Trek Over the Klausenpass

Our Host took me (MM) on a day trek by car over the Klausenpass to Braunwald, a town perched above the highest alpine meadow in the Alps (check it out here). The lakeside road along the torturous waterway of eastern Lake Lucerne–a fiord-like experience–quickly gave way to slow, winding switch-backs. It was a white-knuckle road, with sheer drops of 1000 feet protected by a steel fence, creating an illusion of safety as convincing as a rubber band stretched across an inflated flat tire. The two-lane road progressively narrowed until two small opposing cars could barely get by each other, with intermittent pullouts offering a tempting solution, unless the oncoming vehicle was a Swiss postal truck with hierarchical authority-If no room exists for both vehicles, the private car backs down the pass until there is a pullout!

However, OH demonstrated extraordinary driving prowess and complete command of his high gears–although his usual loquacious persona transformed into an eerie silence on the tight curves. Passing motorcyclists had speed and agility, and the occasional brave bicyclist was saddled with inertia and fatigue.

The Rigi

AM did her best not to think about the height they’d be dropping if the cable car decided it was feeling suicidal… it was a smooth ride, at any rate.

Then, a nice stroll along well-kept, friendly dog-laden paths brought us to vista after vista, looking both over Lake Lucerne and in the other direction, to the mountains in the north. OH was an impeccable tourguide. Just around every bend on the Riggi is a different view: new peaks and valleys kept appearing.