#alpine slide

In Lucerne we briefly stopped by the covered Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge). This iconic bridge, built in 1333 and lined with planters of flowers, crosses the Reuss River, connecting to the Aldstadt (Old Town). 

From there we continued on to the Golden Round Trip up and down from Mount Pilatus. First step was a boat ride from Lucerne to Alpnachstad.  The ferry on Lake Lucerne was relaxing, with gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains. We didn't spot any unicorns, but it seemed pretty likely they were hiding in the trees.

Once we disembarked the ferry, we joined a herd of tourists to go get tickets to ride the steepest cogwheel train in the world up into the mountains.  This train was a lot of fun, and worth the wait.  Also, I got delicious chocolate ice cream while we waited! The 30 minute ascent took us in and out of tunnels, around bends, past cows, and provided incredible views of the lake, forests, and mountains. 

At the summit we had time for some brief hiking along the paths carved into the mountains. I wish we had a bit more time to explore, but we needed to leave ourselves time to make it to the alpine slide!  

We boarded the aerial cableway "Dragon Ride" to start our descent.  It's basically like a room sized gondola.  We were really high up at some points, and it provided amazing views!

The cableway ended at the Fräkmüntegg, where there was a high ropes course and alpine slide!  We both quite enjoyed the alpine slide, though the line was pretty long - peak summer is probably not the ideal time to go. Once you reach the bottom of the slide, you sit on your sled and this cable drags you backwards up the mountain, through a meadow full of cows. 

Next we took a gondola down to Kriens, where we walked to board a bus back to Lucerne.  Finally we boarded the train back to Fribourg.