In Which We Go Back to the Mountaintop to See the Sun

There is something I have to acknowledge: I haven't been completely open with you about the weather.  I have posted some pretty amazing photographs, if I do say so myself.  But I haven't pointed out the fact that those stunning views are often obscured by clouds and fog, especially at this time of year.

Rigi Hidden in Cloud

The flip side of living among beautiful mountains and lakes is that the combination often produces fog.  Fog that can stick around for days and days, until you begin to feel that you will never see the sun again.

There were a few days of sunshine about the time Middle Sister arrived before Christmas and just after Christmas we had a stunning blue-sky, snow-on-every-surface day.  But then the sky lowered and we didn't see the sun again for days. 


So I decided we would do what the Swiss do -- get up above the clouds.  MS and I drove to Vitznau, a village on the Vierwaldstättersee, also known as Lake Luzern, and embarked on the Rigibahn, one of several mountain trains that ascend to the top of Rigi.  

The most accessible of the Swiss mountain peaks, Rigi became popular with travellers in the early 19th century, when it was given the title "Queen of the Mountains."  An inn was built at its summit in 1816.  Until the 1870s one reached it either by hiking or atop a sedan chair; then Europe's first rack railway was constructed.  We followed the same route, along with three cars-full of Swiss and foreign visitors taking an early break on New Year's Eve day.

The train began climbing steeply right out of the station.  After about ten minutes, we slowly emerged from the fog.

Strangely, there were not one but two fog banks, one atop the other, with a narrow band of open air between.

After about half an hour we finally emerged from the upper fog bank....

And, feeling that we had crossed some magical threshold, we entered an entirely different world from the one below.

We all tumbled out of the train, nearly blinded by the brilliant sunshine.  Assuming that it would be extra cold at that altitude, we had worn many layers.  But as we strolled along at the top of the world we first unbuttoned and then took off as much as we could afford to carry, luxuriating in the surprising warmth.



Characteristically, the Swiss were enjoying the day in every way possible.  Some had come prepared with snow shoes or winter hiking boots and poles.  (I kicked myself that I had forgotten to bring ours, which would have made it much easier to navigate the sometimes slippery paths.)

Many brought wooden sleds, or sledges, for traversing specially marked trails, or simply being pulled about.

Others simply sat and soaked up the sun.

We walked up a steep slope to the very top and gazed down at what should have been a view of the Zugersee and my home.  But everything below was hidden by a bed of fluffy clouds.

There are many other Alps higher than Rigi.  What makes her still a popular destination is the fact that from her top one can take in the full sweep of the Alps, from Austria in the east to France in the west.  It was even more astounding to realize that because of the fog we were seeing only the tips of the peaks!

Eventually we came out of the blinding sun and lunched in the Rigi Kulm hotel, descendent of the first early-19th century inn.  And reluctantly we boarded the bahn to take us back into the world of mists and shadows.





But it is comforting to know that there is another world awaiting me up there, that can be reached merely at the cost of a Rigibahn fare!