Fräkmüntegg,
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Clearly visible from all over Lucerne, Pilatus mountain defines the horizon seen from the town. While Lucerne is a very attractive town in itself, the mountain waits to be climbed. There are several ways to go up, the steepest cogwheel or cable way, but I decided to walk and take in the beautiful nature. A ten minute trolleybus drive to Kriens took me to the foot of the mountain. From here, you can take the cable way, but there is also a well-signposted path leading up the mountain. Soon after starting out, I found myself walking through the Swiss countryside I had been looking for. I saw horses and cows, green meadows, walked through streches of woods where the sunlight filtered through the roof of leaves, and crossed brooks.
I was walking fast, and since the weather was pretty warm, I soon was dripping with sweat as I climbed the path up Mount Pilatus. Actually, the mountain used to be called Fräkmünt, but was named after the Latin "pileatus" or "covered with clouds", although legend has it that it was called after Pontius Pilatus who is said to have been buried close by. The legend might be true, but it is obvious that this mountain which is much higher than the surroundings, attracts a lot of clouds, and I could see them looming around the summit. I had some good views of Lucerne and surrouding area and still felt the sun burning on my head as I walked past Krienseregg, from where I continued to Fräkmüntegg.
There was a flatter stretch after which the path continued to climb to Fräkmüntegg. The landscape opened up here, Mount Pilatus suddenly much closer and towering high above me. The sound of cow bells around as I passed a farm, and then I reached Fräkmüntegg, much faster than the 3 hours that it is supposed to take. Great views towards Lake Lucerne or Vierwaldstättersee, and up the mountain. The clouds had now closed the sky and I decided to return to Lucerne. It gave me time to walk around the area and see people in action: strolling, climbing, and even tobogganing. As the clouds were always more intensely grey, I rushed down to reach Lucerne before the weather would turn bad.
