Switzerland - Mt Titlis

A bus, a train, a bus , a cable car, a larger cable car, a Rotair [the worlds first rotating cable car] saw us at 10,000 ft.  Simply stunning!  First time we had seen sun since being in Switzeran.  We walked a short distance into the glacier cave before finding it was closed.  We crossed the Titlis cliff suspension bridge a 500 metre drop at 3041 metres altitude.  We rode the Ice Flyer chairlift which gave us spectacular views into the glacier.  We returned to Engelberg village for a quick walk around before catching a bus, train, and bus back to the Hermitage at Lucerne.

Switzerland - Mt Rigi

The day didnt look good with low cloud and a high of 3 degrees, however we set off to Mt Rigi with our fingers crossed.  We bused to central and took a 45 minute boat ride to Vitznau.  The cog railway took us up to Rigi Kulm.  Zero visability and light snow with an hour wait for the next train led us to having lunch in a hotel restaurant.  We stopped 15 minutes further down the mountain at Rigi Kaltbad and spent the next 2 hours in the most expensive  Rigi Kaltbad Mineral Bath & Spa.  We could only but laugh when told the price, however we did get 40 sf back when we returned the towels.  It was going on dark when we caught the train back down the mountain, the weather had cleared and we could see the lights around the lake.  We can only imagine what the day could of been like if the weather had of been kinder. A pleasant boat ride around the lake took us back to Lucerne.

Switzerland - Mt Pilatus

We bused and trained to kriens where we caught the cable car to Mt Pilatus Kulm, 7000 ft high.  WOW.  We were above the cloud and mist but still thought the views were spectacular even though we couldnt see the lakes.  We went down the mountain on the steepest cogwheel train in the world.  Arrived in Alpnachstad to catch the train back to Lucerne.

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Switzerland - Lucerne - 12-17 November

What a fabulous train trip from Austria, thru Germany to Zurich , 5 hours of beautiful scenery.  1 hour later we arrived in Lucerne where we based ourselves for the next 5 nights.  We stayed at the Hermitage in a lakeview room.  Fabulous views over the lake and a couch and a chair!!  Funny what you miss. We decided to do day trips from here so some separate posts of the most amazing views of the mountains.  Lucerne itself was a stunning town on the Lake.  A nice quaint old town, the famous Chapel bridge, and great walking tracks around the lake.

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Austria - Salzburg - 10-12 November

A scenic 3 hour train ride thru Austria took us to Salzburg.  Very cold as we set off to explore here.  Raining and getting dark by 4 pm we took some steps that lead us to the cliff tops for some great views over the town.  The Sound of Music tour was a great way to see the lakes and countryside. They played the songs of the musical to correspond with what scene we were viewing.  It was beautiful driving thru the snow in some parts it reminded us so much of Queenstown.  Most things had closed for the season including the cable car up to the medieval castle, so walk it we did.  Viewed the museum, the staterooms and had great vies over the city.

Hungary - Budapest - 5 - 8 November 2013

Arrived in Budapest from Prague by train, only 7.5 hours!!  Did a walking tour thru the Pest side across the Danube river on the chain bridge into the Buda side.  Great views from the castle hill over Pest.  During the second world war, nazi troops blew every single bridge and every important building.  The town itself has been rebuilt twice leaving lots of different architecture.
Buildings that had been bombed and deserted had been turned into bars called Bar Ruins.  We managed to find this in the Jewish quarters one night for an interesting experience.