Chutes and Ladders

After breakfast at the hostel this morning, Jenna and I made our way by foot back down the hill and toward the Lion Monument. We had consulted three maps, so we had a pretty good idea how to get there. What maps don't show are giant, unscalable cliffs! And that is how we came to play a game of chutes and ladders, or rather stairs and more stairs. It turned alright though, because although we were wandering through residential yards and driveways, we got some excellent views of the mountains illuminated by the morning sun. After reconsulting our maps a couple of times, we finally found the monument in all of its massive Aslan-esque glory. The monument memorializes the mercenaries of Luzern killed in the French Revolution in a beautiful realism. He looks so real! 

We then made our way to Mt. Pilatus. We took a bus from the city center to Kriens, then got on the gondola and proceeded to experience several ear poppings before transferring to a second gondola and arriving at the top. And my, what a view! 

We spent most of the remaining daylight hours at the top of the mountain enjoying several different viewpoints and reading legends of dragons. When it got too cold to be outside anymore, we went inside for heiße schocolade and a meal of bread, apples and carrots, and our Swiss chocolate, of course, while we listened to a live accordion band playing traditional music. What a treat! 

We then spent about another hour lounging in the sunshine and enjoying the view. We also got to watch a few paragliders soar over the mountain tops. 

At about four we reluctantly made our way back down the mountain. It was almost too beautiful to leave! We traveled back through the city to the train station, took a little break to watch some ice skaters, then rode the train back to Zürich. I am now on the train from the Vienna airport back home, and am very much looking forward to my cozy bed. It has been a great weekend of beyond gorgeous sites and a great way to reflect back on the semester. 

I'll try to get my pictures up tomorrow. I did my best to capture the amazing. 

Love you all, stay warm!