Sunday at Bürgenstock

After rainy Saturday, my boyfriend and I took advantage of the sunny weather on Sunday and went discovering the new places of Central Switzerland. We went to Bürgenstock, a lovely holiday spot located atop of a mountain ridge high above the Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee).

Bürgenstock farms

Bürgenstock used to be popular tourist destination. The first hotel here was built back in 1873. Since then, the resort had hosted a bunch of famous people, for instance Charlie Chaplin, Konrad Adenauer, Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, Audrey Hepburn (she was even married in Bürgenstock Chapel!) Shirley MacLaine, Sofia Loren, Sean Connery and many more. Unfortunately, at the moment there is not much to see there as the resort is under reconstruction. New luxury hotels, tennis courts, spa and many other facilities are being built. It is expected the resort will be completed in 2017.

Hiking trails signs

Bürgenstock is also a great place for walking and hiking. There are many walking and hiking routes there. After parking our car at the resort’s parking lot, we passed the construction site and continue our walk in direction of Hammetschwand.

Hiking trail

There are two routes to get to Hammetschwand: the longer (app. 1 h 10 min) and shorter one (app. 40 min). We took the shorter, but steeper route. An easy hike through the woods took us to the Hammetschwand.

Hammetschwand elevator

Lying at 1115 meters above the sea level it offers spectacular views over Lake Lucerne and the surrounding area.

The views over Lake Lucerne

The main attraction at Hammetschwand is Hammetschwand lift, 152,8 m high open-air elevator. First passengers took a ride with the elevator made of wood and sheet metal in 1905.  At the time, the ride up took up to 3 minutes. Today, the elevator is made of expertly expertly engineered metal and glass and it supposed to take you up in less than a minute. At the time of our visit was lift unfortunately out of order/under construction so we couldn’t try it. Instead we just enjoyed the spectacular views.

Hammetschwand elevator

High above Lake Lucerne

Easy hike and rewarding views from the top made our trip the perfect intro into this year’s hiking season.

The views

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