Sun May 25 Pilatus & Lucerne
事先做过功课， 去看Pilatus雪山要赶早，因为即使是晴天，中午时分山顶的雾会渐渐转浓，影响观景。早上8点多从酒店出发，我们的行程是上午乘火车先去Pilatus， 下午游览卢塞恩Luzern， 再从卢塞恩乘火车返回苏黎世 。火车票ZURICH HB ->ALPNACHSTAD（途径LUZERN）, 单程每人27瑞士法郎 ，车程一小时25分；LUZERN -> ZURICH HB, 单程每人24瑞士法郎 。
乘火车到达ALPNACHSTAD， 火车站附近就是游览Pilatus的售票处，往返票每人68瑞士法郎，包括：上山的齿轮火车ALPNACHSTAD－》PILATUS，下山的缆车PILATUS－》 KRIENS，和下山后的汽车（bus no. 1）KRIENS －》LUZERN 。15岁以下孩童半价。Transportation: http://www.pilatus.ch/en/railway-cableways/timetable/
坐40分钟世界最陡的齿轮火车（48度），, 途中或是绵绵群山， 或是湖泊环绕，或是丛山峻岭， 或是悬崖峭壁， 还见到不少徒步旅行者们爬山， 十分敬佩他们，一路拍照，一路惊叹，来到到山顶。
山顶景色壮观， 放眼远山云海， 身旁时而薄雾飘渺， 时而阳光普照， 雪山的壮阔胸怀震撼着我们， LG 感慨，人生不快， 都是庸人自扰。。。见到一位徒步登山者坐在山崖和太阳对饮喝啤酒， 让LG十分羡慕，忍不住问询登山需要多少时间， 答曰四小时。
下山乘坐缆车， 又是另一番田园景象
坐一路bus回到卢塞恩，原计划去一家湖边酒店喝下午茶（English high tea）， 到了那里才知道星期天没有下午茶， 于是折返到Restaurant Rathaus Brauerei Luzern (Unter der Egg 2, Lucerne 6004，66.7瑞士法郎 ) 吃午饭。餐馆紧邻湖边, 看得见卡佩尔木质廊桥The Chapel Bridge，风景绝佳。女儿点了 Älplermagronen: “Swiss Mac 'n Cheese”, 我的德国香肠Nürnberger Bratwurst十分美味, LG则是对啤酒赞不绝口， 连饮三杯Spezialbier BEER， 感慨：这是一个喝酒，做梦，不小心会遗失自己的地方。。。
下午逛街，小城十分美丽， 湖水清澈宁静， 街道建筑有很多优美的壁画，周日商店大都关门，劳力士的旗舰店是营业的。 在湖滨大道的小摊上买了块价格不菲的手工艺品：心形手绘石头。去看纪念生命痛苦和牺牲的流泪的狮子Lion of Lucerne。。。
中途自然免不了吃吃冰淇淋， 喝喝咖啡。在始于1877年的小店Backerei Hug (Filiale Luzern | Muhlanplatz, Lucerne)小坐了一会儿， 是个看人看景的好地方。
现在回想起来，卢塞恩是so far我们最喜欢的瑞士城市。
Travel tips:
Morning: Mount Pilatus, 30 min train to Alpanchstad which is where you then buy a ticket for the cog train up the mountain. The restaurant was good too (self-serve)
Transportation: http://www.pilatus.ch/en/railway-cableways/timetable/
Pilatus-Kulm is located 15km (9 miles) south of Lucerne. Its German name derives from an old legend: During medieval times, it's said, the city fathers of Lucerne banned travel up the mountain because they thought that its slopes were haunted by the ghost of Pontius Pilate; they feared that Pilate would be angered by intrusive visitors and cause violent storms. For many years after the ban was finally lifted, only a few souls were brave enough to climb the mountain. Queen Victoria made the trip in 1868. Today, the ascent to Pilatus is one of the most popular excursions in Switzerland.
From the quays of Lucerne, take a lake steamer for a scenic 90-minute boat ride to Alpnachstad. If you have a rail pass, remember that it will be valid on this steamer.
At Alpnachstad, transfer to the electric cog railway, which runs at a 48-degree gradient -- the steepest cogwheel railway in the world -- at the edge of the lake, and the very top of Mount Pilatus. Departures are every 45 minutes daily from 8:50am to 4:30pm May to September only. At Pilatus-Kulm, you can get out and enjoy the view. There are two mountain hotels and a belvedere offering views of Lake Lucerne and many of the mountains around it. For the descent from Mount Pilatus, some visitors prefer to take a pair of cable cars -- first a large cabin-style téléphérique, then a small gondola. The cable cars end at Kriens, a suburb of Lucerne. Here you can take bus no. 1, which will carry you into the heart of Lucerne. The round-trip fare on the cog railway and cable car is 94F, 50% off for children 15 and under.
Insider tip: Visit Pilatus early in the day. Clouds and fog sometimes move in after the noon hour and mask the magnificent view from the top of this mountain peak. You can be fooled by a clear view at the bottom of Pilatus, only to reach the top later to be engulfed in the clouds.
For information, consult the staff at the city's tourist office or call tel. 041/329-11-11. They're well informed about these excursions, as are the desk personnel at most of Lucerne's hotels.
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/lucerne/797921#sthash.nyaWkS8U.dpbs#ixzz30HWZhrHR
The Chapel Bridge (the correct name is "Kapell bridge") in Lucerne is a covered wooden footbridge that crosses the River Reuss. It was built in 1333 to help defend the city and has more than 100 early 17th century paintings in its roof recording the history of the city.
Lion of Lucerne: The famous carving of a dying lion by Bertel Thorvaldsen is in a small park just off Loewenplatz. The carving was made to commemorate more than 600 of Swiss guards killed by the mobs who stormed the Tuilleries Palace in Paris during the French Revolution in 1792.
During the 18th Century many guards of popes (still existing) and kings were Swiss guards. In German people say "someone is fighting like a lion" if he is a very hard fighter. Most propably this is the reason why the lion was chosen for this monument.
