MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Lucerne: afraid of heights, suggestions to do
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Hi all,
My mate and I are going to Zurich in April (for the marathon) for Thursday to Sunday, and we want to see a little more than just Zurich. So we were thinking of going to Luzern on Friday for a day. At Luzern we’re looking at a boat trip on the lake. But after that, what would be recommended if we want to go up in the alps?
And here is the thing, we’re both afraid of heights, so it needs to be easy access, were we don’t have to climb or hike and no shallow paths.
I can see, that this has been answered a couple of years ago, but a lot can have happen since then.
Hope you can help us?
Regards Mark
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Hello Greeen,
Welcome to MySwissAlps!
Congratulations on your plans to do the Zurich marathon. I think going on a boat cruise on Friday to Lucerne is a great idea in particularly since you will run the marathon on Sunday. I will attach some links about Lucerne and some activities that can give you some ideas of what to do:
- http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne
- http://www.myswissalps.com/ac tivities
- http://www.myswissalps.com/ac tivities/scenictrips/b oat
- http://www.myswissalps.com/bo atlakelucerne
I have attach some links about Zurich too:
I will attach a link about hiking and suggested trails. You know yourself the best whether or not if it is doable in your standards:
I hope this helps you in the right direction. I wish you all the best on your marathon in Zurich!
Best regards,
Suzanne
Hi Mark-
Please, what are you exact dates of travel? April has some transition on mountain transport, and I’m thinking a cableway is the wrong answer for you.
What about a funicular? Checkthe Treib-Seelisberg Bahn in the link I provided below about a hike?
April is almost impossible, that is impassable, for hikes in the high alps. Tail end of winter. Trails at high altitude are blocked. Low season for tourism there. Altitude is key.
Do you read topographic maps?
What exactly do you want to do in the Alps? This link and links included on that page will offer some options for the area of the Bernese Oberland:
http://www.myswissalps.com/be rneseoberland Slowpoke
Luzern has a lot of nearby options, as you can see from the link Suzanne provided.
This one can help, too:
http://www.myswissalps.com/ce ntralswitzerland
Here is some information about hikes around Lake Lucerne ( der Vierwaldstättersee):
http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/the-swiss-path-and-southern-lake-lucerne
and seasonal time tables for the lake boats:
http://www.lakelucerne.ch/en/ timetable-fares/timetable/
Note that the timetable changes in mid-April.
That is just one example of why we ask for travel dates.
Slowpoke
Hi Slowpoke,
We’re going from the 23rd to 26th of april.
The funicular might be okay. Please notice, that we dont want to hike – Think its a bit to scary 🙂 Sorry no, cant read topographic maps.
The reason why we want to go to Alps, is to see the moutains. To get the experince of the Alps, in a save non height way
Thx for the links.
Regards Mark.
Hi Suzanne,
thx for the links, reading them with great joy.
Please notice that we dont want to hike – its a bit to scary I think.
i have read a bit on Mount Rigi, how is the place for people who are affraid of hights?
BR, Mark
Hi Mark-
Thanks for the dates. A lot of the Alpine cableways are shut down then for between season maintenance so you won’t have to worry about riding one of them. 😉
<<“To get the experience of the Alps, in a save non height way”>>
Not sure I understand that fully.
However, one option is to go by train to the Jungfrau region, which you enter from Interlaken Ost ,the gateway town, then take the train into the valley to Grindelwald or to Lauterbrunnen, which are both valley towns. Then ride the cograilway which runs every day of the year from either of those towns up to Kleine Scheidegg and then down to the other, and , eventually back out to Interlaken and the mainline Swiss rail system. Change trains at Kleine Scheidegg. Great views of the Alps, rarely any sensation of being suspended i the air because you are in a small train.
This map shows most of that journey from Interlaken:
map.search.ch/?pos=643456,166600&z=32
Note the “32” at the end of that URL. That is the zoom level at which the train lines pop up clearly. Lauterbrunnen and Kleine Scheidegg are just off the bottom of the map as shown Scroll, like so:
map.search.ch/?pos=645072,162024&z=32
….if you zoom out, the rail lines disappear.
You can look up the train schedules…frequent service… between those locations and also to.from Zürich in the SBB timetable. We strongly recommend that you check this web site first…useful tips and tricks:
http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
http://www.myswissalps.com/tr avel/inswitzerland
The actual SBB website is full of good information in addition to the schedules, and you’ll want to access it often:
http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.htm l
The restaurant at Kleine Scheidegg is well know for its very good Rösti ( hash brown potatoes, particularly well done throughout the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In the French-speaking region you get fries – les frites. ;-).
and also for the Apfelküchen with whipped cream.
At Kleine Scheidegg there is a branch line that makes the very expensive trip up to the Jungfraujoch…which may not be consistent with your acrophobia.
http://www.myswissalps.com/be rneseoberland
http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion
That page has descriptions of the various towns near the Jungfrau.
I don’t think the lake boats are running at that time of year on the two large lakes of the Bernese Oberland _ Lake Thun and Lake Brienz.. In German, der Thunersee und der Brienzersee.
They are a nice way to look up at the Alps. However, the namesake towns are worth a walk around, and the castle at Thun is a very interesting building to explore.
http://www.myswissalps.com/th un
http://www.myswissalps.com/la kebrienz/activities
Slowpoke
<<“Please notice that we dont want to hike – its a bit to scary I think. “>>
The hikes on the Swiss Path that I linked that are around Lake Lucerne are mostly not scary…although there are some places above Sisikon that might be, and the one in particular that I describe around the southern end is not at all likely to be a problem, to the best of my belief. You’ll get an idea of the terrain when you ride the lake boat.
Of course, it is not in the Alps.
For calibration on what might be a problem, even though this trail from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg near the Jungfrau would not be accessible at your dates and is most easily accessed by cableway, how do you feel about it as a trail? One picture, of my granddaughter and daughter, is of the narrowest part. I suspect that you would not like that part. How about the other parts?
See images.
Slowpoke
Attachments:Hi Slowpoke,
Thank you so much – really appriciate it.
About the hikes – you right. The picture with your granddaughter og daughter (“walk from a different angle”) thats to step 🙂 However it does look beautiful.
The picture “passing Tshuggen” somthing like that.
The Cog railway lookes fine, and shouldnt be a problem (have to man up a little) So might go to Interlaken, and then Kleine Scheidegg (just a small walk around) (love Rosti)
I looked at little on Mount Rigi- is that a no go? or is it not worth the hassle?
Thx again, for your help
Mark 🙂
Hi Greeen,
I took my 3 kids to Rigi in early May, the youngest was 5 then, and I remember the hike was pretty easy. It’s a groomed path and mostly wheelchair-chair and stroller-friendly. We only did half the hike from Rigi Staffel to Rigi Kaltbad. We took the cogwheel train to Rigi Kulm to enjoy the panoramic view from the summit, then took the train down the next stop at Rigi Staffel where we started our hike. It took me and my kids about 2 – 3 hours to get to Rigi Kaltbad. The walk is downhill so it wasn’t bad at all but the kids played quite a bit along the way. We also stopped for a picnic and to watch paragliders jumping from a cliff. From Rigi Kaltbad we took the cable car down to Weggis.
To read more about Mt Rigi and possible hikes on the mountain:
- Rigi overview: http://www.myswissalps.com/ri gi
- Hike from Rigi Staffel to Freibergen: http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/rigistaffelhohe-freibergen/route
Cheers,
Anna
<<“Sorry no, cant read topographic maps.”>>
Too bad.
They can show you altitude chnges for your runs, and steepness of terrain beside a trail.
http://www.backpacker.com/ski lls/how-to-read-a-topo-map-for-hikers-and-backpackers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoVcRxza8nI
Slowpoke
Thank you so much for your help – in the weekend we decided to go to Jungfraujoch. It sems okay, at its train all the way.
I have tjekked the advices about how to get to Jungfraujoch – but what are the recommendations…
Should we book a tour from Zurich, or shoudl we book it ourself?
Also, if we book it ourself – how do we book it, so we go up via Grindalwald and down by Lauterbrunnen.
Thx in advance 🙂
Mark
Hello Greeen,
Thanks for your reply! I think it’s great you decided to take the train to and from the Jungfraujoch region. In the end you need to be comfortable with what you can manage in regards to the Acrophobia. Here is the link to see the Jungfraujoch region; all by trains.
Here is the link to book the tickets if you want to do that ahead of time. I recommend that you buy the tickets at a later date when you in know what the weather is like the weekend you are in Zurich:
When you want to go up to Grindelwald and back down to Lauterbrunnen, you should type what I have in the below example in the train timetable fields. For example:
(I put Lucerne, assuming you want to go after your boat trip otherwise you type in Zurich):
From To From To
Lucerne <-> Grindelwald Grindelwald <–> Lauterbrunnen
Date Time Date Time
Please familiar yourself with the train timetable so you can catch your trains with ease.
Download the train time table app on your phone. It’s practical! The weather app for Switzerland is a handy one too.
Here are the links for boat trips in Lucerne and Zurich.
Happy planning!
Best regards,
Suzanne
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