Aug. 19th - We Visit Mt. Rigi

Mark Twain commented on how amazing the cog railway train was that he saw zipping up Mt. Rigi. We noticed that one of the modern trains serving that busy “mountain railway” line is named “Mark Twain” in his honor.

We took the 11:12 boat from Pier 1 in Lucerne and an hour later we were at the village where the Rigi train leaves right from dockside. Here’s a video of the boat ride as we left Lucerne:

It was a side paddle wheeler like the boat we took to Mt. Pilatus. Here’s a video of the paddle on one side turning slowly to keep the boat snug against the line attaching it to the pier:

The weather was perfect today — in the 70s and 80s and sunny. I got some great photos of buildings and homes we passed on the way to Rigi.

Paddle boarding is really popular here, as in the States. Here’s one of many we saw:

I also shot this closeup of one of the many waterfowl we saw along the way.

Now for the train. It is not your normal high-incline slow cog railway. Here’s a video I took as it began its climb from where we got off the boat:

The Rigi line also differs from typical cog railways in that it serves several villages on the way to the summit, and it is used by the locals to go to and from the town at the bottom.

At the top I shot this panorama video showing the peaks visible in just one direction:

Here is just one of many stills I shot from the top:

The elevation is about 7,700 feet above sea level. Lake Lucerne is at about 1,450 feet.

We had a delicious lunch at the top from a well-equipped cafeteria. I bought this beverage thinking it was simply a local beer, but it’s actually a mixture of lemonade and beer and really quite refreshing! Notice the lemons on the top corners.

Here’s the label, showing that it’s 57% lemonade and 43% beer:

The boat ride back was pleasant. We rode in the first-class salon, which reminds me to tell you that we almost never were asked to show our Swiss Travel Pass. You get on any boat or train or bus in Switzerland and you can be pretty sure that no one is going to ask if you paid a fare to be on it.

Tonight we said goodbye to Lynn, who catches a 7 a.m. train to Zurich for her return flight to Montana via Chicago. We move at 11 a.m. tomorrow to our new hotel in Weggen, a mountain town a couple hours south of here.