Down Again!

Having spent some time on the top of Mount Pilatus, the second leg of our round trip took us back down via the world's steepest cogwheel railway. With gradients of up to 48%, it takes about 40 minutes to descend to the lakeside village of Alpnachstad, where we caught the third mode of transport, a boat back to Luzern. The shower of rain, sleet and hail which blew through while we were on the railway, was gone by the time we got on the boat, leaving some smashing views as we cruised the lake.

We passed the small village of Hergiswil, where the lake frontage was dominated by the glass blowing business Glasi Hergiswil.

Behind, the views of Pilatus were once again, quite wonderful.

Some rather nice lakeside properties also caught the eye.

But the day was dominated by our visit to the summit of Pilatus.

The mountain gets its name from a legend which says that one of the mountain's lakes, was the last resting place of none other than Pontius Pilate himself. For a long time, it was forbidden to ascend the mountain because of this. It was thought 'Cursed be anyone who disturbs the Pilatus.'

In the middle ages, it was believed that a dragon with healing powers lived in the rocky crevices on the mountain.

Whatever the truth, we were certainly not cursed on our trip.