, as it passed through quiet fields as well as a residential neighborhood.  It was especially scenic with several waterfalls hanging onto the distant cliffs.

Andy and I made it to the train station JUST as the train back to Lucerne was about to depart.  It was a minor miracle that our timing worked out this way and we were able to board the train.  If not, we would have needed to wait another hour in Meiringen still.

Another train ride, another gorgeous view.

The ride back to Lucerne was another peaceful journey with stunning views.  Each train has different amenities, with some offering dining cars, etc.  In the case of this train, there was actually someone walking around taking drink and snack orders!  We didn’t order anything, but the ladies next to us ordered a pastry and some hot café drinks.  Not a bad way to enjoy a scenic train ride.

We had no fancy dinner reservations this evening – thankfully.  Instead, it was the McRaclette for us at the Lucerne McDonald’s. 😉

I didn't imagine that this would be the last picture on this blog post, but here you have it.

Next Destination: Lugano and Day Trips

Click here to read the next chapter of our journey through Switzerland.  

Closing Thoughts, Hints, and Tips

Find my closing thoughts, hints, and tips at the bottom of this page.