Summit

At the top of Mount Pilatus, you can find two hotels, a panorama gallery, a couple of restaurants, a sunny terrace and various walkways. Not bad for 7,000ft!  One of the walkways is called the Dragon Path and is carved out of and through the rock, offering views out across the countryside.  Here, you can see one of the large, red cable car gondolas which brings tourists the last 1,500ft or so and a wonderful view of Lake Luzern below.

Beyond the lake and the nearer mountains, the snow-capped higher Alps can be seen.

From this lofty point along the Dragon Path, you look down on the small Klimsenhorn Chapel which we passed on the way up.

Zooming in a bit, it looks as if it were made of Lego!

Various viewpoints have been carved out of the rock face, giving 'windows' onto the scenery way below.

It's a good job there are barriers and hand rails!

Inside the visitor centre, you are greeted by a stuffed Alpine Ibex - sadly the only Ibex we saw, although they do live wild on Pilatus.

Outside again and the snow was till clinging to the higher parts of the mountain. At this point, a sudden, sharp shower of sleet and hail came at us, visible in this shot.

One of the birds I was hoping to see while we were in Switzerland was the Alpine Chough. Said to be quite common in the mountains, they are well known for their habit of congregating around tourist attractions, on the look-out for tasty tit-bits. We weren't disappointed!

So, that was another new 'tick'.

Pilatus

Last Friday saw us taking a trip on various modes of transport, to the summit (Nearly) of Mount Pilatus.

At almost 7,000ft, Pilatus is, as our guide pointed out, not actually part of the Alps, but stands alone, away from the main range of mountains. Our first mode of transport was a bus to the town of Kriens to catch the cable car. Then it was onward and upward.

With such good weather, we were lucky enough to have some wonderful views as we got higher.

Looking back, Lake Luzern and the city itself started to come into view.

And some stunning scenery...

And it just got better...

And better. The meadows below were filled with Marsh Marigolds and the occasional sound of cow bells just made it so 'Swiss' that you couldn't have wanted anything better.

Up to the snow level and the small Klimsenhorn Chapel sitting at 6,257ft above sea level came into view. There was once a hotel here too, but that burned down in 1967.  The chapel was renovated in 2003.

At the top, the views were just breathtaking.

Enough for today.  More on our trip up (and down) Pilatus tomorrow...

Löwendenkmal

A little way from our hotel we found the small garden area which contains the famous Löwendenkmal or Lion Monument.

Designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and sculpted by Lukas Ahorn in 1820, this beautiful work of art commemorates the Swiss Guard, massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution.

Never one to mince words, Mark Twain described the sculpture as "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world."  Looking closely at the painful expression on the face of the mortally wounded lion, you can see why.

The garden setting for this sculpture is both peaceful (despite all the tourists) and extremely beautiful.

Back to the Chapel Bridge and more artworks are to be found.  These triangular paintings were completed in the 17th century.

Painted by Hans Heinrich Wägmann, they depict scenes of life and events in Luzern's history. Sadly, many of the original pictures were destroyed in a catastrophic fire in 1993.  Only about 30 of the original 147 paintings were fully restored.

Also close to where we were staying, the Church of St. Leodegar is one of the most important landmarks in the city.

Construction began in 1633 on the site of a former Roman basilica and later monastery.  Those twin, spiky spires can be seen all over the city.

There is an impressive entrance porch...

and an elegantly carved door...

leading to an extremely ornately decorated interior.

Still more to come...

Around Luzern

More pictures from around the city of Luzern today.
On the corner of Kapell Platz and Rathausquai, this lovely building caught the eye.

This part of the city is dominated by the famous Kapellbrücke or Chapel Bridge built in 1333 as part of the city fortifications.

The large tower in the middle of the river is known as the 'water tower' but it is not a water tower in the normal sense, just a tower in the water. At 140ft tall, it's an impressive structure and has been used as a prison, torture chamber and town archive. Today, it is one of the most well known landmarks in the area.  More about the bridge later!

A bit further along the river and another bridge takes you nearer the Rathaus or Town Hall.  It also gives good views of the Chapel Bridge.

Several of the buildings in this area are decorated and adorned with various paintings, sculptures or floral additions.  None more so than the Zunfthaus zu Pfistern, a restaurant overlooking the water.

The river front was delightful with the Horse Chestnut trees coming into flower along the row of restaurants and bars.

Malcolm and Pat keeping the sun off......!

Luzern

Malcolm, Pat and I, returned home yesterday from a fantastic few days in Switzerland, staying in the city of Luzern.  Arriving on Thursday evening, we got settled into our hotel, then set out for a brief stroll around the city to get our bearings.

For several day before we went, the weather forecast had been, at best, a little dreary.  So we were expecting to get wet a few times during our stay. But in the end, the forecast was completely wrong and the weather turned out to be far better than we'd dared to hope.

Strolling along the banks of Lake Luzern on our first evening, the tourist boats were coming and going and the swans were swimming about on the look-out for food from the tourists.

Some pretty spectacular views were in store for us over the few days we were there.

Also, we had a some wonderful trips planned. The first was to be on Saturday, with a trip on cable-car, Cog Railway and lake cruise taking in the summit of Mount Pilatus, seen here looking down on Luzern.

There will be many more pictures to come....as I get them sorted out!

All The Blues

Just a few more pictures from recent walks around Shipley Park, where most of the flowers seem to be blue.  Of course there are the Bluebells we all love so much...

Always good value at this time of year, they benefit from getting down to 'flower level' and seeing them close up.

That way, you get the wonderful fragrance too.

Rather paler in colour, but no less 'blue' are the Forget-me-nots.  Lots of these familiar plants are blooming too right now.

Small as the individual flowers are, they make up for their size with their numbers.

In some places, the Forget-me-nots are flowering among the Bluebells making a lovely mix of blues.

Cuckoo

We started  another new month with a walk through Shipley Park in the sunshine, but with a stiff and chilly breeze still taking the edge off things. as we crossed the meadows to the north of Shipley Hill, we were greeted by the sight of  several small patches of Cuckoo Flowers (Cardamine pratensis).

This pretty spring flower sometimes goes by the name of Lady's Smock but gets its name of Cuckoo Flower by its habit of coming into flower just at the time when the Cuckoos are returning for the summer.

A member of the Brassicaceae or Cabbage family, it is quite common in the UK and is a favourite food plant of several species of butterfly, especially the Orange Tip, whose scientific name Anthocharis cardamines is derived from the plant.

Cuckoo Flowers are supposed to be sacred to Fairies and as such, bad luck would befall anyone who picked the flower for use in May Day garlands or who took it indoors.

A nice way to start the new month.