Re-Imagining Rigi
Trip Start
Dec 16, 2007
1
26
42
Trip End
Feb 24, 2008
Where I stayed
Lucerne,
Switzerland
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Our Eurail passes gave us free transport on the ferry, which stopped off twice before reaching the lakeside town of Vitznau. The journey was not particularly quick but the weather and scenery were great as we cruised along only a small part of the smooth lake. At Vitznau we disembarked to find the train station and shed right at the jetty. There was a 20 minute change time between the ferry and train so we spent some time enjoying the views over Lake Lucerne and watching the train arrive down the mountain.
The railway station and shed set-up at Vitznau is rather interesting
Lake Lucerne
. The train arrived down the mountain into platform 2. When it had emptied itself of passengers it progressed forward onto the timetable at the end of the platform, crossing straight over it to one of the shed tracks. The table has 2 tracks, arranged like a cross. One is straight but the other is slightly curved, the arriving train travelling on the curved track into the shed. Once over the table the tracks were turned so that the train rolled back over the straight track, delivering it to platform 1 and the passengers waiting for the uphill departure. Nifty!Our departure was on time, the train consisting of an open wagon for toboggans, passenger trailer and passenger motor car pushing from the rear (downhill) end. It took about 30 minutes to ascend from the green of the lake up over mini valleys and through cuttings along the mountainside to the snowy summit at Rigi Kulm.
At the top we were rewarded with clear views over the lake to not only Lucerne but the entire surrounding region. We had a 1 hour change until the train back down the other side of the mountain and had anticipated that we would have enough time to explore and have lunch. In reality we almost ran out of time to walk up to the very top and enjoy the view, skipping lunch to avoid missing the train to Arth Goldau
Vitznau Bahnhof
.The snow around this part of the world isn't that great at the moment, we seem to be sitting under high pressure systems so all the precipitation is going to Germany and Italy instead of here in Switzerland. This is the trade off for clear skies and great views. There was enough snow up around the top to have a few ski runs open but only a handful of people were actually using them, which must be great for those who want the run to themselves at the cost of pretty old snow. Something that Belinda and I could've gotten into is the extensive toboggan run they had set up. You start on the platform at Rigi Kulm and then follow the track, paralleling parts of the train line, which zig zags its way down the valley, finishing at a station 3 stops down from the summit. We would've given it a try had we felt more confident; this track is mainly unfenced and features some good drops off the side.
Returning down the other side of the mountain to Arth Goldau takes a bit longer than the trip from Vitznau but it is Europe's oldest mountain railway and this line is more interesting, with more bridges and tunnels. The geology of Rigi becomes apparent on this line, through the tunnels and numerous cuttings. I love the sedimentary rock which the mountain is composed of, I can't remember the term now but it is the type that is full of large and small pebbles all joined together into 1 rock mass. Very cool to look at and indeed to feel.
Once down at Arth Goldau we again had around 20 minutes to wait for our connecting train so we grabbed some lunch snacks from the mini-mart at the station. Our train back to Lucerne was a small single-deck InterRegio, including a 1st class observation carriage
The Alps
. This train was also covered on our Eurails, meaning that we only had to pay for the Rigi trains, which overall wasn't bad.Last time I ascended Rigi was with Charles on our round the world trip. That time we did it the other way around, starting on the train to Arth Goldau and finishing with the ferry back to Lucerne. We also took the cable car down from Rigi Kaltbad to Weggis, taking the ferry from there instead of the train all the way to Vitznau. I don't think we made it all the way up to the summit either, so after this trip I can say that I've done all of Rigi.
Back into Lucerne we made another pitstop at the hotel before setting out on foot to the lake and onward to the Altstadt. Along the way we passed a good toy shop, with a great selection of Brio and a small collection of doll's house stuff for Belinda. We took the old wooden bridge to get across the edge of lake and then walked up and down the main narrow, windy streets of the town.
After popping into a few shops that Belinda wanted to visit and taking a few photos we found ourselves at Heini, the local famous konditerei. Arvo tea consisted of vermicelli cake with a hazelnut hot chocolate for me and quiche with a vanilla macchiato for Belinda. The macchiato came with a "Lucerne Raindrop" - a kirsch-filled chocolate that even had an actual cherry in it.
We took the long way back to the hotel, where we enjoyed another nice dinner after a break and more internet catch-up time. MTV put us to sleep, ready for skipping town the next day.
