Sisters in Switzerland: Mt. Titlis and Lucerne

Augh! I am so behind in my Switzerland posts.  Bear with me, please.  Life has just been really busy lately. Anyway, here's the continuation.  Just a friendly warning though: this is a photo-heavy post ☺.

The following morning after breakfast, Ate Ning and I headed to the pick-up point of Gray Line Tours that would take us around the tourist spots.

Originally, we wanted to go to Mt. Pilatus; but upon checking out the flyer and talking to the guide/driver, we changed our minds and decided to visit Mt. Titlis because it sounded more fun.  And I'm so glad we did because it was absolutely amazing!

a building that caught my sister's eye near the pick-up point so she took my picture as I stood in front of it

Once the coach was filled, we went on our way.  I can't remember the name of the guide but he was very friendly, lively and spoke very clearly.

Even though it was raining, since we were passing through Lucerne, the guide took the opportunity to show us the Lion Monument, which is an image of a dying lion carved in stone, a memorial for the soldiers who died while serving King Louis XVI during the French Revolution.

The inscription above the lion translates to "To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss"

There were a few souvenir shops nearby, but we didn't go in.  The guide said we had lots of time for that later when we returned.

Finally, we were on our way to the mountain resort of Engelberg.  It was a long ride, so we had the option to catch some shut-eye or enjoy the views.  My sister and I did both.

can you just imagine how cold the weather was?

high up in the mountains...but not yet there

Finally we arrived, and we excitedly went out the coach.  Since we were in the mountains, it was really, really cold.  It was raining a bit and parts of the ground were covered in ice so we had to be very careful when walking towards the resort because it was very slippery.

The guide bought our tickets and our group followed him to ride one of the gondolas on the aerial cableway where we enjoyed breathtaking views as we went up. My sister and I had this gondola all to ourselves...with our guide who offered to take our picture

I couldn't stop grinning because it was just so exciting! ☺

the view down from our gondola on our way up

Each gondola had a flag of a country outside, and I couldn't help taking a picture of this one when I saw it had the Philippine flag.

proud Pinoy lang ☺

After a couple of stops, we went off the gondola, then boarded another.  Then finally the one called the Rotair. This time, it was a bigger one that fit a lot of people but didn't have any seats. On the other hand, it kept revolving, giving us 360 degree views of the alps as we went further up towards the highest vantage point in central Switzerland.

we-fie! ☺

Finally, we reached Mt. Titlis and my sister and I excitedly rushed outside to touch and feel snow for the first time.

Weeeeeee!!!! ☺

snow-covered boots

After walking and playing around in the powder-soft snow (yes, we threw snowballs at each other because we were just so overjoyed ☺), we headed to the Ice Flyer.  This was a chair lift ride that took us over the glacier.  We had the option to ride with the screen down to cover us from the flying snow, or keep it up and enjoy the fresh air and snow on our faces.  Naturally, we chose the latter.

catching snowflakes as they flew into my face and hands

After getting off, since the Titlis Cliff Walk was nearby, we headed towards that.  Unfortunately, Europe's highest suspension bridge was just too high for us (plus the snow was pretty strong and kept flying on our faces), so we decided against crossing it, and just took photos instead.

 

By the time we were done, we realized we were hungry, so we went to the restaurant for lunch and to calm down from all the excitement.

her plate, my plate, my apple drink, and me

After that, we headed to the Glacier Cave, which is blue inside because of the light reflecting on the ice

All too soon, it was time to leave.  We headed back down the same way we travelled going up.  And then we were on our way to Lucerne where our group dispersed for a while and do our own things. In our case, we took pictures and shopped for souvenirs.

the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower with the alps in the background

At the agreed time, we headed to the meeting place where our coach and guide were waiting for us and the rest of the group.  It was already getting dark and we were tired from the day's activities, so you can probably guess that all of us tourists slept on the ride back to Zurich.

We finally reached the drop-off point and we all scrambled out of the coach...still tired, but very happy at what we experienced.

I definitely recommend going to Mt. Titlis if you're visiting Switzerland and you're nearby. Personally, I would love to go back and do everything all over again.  My sister and I really had a fantastic time. But since Mt. Titlis snows all year-round, I'd probably schedule the next trip there during the summer so that the snow isn't too strong, we can go out on the snowpark, and we'll get to see the beautiful colorful flowers of nature around Engelberg.

Someday...someday...

More about our sisters only trip in Switzerland coming up!