engelberg
Day 3 - Wednesday - June 1, 2016
This morning we headed to Engelberg. On the way, we stopped at a once-secret Swiss army bunker at Fortress Furigen. We also stopped at a meadow sight that many consider the birthplace of Switzerland. Once we arrived in Engelberg, we had some time to settle in and then had a walking tour of the town. Our day concluded with a group dinner.
We took a boat ride and stopped at Rutli Meadow that is considered the birthplace of the Swiss Confederation. In 1291, representatives of the three founding cantons (a canton is much like a state in the USA) met here and swore allegiance to each other, against their oppressive neighbors. 700 years later, Switzerland is still a confederation but now has 26 cantons. After our boat ride we continued on our bus to our lunch stop in a small town. Some pictures of our Rutli Meadow and lunch stop are below.
Our next stop was at the fortress. The Fortress Furigen was built in 1941 as part of a new military strategy to protect itself against a Nazi invasion. If invaded, the Swiss troops would abandon the border regions and fall back to this alpine stronghold. The fortress was meant to protect the roads and rail lines that lead from Luzern and Zurich along Lake Luzern into the Berner Oberland. You enter the fortress though an innocent looking wooden shed. The fortress had a 200 yard long main tunnel, ammunition room, troops' living and eating quarters and radio room. The living quarters were gas-proof with sealed doors and equipment to monitor the air for poison gas. The big guns could shoot more than six miles and the machine guns protected the immediate access routes to the bunker. Take a look at the pictures below.
After our Fortress Furigen tour we finally arrived in Engelberg. We checked into the Skilodge Engelberg, our home for the next two nights. After a short tour of Engelberg, our day ended with a group dinner.
Day 4 - Thursday - June 2, 2016
This morning we took the gondola to the summit of Mt. Titlis. In the afternoon, we took a chairlift up the opposite side of the valley for a guided hike with a naturalist.
The gondola ride to the top of Mt. Titlis was very interesting. We took one gondola to the halfway point and a second gondola to the top. The second gondola was unique in that it rotated 360 degrees giving everyone a great view of the valley and the mountains (except it was fogged in for our ride). When we arrived at the summit, it was 32 degrees and foggy with snow falling so we didn't really get any panoramic views while we were there. We also found that Mt. Titlis was a destination for tourists from India. Apparently an Indian Bollywood movie was filmed here. A few pictures of this adventure are below.
In the afternoon, we took a combination of a gondola and chairlift to the top of the opposite side of the valley for a naturalist led hike. We hiked from the top back to town with the naturalist pointing out various geological features and various flowers. It was a very interesting hike. Some pictures are shown below.
After the naturalist hike, we had some time to explore Engelberg. Engelberg has a Benedictine monastery called the Engelberg Abbey. It has a beautiful garden and interior. They also sell cheese from their own cheese-making operation. Here are a few pictures of exploring Engelberg and the monastery.
Tomorrow we head to Lagano, the Italian side of Switzerland.