Travelog post for: Knopf

The mountain we are going to go on today is Mt. Pilatus, according to the tourism industry the mounain of Lucerne city, even though it lies on the border of the cantons Lucerne, Obwalden and Nidwalden, with its peak on the border between the two latter cantons.
We chose the way via the Pilatus Railway, the world's steepest cogwheel railway, starting in Alpnachstad, Obwalden.

The local legend goes that the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate (Pontius Pilatus) was buried in one of the mountain lakes. Everywhere else they wanted to bury him, thunderstorms rose up so a bis mountain, like the fractus mons (fractured mountains) as the mountain was called in the 11th/12th century. The officials in Lucerne didn't want the grave to be dissturbed, so they forbid the ascent of the mountain, a law that stood until the 16th century.
The lake however eventually dried out. When it is once again foggy and clouds cling to the mountain, locals say that a big dragon has risen from within and is breathing smoke.
I am sure that, as always with oral tradition, there are many different versions of this tale. But this is the one I was told during the drive there. There are also many other stories of oral tradition surrounding this mountain.
Here's the dragon of Mt. Pilatus, at the railway station:


Inside the steepest cogwheel railway in the world:




Looking down onto Lake Alpnach.


The maximum incline is 48%.

This isn't it, but it's quite steep already.

Today the mountain truly looks like something out of a fairytale. It has a certain beauty but does not always feel nice.


There's a cave, called Mondmilchloch (moon milk hole), the name refers to the light colored little being that help the diligent at night and punish the lazy and mean have been said to live in these caves. Stories of such creatures are very popular in the German speaking areas, each seems to have its own local version of the story.

We arrived at the Kulm at 2073m.
Unfortunately there isn't much of a view:

and the fog got even worse because it rose up from the lake throughout the day.

The biggest functional alphorn is to be foudn in the mountain. And even though it can't be one of these, the still are of an impressive size and play a haunting melody.


We climbed up a bit further to the Esel at 2118.7m (about 7000ft).
There we saw the mountain doles.



We desceded on the opposite side from the one we came from and took the gondolas down to Kriens.