We left the hotel early to do the Golden Roundtrip to Mount Pilatus. We took a bus from the main station to a ferry for sight seeing around the Lake of Four Cantons. Then we rode the world’s steepest cog railway from Alpnachstad to the top of Mount Pilatus. The view was breaktaking – we could see the whole valley. At one point we broke through the clouds and could only see the tallest mountains of the Alps jutting above the clouds. Amazing.

Atop Mount Pilatus we had lunch in the crisp mountain air, people-watching and listening to the alphorn musicians (video). Amy and I did a little exploring – around the back of the observation center to the stairways that take you up the side of the mountain so you can see the valley and hiking trails, and up above the observation center to a little platform with an even better view.

We rode the massive gondolas half-way down the mountain to Seilpark Pilatus, where we rode alpine sleds (when hauled back up the mountain I passed close enough to more soft, belled cows that I could’ve touched them) and did this crazy ropes course. Cargo nets: HARD. We took a cable car the rest of the way down.

Back in Lucerne, we walked through the city and across the Chapel Bridge to Old Town Lucerne. A lot of the buildings are painted and there was a lot of cool old architecture. We found this street musician (video) and I wish the sound was better – the noises he was making with his mouth and instrument were enchanting.