Switzerland: Land of organized beauty

Glacier Express on Landwasser Viaduct

Switzerland had been on our wishlist for a long time. So, our 2024 Europe schedule was around Switzerland with a meetup of our European friends who flew over to trek its famed mountains together.

Chapel Bridge, Lucerne

Our first sight of Switzerland was early morning on our overnight bus from Brussels to Lucerne where we stayed the longest, 4 out of the 9 days. Lucerne is a quaint city centrally located for many popular tourist spots. Our Airbnb host graciously offered to pick up our luggage after we reached early in the morning so we could do some local sightseeing before our late afternoon check-in. That worked out perfectly. We freshened up in the nearby railway station and then wandered around. We visited their famed Chapel Bridge,

Chateau Gutsch

 

Lion Monument, and Chateau Gutsch. At Gutsch our Google map showed that there was a Funicular to go down but we couldn't find the entry point even though we could hear the train! After searching for a bit, we saw some people come out from behind a building and point out the entry. Another surprise awaited us as this funny (first time for us!) train ran without anyone at its controls like an elevator in a building. There was no one else taking it to guide us! We read the instructions... got in... door closed... down it went at a very steep angle.. and got us to the foothills safely. *phew*. Quite an experience indeed. 

Water fountain, Lucerne

So many things were new and interesting for us on our first day in Switzerland. Water fountains with cute spouts that gave drinking water continuously, on-time buses (we had city passes for free rides), nature all around, etc. Finally, we visited the wonderful Museggmauer Fort with incredible views before heading to our Airbnb and finally checking in exhausted after a full day of walking and sightseeing.

Lion Monument, Lucerne

From the many possible destinations to experience the Swiss mountains around Lucerne, we chose to visit Mt. Rigi. It is known for its views, ferry ride, cable car, and cogwheel train. The ferry gave us some fantastic views whichever way we looked with idyllic sailboats, towering mountains, birds, quaint lakeside towns, and so on. The ferry itself was quite an experience with exposed engines and drink services on board for first-class passengers. 

On Ferry to Mt. Rigi

We chose to get off at Weggis, took the cable car to Kaltbad and then the Cogwheel train for the final leg. All are free with a Swiss Rail pass and you don't have to worry about buying tickets. Mt Rigi was a fun experience with short trails at the top to enjoy 360-degree views. There are also several trails to go up or down by foot but we had not planned to do them. 

View from Mt. Rigi

The next day we chose to go to Trummelbach Falls on a recommendation and enjoyed it thoroughly. The train from Lucerne is the same one that also goes to Grindelwald and the popular Jungfraujoch. How is that possible? Well, it splits at Interlaken with one part going towards Lauterbrunnen and the other Grindelwald! So, one has to board carefully at Lucerne paying close attention to the A/B part of the platform number. As expected we didn't, and had to switch over later in a mad scramble. The falls are a great experience to witness the power of water up close. 

Trummelbach Falls

We chose to walk back the 3km which turned out to be the highlight of the day as the views were mesmerizing and better experienced on foot. We also painted small personal canvasses midway to capture the ambiance, which was quite fun.

Walk back from Trummelbach

Our Airbnb was called Apartment Mount Pilatus, so named because we could see Mt Pilatus from the windows and the Kriens Cable car station was walkable from there. So, this was a must-do for us. Our host recommended that we check the cloud cover before visiting it. But, since this was our last day in Lucerne it was then or never. We were lucky to get great views with clear blue skies as we went up on the cable car to the first stage, Frankmuntegg. We walked around there and enjoyed some exhilarating toboggan in a bobsled-like setup before taking the Gondola to the top or Kulm. And yes....  the top was completely under cloud cover. 

Dragon Path, Mt. Pilatus

We walked the Dragon Path around the mountain top that was very deserted, freezing cold but thoroughly adventurous and enjoyable even without the views. There were rare (I think) high-altitude plants tagged with scientific names making the trail special. We headed back down via the worlds steepest cogwheel train  which was quite an experience. 

Lucerne is a wonderful city that helped us explore Swiss culture for the first time. It is located perfectly to visit many popular spots and mountains of Switzerland. 

This, useful link to compare the mountains we could visit from Lucerne, helped us tremendously. Thanks, Alexx!

Zurich from Grossmuenster Tower

Next was our meetup with my wife's school friends to bond and trek in the Swiss mountains. We took the train to Zurich to join the group. We spent half a day exploring the city. In that short time we managed to visit the huge National museum or Landesmuseum of which we hardly explored 10%, Grossmuenster church with its city views from the tower, and even had a lunch picnic along with the locals on a city bridge.  We caught up with our group for dinner at Hiltl after a lot of excitement with the 3 college classmates meeting after many years. Our treks were planned at Lugano but our stay was in Bellinzona, a quaint little town close to it. The train journey from Zurich to Bellinzona was quite interesting as two young friendly Swiss professionals riding along with us shared many aspects of Swiss culture.

Lido San Domenico, Lugano

Our first trek was the scenic Olive Grove Trail along the Lake Lugano shore. There were cute restaurants all along the trail. We relaxed at one, Lido San Domenico, for some drinks, after just 10 minutes into the trek! They were that irresistible. 😄. The trail winds through some extremely picturesque villages. We met a German team cycling all the way across Switzerland and beyond. 

Monte San Salvatore to Melide

The longer trek we did was the trail down from Monte San Salvatore. The Funicular to the top was fun, the views at the top were spectacular. We could even see Italy. Since our goal was to trek down we could not explore the area which included a museum. We chose the trail down to the lake, that descended most of the time winding through villages along the way. From the lakeside near Melide, we took a bus to Morcote for our Ferry back to Lugano. Morcote was another lovely lakeside city where we had our Lunch with beautiful lake views. As a bonus, we got to witness a Harley Davidson rally who were in that area for an event. 

View out of Glacier Express

Our next big Swiss adventure was the famous Glacier Express. We had booked the leg from Andermatt to St Moritz. Unfortunately, because of flooding in the area, we had to take the local trains for part of the itinerary, from Andermatt to Chur. So, we got to experience the Swiss mountains on both the local trains and the Glacier Express. The local trains were quite good. However, Glacier Express had larger windows, personalized service, and onboard catering. Regardless of which you choose to go on, the mountains and the vistas are truly magical to watch from a train window. As another blog described, no camera can do justice. Just put it away after a few images for nostalgia and enjoy the sight of mountains that go by. Highlight was going over the 122 years old picturesque Landwasser Viaduct. 

Swiss Alps from GE

We planned only an overnight stay at St Moritz, a picturesque upscale ski city. Our stay was in a lovely youth hostel next to the forest into which we did a quick morning walk before heading off to the railway station to begin our Austrian adventure.

Forest trails, St. Moritz

Many more images with captions in the photo albums below. Enjoy.

Lucerne and Glacier Express

Lugano with friends

Mussegmauer Fort, Lucerne

Cogwheel Train, Mt. Rigi

Top of the World, Mt. Rigi

Wild flowers, Mt. Pilatus

National Museum, Zurich

Picturesque Cottage, San Salvatore trail

Glacier Express

Jog Falls - Natural beauty

Location: Jog Falls, Karnataka, India

Date: Oct 30th and Nov 1st, 2019

To get there: [Click here for Google Map].
From Bangalore, it is connected by Train and Bus. Driving takes around 6 hours on pretty good roads for the most part.

Trail type: This is a tourist spot. We did not trek in the proper sense. However, the main Mayura viewpoint of the falls is well developed and managed by the tourism department.  One can walk among the ramps to get different views at the top. For the fit and adventurous, they have constructed steps, 1388 in total, to reach the foot of the falls. This, in essence, was our "trek". The stair access is only from 9am to 4pm. Allocate 2 hours or more for this option to have a pleasant experience. The other public viewpoint at the British Bungalow side also has some ramps to walk around and gives a different perspective of the falls.

Facilities: Restaurants and small shops are present. Public restrooms are also there though we did not use it. HDFC ATM booth is also there. Plenty of car parking at both viewpoints.

It was disheartening for me to not have visited Jog Falls since my school days. That finally came to an end when we had to attend a family function at Shimoga to which we added a one-night stay-over near the falls. The Falls is about 100 kilometers from Shimoga and takes 2 hours drive time.

Our aim was to leave Bangalore by 6am and we missed it by 30 mins, even though packing was just dumping all our clothes and snacks into the car! Note that there are not many eating places on this route after Tumkur. We ended up eating at a small roadside restaurant in Hosadurga, which surprisingly had good Masala Dosa. Lunch was at Sagar 1 hr before the falls at a riverside hotel. Unfortunately, there was no bird activity on the lake. On the way back from Shimoga, we were recommended a much better hotel near Tarikere called Aramane.

View from Mayura

Gray or Hanuman Langur with a better view!

There were not many spots on the way either where we could do some roadside birding. So, we reached the Falls at the expected time of 2.30pm. Since the weather was fine, we just checked in and immediately headed towards the main viewpoint at Mayura Hotels. It is well managed here with ample parking space though I am guessing, it may overflow on popular days.

It was just after 3pm and we inquired about the steps to go down to the foot of the falls. We were told that the pathway closes by 4pm. So, after taking in a quick glance at the falls we hurried over to the steps. Its a total of 1380! but undaunted we started down fast. However, rain played the spoilsport and at about 80% down, we had to surrender and head back up. Our plan was to return the next day.

Clouds coming across

Stairs to the base

As we were told the route will be open for public at 9am, we started out first birding near our resort around 7am and then drove to British Bungalow for the fall views. Here also there are nice viewpoints and you can see and hear Roarer up close. However, the other falls are partially or fully hidden. We then drove on to the Mayura viewpoint (around 2 km) and started down the steps at 9am prompt as soon as the guard opened it. These 2 guards will go down and stay until the closing time at 4pm to prevent any untoward incidents. This time the descent was more leisurely and we enjoyed the views along the way. Birding wise, we were given a spectacular posing by Asian Fairy Bluebird which sat and posed for few mins just a few feet in front of us. Mountain imperial pigeon and small minivets were also seen.

Resting in gazebo at the start of the steps

At the bottom, they have created a small enclosure where one can wade in water from a small runoff falls. No one is allowed close to the bigger ones. We were told that when the falls are in full flow, the water will spray all the way to the enclosure. It was not the case for us as the flow was restricted. We spent about an hour there before heading up. We spotted only Pigeons and Egrets here. The Rock pigeons were perched in rock crevices naturally unlike their urban friends (or cousins?) who prefer the man-made tall structures. Hundreds of them if observed carefully tended to fly out in a flock once in a while.

It was a great trip and we were finally happy to have seen Jog Falls in all its beauty and take in the wonderful nature around it.

Bird list:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S61921322

At the base of the falls