Mount Pilatus

August 1 is Swiss National Day. It is the equivalent of the Fourth of July (minus the independence) with celebrating, parades, fireworks and most importantly almost every business is closed. Since Jeremy had the day off we packed up our bags and headed to Mount Pilatus for a day of hiking. It was great to get out of Zurich and see some of the other parts of the country. Getting there was simple, with a quick train change in Luzern, we were at the base of the mountain in just over one hour. We decided to take the cog wheel train to the half way point and then hike the last two hours to the summit. Mount Pilatus is home to the most steep cog wheel train in the world.

 Heading up on the train.

 We were told by the helpful man at the train station that this would be a great hike for us to break the ice on in Switzerland since aren't used to hiking the alps.  Well, even though it was marked easy and even though we rode a train halfway up, it was hard.  By the time we walked up the very steep mountainside, quite simply, we were sore and worn-out.  But it was worth it.  The views were incredible, which wouldn't have been seen from the train.  Humorously, there were cows mooing and ringing their cowbells to cheer us up the entire way.

 The end was finally in sight, yet still so so far away!

 

 

 After we took in all the beauty at the top of the mountain we headed back down to Luzern, via the cog wheel train and then the normal train to enjoy a hard earned dinner of pizza. Jeremy celebrated with a beer, Laura with gelato.