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Full day tour to Lucerne & Mt.
Rigi, featuring trains (standard + cogwheel) & a
steamboat, ending with cross-border fine dining.
Saturday 14th September
2024
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The day promised to be a good one and
we were not disappointed. Edith & Gregor treated us
to another first class experience all day long, starting
at 8:30am and finishing just before midnight!
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We were all ready and
waiting as they arrived at the reception of our hotel just
before 8:30am. After a short walk down the hill, we caught
the tram to Basel SBB station, arriving there about 10 minutes
later. |
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We had arrived in good
time for the 9:03am train to Lucerne (Luzern), so Geoff
indulged his love of trains by taking yet more pictures
of them! |
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This was our train.
Geoff was especially excited because it was a double-decker
and we were sitting in a first class carriage on the upper
deck. |
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Our route this morning
took us from Basel to Lucerne in an hour and two minutes
(yes, that precise... this is Switzerland!) |
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There were more train-spotting
opportunities en-route... |
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...before arriving in
Lucerne. |
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The archway that stands
outside the station is what remains of the entrance to the
old station. |
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Good planning by E&G
meant that we had just over an hour of free time to take
a look around the charming town of Lucerne
before leaving on the next stage of our adventure. |
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The biggest attraction
in Lucerne is the Kapellbrücke
(Chapel Bridge), which is only a short walk from the station,
so we made straight for it. |
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Taken from the bridge
as we crossed to the other side. Not our most favourite
photo, but it had to go in! |
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Soon it was time to
walk back towards the station, where the ferry terminal
is located, because that is where we would be boarding our
steamboat! It hadn't arrived yet, but we thought it might
be a good idea to be one of the first to board once it did
arrive. |
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Our departure was the
11:12 to Flüelen, although we would only be sailing
as far as Vitznau today. |
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Our ship today was the "Stadt Luzern",
one of several vessels in the fleet of the Lake
Lucerne Navigation Company, known locally as "SGV"
(or "Schifffahrtsgesellschaft des Vierwaldstättersees").
Interestingly, Lake
Lucerne is known as Vierwaldstättersee in German,
literally 'Lake of the four forested settlements' (in
English usually translated as forest cantons).
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We were pleased that
we had arrived at the ferry terminal early, because once
the vessel arrived, there was quite a rush to get on board
in order to secure a good seat! |
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We embarked as quickly
as we could. Having first class tickets helped and we were
delighted to find that the first class seating area was
almost empty. Unfortunately, most of the tables had been
pre-booked and we didn't have a reservation... |
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...nevertheless, we
managed to find an unreserved table, as did Edith and Gregor,
albeit it a short distance from us. |
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This map shows our route
from Lucerne, starting with the boat trip across to Vitznau,
then the rack-and-pinion (aka cogwheel) railway up to Rigi
Kulm for lunch. Afterwards, another cogwheel rail trip down
to Arth-Goldau, where we changed back onto a regular train
for the trip back to Basel, via Lucerne. |
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The engines were interesting
and on display for all to see. |
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It wasn't the kind of
day to spend too much time out on deck, but we enjoyed the
scenery anyway as we indulged in a light snack (an alpine
cheese sandwich and a turkey ham sandwich which we shared,
plus a beer and a diet coke for Geoff and Bruce respectively). |
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One of the brief stops
on the way to Vitznau. |
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We arrived at Vitznau
on time (of course) at 12:09. We only had 6 minutes to disembark
and walk over to the train which would take us up Mount
Rigi to its summit, Rigi Kulm. |
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We made it in time, because
the timetables are co-ordinated and everything works, as
one might expect! |
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Many people from the
boat had the same idea as us, but we managed to find four
good seats together on the busy train. |
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Geoff was in his element
and we all enjoyed the excellent 30 minute ride up the mountain. |
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Arriving at Rigi Kulm
(the summit of Mount Kulm) which is at almost 6000 feet,
there was very limited visibility, but we did spot a different
sort of train there, which would be the sort to take us
back down after lunch. |
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We also spotted an old
steam train! |
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It was rather disappointing
that we could see so little of the scenery, which we understood
to be spectacular on a good day! It was also quite cold.
We decided to head up to the hotel for shelter and to hope
that the cloud would lift during the 90 minutes that we
were due to spend here before our next train was due to
depart. |
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Not our photos, but this
is what the hotel looks like on a good day. |
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After having something
to eat and drink, we headed back down to the station for
the next leg of the journey. Sadly, visibility was still
poor, but we could at least see the hotel from the railway
station! |
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This was the train we
took. For a short distance, it went down the same way we
came up, but then took a different route for the 45 minute
ride down to Arth-Goldau. |
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We were lucky to see
the old steam train departing just before we did. |
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There weren't that many
people on this train, so we could spread out a bit. |
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Visibility improved
significantly within 5 minutes of leaving the station and
we were all able to enjoy the views for most of the way
down. |
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Arriving at Arth-Goldnau,
where we would connect to the regular train service. |
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The main station, as
seen from the Rigi railway terminus. |
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More train-spotting opportunities
for Geoff as we headed back to Basel, via Lucerne. |
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The arrivals hall at
Basel Station. |
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By 4:15pm, we were back
where we started this morning, outside Basel SBB station.
We had hoped to go to our hotel to change for our special
dinner this evening, but there wasn't enough time to do
this AND to accompany Edith to the supermarket in Germany.
She needed to buy a few things for lunch tomorrow and we
wanted to go along for the experience. There was, however,
some spare time to go for a late afternoon drink before
catching a bus across the border. |
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Being early on a Saturday
evening, there was plenty of life on the streets of "Kleinbasel". |
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From the centre of town,
we caught the number 38 bus, which was filled with shoppers
going home. |
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Our
entire journey took less than 30 minutes, during which time
we drove through the border between Switzerland and Germany
into the municipality of Grenzach-Wyhlen.
Once again, no border checks. This image looks back from
the German side of the border. |
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The restaurant we were
going to later was close to the border, but we remained
on the bus for about five minutes longer to accompany E&G
to this supermarket. For a smallish town in Germany, it
was quite an amazing store, with a huge and varied range
of goods on offer. They shopped for some last minute items
for our lunch tomorrow whilst Geoff and I walked about taking
it all in! |
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After a very interesting
shopping experience, we took the bus back a few stops towards
the restaurant. |
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As soon as we saw the
Eckert Fine Dining Restaurant, with its Michelin star proudly
displayed on the front, we knew that we were in for a real
treat! |
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Course after course
followed, with wines paired to each course. It was an unforgettable
experience. |
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We only left the restaurant
just before midnight. It was too late for buses by then,
so the restaurant owner called a taxi for us. To apologise
for the slightly slow service (which hadn't bothered us),
he even paid for the taxi, which whisked us back across
the border to our hotel in Basel, after first dropping Edith
and Gregor off.
What a wonderful day it had
been! |
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