Single Malt Scotch Detour

I searched for bars in Luzern and was surprised to find there was a whisky bar in town, and it was highly rated. The map showed it was not far but it was up a long steep hill. It was called the Louis Bar and the picture of Louis Armstrong inside gives the origin of the name. The bar is actually part of the Hotel Montana, the top hotel in Luzern.

Their Scotch selection was extensive! They had many rare whiskies including the 30 year Balvenie and many others. They are also an "Ambassador" for Ardbeg which I guess means they are some sort of favored vendor for Ardbeg scotch and they had some very rare bottles of Ardbeg that I had never seen before.

 

I had the 21 year Port Wood Balvenie for the first time, which was excellent!

 

 

"I Saw a Very Bright Dragon with Flapping Wings ..."

There are two ways to get to the top of Mount Pilatus: take the gondola, or take the cog wheel train. I did both -- I took the gondola on the way up and the cog wheel train on the way down. Mount Pilatus rises nearly 7000 ft just outside of Luzern and provides an imposing backdrop for the town.

 

 Cog wheel trains

The cog wheel train on Mount Pilatus is not only the steepest in Switzerland, but the steepest in the whole world!  Regular railway trains are limited to shallow inclines because otherwise the wheels would slip and he train would slide down the hill and possibly derail, which would be catastrophic. Heavy freight trains are limited to a 1.5% grade. Fast passenger trains can handle up to a maximum of a 5% grade. For steeper grade you have to use a different type of train. That's where cog wheel trains come in. They use additional cog wheels to ride on a corresponding toothed rail in the center of the track.

This method allows trains to climb tracks as steep as 25%. But Mount Pilatus is even steeper than that, approaching a 50% grade in places! For this, they had to use a different horizontal cog system, and the car itself is stepped, so that each row of seats is on a different level.

Dragons

Like many mountains in Europe, this one is associated with a medieval legend of dragons (see below). They are continuing to milk the legend even today; with a zipline called the "Dragon Glide" and even the logo for the mountain is a dragon.

Dragon logo of Mount Pilatus

The full eyewitness account of the dragon:

In 1619 as I was contemplating the serene sky by night, I saw a very bright dragon with flapping wings go from a cave in a great rock in the mount called Pilatus toward another cave, known as Flue, on the opposite side of the lake. Its wings were agitated with much celerity; its body was long as well as its tail and neck. Its head was that of a serpent with teeth, and when it was flying, sparks were coming out of it like the embers thrown by an incandescent iron when struck by smiths on an anvil. At first, I thought it was a meteor, but after observing more closely, (I saw) it was truly a dragon from the recognizable motion of the members. This I write to you, your reverence, in case you should doubt that dragons truly exist in nature.

-- Athanasius Kircher, Mundus subterraneus, quo universae denique naturae divitiae (Amsterdam 1664-1668).

Luzern -- World's Prettiest Town?

Today I arrived in Luzern (English spelling: "Lucerne"), one of the prettiest towns I have ever seen. But this is not unusual for here -- Switzerland is full of towns like this! This is what makes Switzerland one of the world's most beautiful countries.

Luzern is of course a modern city but it has some architecture dating back to the European Renaissance of the 14th and 15th centuries. It's got pristine lakes, magnificent mountain vistas of the snow capped Alps, and lush greenery everywhere. It's a small town, but it's still got Michelin starred restaurants, and is very clean.

 

The most famous thing in Luzern is probably the covered wooden Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke), built in the 1300s. There are paintings dating back to that period all along the inside of the bridge.

 

What Is Switzerland Famous For?

What is Switzerland known for? Lots of things! Off the top of my head I came up with several:

• Chocolate 

Switzerland is famous for their chocolate, among the very best in the world!  One of the best Swiss chocolate brands, Lindt, has been making excellent chocolate since 1845. Here's a list of the top 10 chocolates in Switzerland.

 

• Cheese
  

Everyone has heard of Swiss cheese. It's the one with holes in it.

 

 

 
 
 
 

• Timepieces

For over 500 years Swiss clockmakers and watchmakers have been known for making the best and most accurate timepieces, with their exquisite precision craftsmanship and philosophy of continuous refinement.  They are also credited with perfecting the cuckoo clock, where a little bird comes out of the clock every hour and makes a "cuckoo" sound.

• Swiss army knives
  
  
  
   
  The Swiss army is famous for their practical knives, made by the Victorinox company, which have every utility tool imaginable.
  
  
  

  

  No trip to Switzerland is complete without a visit to a Victorinox store

    

  
  

  
  

  
  

•  Banking

For hundreds of years, Swiss banks have been the preferred place for the wealthy to keep their money safe, due to Switzerland's strict secrecy laws and high of professionalism.

•  Einstein

Einstein was born in Germany but Switzerland was where he got his first real job after school at the Swiss Patent Office, and was where he lived during his most creative years of scientific discovery. I visited his house in Bern on a previous trip to Switzerland.

 

 

• Heidi

Who hasn't seen or read the children's classic Heidi, about the little orphan girl who lives with her grandfather?  It takes place in the Swiss mountains.

By the way, I have seen many movie versions of Heidi, but the best one is still the 1937 version with Shirley Temple.

• CERN

CERN is a world class scientific institution home to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator.  I was able to see the inside of the LHC on a previous trip to Switzerland because a friend of mine works at CERN.

And these are just the ones I could think of off the top of my head; I'm sure there are many more!

Living Spherically

I love nonstop flights! It took exactly 11 hours to reach Switzerland. Long flight, but since there were no stops it felt easy. A couple meals, a couple movies, 8 hours of sleep -- and I arrived in Zurich fully rested and not feeling tired at all.

Typical streets in Zurich

 

In one of the in-flight movies, one character relates a quote supposedly from Frederico Fellini, the Italian director: "You should live life spherically -- in all directions."

Imagine yourself at the center of a large sphere. Do you take a single path and reach a single point on the outside of the sphere?  Or do you try several different paths and experience several different points on the sphere?

Could be fake but still a cool quote, and and is a philosophy I have tried to follow in my own life. For example, this trip!

 

 

 

 

2022 Swiss Alps Luxury Hike

I've done a lot of hiking before, but this is the first time I'm doing a luxury hike. This means instead of camping in tents, it's an inn-to-inn hike. You stay in fancy 4-star hotels (some with Michelin starred restaurants), and they shuttle your baggage from hotel to hotel. All you need to carry is a small day pack. Of course this luxury comes at a steep price, but you gotta splurge once in a while, right?  Right!

I got the idea from a couple of good friends who were contemplating a similar trip and we initially were considering doing the trip together. They ultimately decided not to do it, but the idea appealed to me so much that I went ahead with it on my own!

However, being a luxury hike does not mean it's an easy hike. It will be strenuous, very strenuous. A typical day is 8+ hours of hiking and a few thousand feet of elevation gain in the high mountains. The route I chose is from the Eiger to the Matterhorn, two of the most iconic mountains in the Swiss Alps.

 

The Eiger (13,015 ft) is considered one of the most challenging and dangerous mountains to climb. I've wanted to see this mountain since I saw the movie Eiger Sanction starring Clint Eastwood.

The Matterhorn (14,692 ft) is of course probably the most famous mountain in the Alps, with its steep faces and distinctive shape. This is where my trek will end.

Matterhorn ride at Disneyland

I am doing this hike solo, but I did hire a private guide who will be with me the whole way.  Hoping for clear weather (it rains a lot up there) so that I can take some good photos of the breathtaking scenery!

R.I.P. Scarface

I first heard of him three years ago in Yellowstone Park. A ranger was supposed to be giving us a general orientation to the park, but spent most of the time talking about a particular grizzly bear which had captured his attention -- a 600 lb male grizzly named "Scarface". Scarface had a penchant for getting into trouble -- nearly every type of trouble that a bear can get into. He was known as one of the most active and aggressive bears in the park, making him also one of the most photographed bears in the park. Put on a documentary about Grizzlies in Yellowstone; most likely it will include footage of Scarface. He got into numerous fights with other bears over females, over rights to a kill, maybe over bear politics. One of these battles caused a serious injury in which he lost half an ear and a deep gash across his face – giving him his name. As a result he was instantly identifiable.

Recently he had crossed the line, which park officials define as "too close contact with humans". He was found rummaging through some trash dumpsters. This earned him a tranquilizer dart and a radio collar. After that they knew where he was at all times. So he was also one of the most studied bears in the park.

The ranger told about a bear kill (not Scarface's) he was observing. He noticed a tiny brown dot in the far distance. The little brown dot got bigger and bigger but he couldn't make it out until he pulled out his binoculars. It was Scarface! Somehow, from over a mile away Scarface had detected the kill and was making a beeline for it. The ranger found this remarkable as Scarface was *upwind* of the kill. Of course when Scarface arrived he took over the kill and chased the other bear away.

It was clear from the way he told these stories that he had developed a sort of admiration, even affection for Scarface. Later that same day I encountered Scarface myself, in person! He was just standing on top of another kill, protecting it. I snapped this picture of him:

The legendary "Scarface" (This picture was later used by a tour company to promote tours of Yellowstone)

There was something unique about him, and he captured my imagination too. He had personality, he had character. I never forgot him. This year I had returned to Yellowstone in the winter, on a wolf tracking expedition. The topic of Scarface came up and I inquired about his status. Scarface was 25 at the time, a fairly old age for a grizzly. His health was declining, but should have had a few more years to live.

Today, I learned that Scarface had been shot by an unknown person. Grizzlies are protected under federal law, so most likely this was an illegal act (the only exception is self-defense which is unlikely because it was not reported).

Goodbye, Scarface. You touched many lives including mine and my heart is heavy, especially at the manner of your passing :(

I AM A KOMODO DRAGON!

I have the cool, confident, almost smug air of a top predator. I do not fear anything, or anyone (except maybe a larger one of my own kind). I can take down a large buffalo single-handedly, and an unarmed human is no trouble at all. Ask the family of the poor Baron Rudolf von Reding Biberegg if you don't believe me. Don't let my casual lumbering gait fool you; I can move with lightning speed that has to be seen to be believed. If you foolishly allow me to approach within 2 meters, you are already dead. You might as well lie down and accept the inevitable. Spend that time doing something constructive, like praying for a better afterlife. From that distance I cannot fail. I will kick into overdrive, spinning all four legs like motorized windmills, and be upon you in a flash. Then I'll grab hold of your nearest extremity (usually a leg) and make as many quick bites as I can, sinking my sharp fangs deep into your flesh. But all it takes is one. Contrary to popular myth I do not harbor teeming masses of bacteria in my mouth. I know all your documentaries and textbooks say that, and they are WRONG. In truth, I have no more or less bacteria in my mouth than other animals. Instead, I inject *venom*, which does nasty things to you. First, you will notice what seemed like a survivable wound just won't stop bleeding. You will feel like you took an overdose of hypertension drugs as your blood pressure drops to dangerously low levels, causing you to go into shock. If you're lucky you will lapse into unconsciousness so that you won't see me rip huge chunks of flesh off your body.

I AM A KOMODO DRAGON!

Wolf Expedition Day 5 - The Sky Demons Have Returned But Twin Escapes Again!

 Today is my last day here.

A parade of bison

During yesterday's helicopter radio collaring operation, Bonnie mused about how it must seem to the wolves themselves, what they must think about it. After all, a massive thunderous flying machine seemingly comes out of nowhere, moving faster than any Earthly creature and impossible to outrun, and grabs one of them, puts some strange device on them that's impossible to remove or chew off. Then, just as quickly it flies up and vanishes. It must appear to them that some horrible demons from the sky are doing this to them. If the wolves had a religion, surely they would surely incorporate the myths and realities of these evil Sky Demons.

Twin, the Lamar Alpha male

Dark Black

Other Lamar wolves

Dramatic moment in the operation with the net being shot toward the wolf

Well they attempted to re-collar Twin yesterday and failed. Twin escaped the net. Today they tried a second time. This time the whole operation was in view and I got video footage of it all. It started out the same way as yesterday. The yellow plane came out first to locate the wolves. Then the helicopter swooped in for the capture. I was able to see a guy hanging out of the helicopter and shoot a net at the wolf. It was successful! But then others shouted on the radio that they got the wrong wolf. They captured Dark Black instead of Twin! Meanwhile Twin took off running in the other direction, determined not to be caught a second time. The helicopter took off again and went after Twin. The net shot out again... and MISSED!  They retrieved the net to try a third time... but now Twin was up in the dense forest area, no longer out in the open, and the helicopter could not follow. So Twin escaped yet again!

Twin howling at the Sky Demons

Later that day I saw the helicopter at the base and they were discussing what to do next after the second failure.

Coyote

On my way home I saw a dragon, and stopped to take a picture.

Dragon

Wolf Expedition Day 4 - Collaring a Wolf

There are very few people overall in the Park during winter.  The temperatures here have gotten down to 0 F. The snow is deep and the roads icy. However there is a hardcore group of about 20 people who seem to show up here specifically for wolves. I am seeing the same people over and over each day and getting to know some of them. They have radios and communicate with each other about the wolves' locations.

First there is Rick, who works for the Park Service. Rick is a super serious type with almost a military precision about him, and demands the same precision from others. I have heard him on the radio chastising another person for not being precise enough in reports about the wolves' locations. He is out there every day -- 365 days a year -- following the wolves. I was told he hasn't missed a single day in 15 years.  That's what I call obsessed.

I was shocked to hear a white guy speaking fluent Japanese. This is Steve, an intelligent and likable gentleman. He also works for the Park half the year, and teaches in Japan the other half. He brought a friend from Japan with him and I saw both of them every day. His license plate reads HIGUMA, which means "grizzly bear" in Japanese.

Mike is a dedicated wildlife photographer and at least semi-professional (I believe he said he had sold some photos to National Geographic). He showed me some of his previous wildlife photos and they were good. He also shared some photography tips with me. Mike mentioned he's eagerly awaiting the release of the Canon 5D Mark IV. I enjoyed camera geeking[1] with Mike.

These are a few of the wolf enthusiasts in the Park.

Today we saw both packs again: the Mollies and the Lamars. For the first half of the day we observed a Lamar adult come back to pick up one of the yearling pups that had been left behind before. It was snowing heavily. The poor pup was clearly suffering from the mange; having lost most of its fur, it was painful to contact the snow with its skin and was unable to to even lie down.

The second half of the day we returned to where the Mollies were hanging out. There was a helicopter capture operation going on! They wanted to put radio collars on some of the Molly wolves. First the yellow plane does aerial surveillance to find out where the wolves are. They then relay this information to the helicopter which comes in and capture the target wolf. To minimize the impact on the wolves, they have decided not to use any sort of tranquilizer darts or other drugs.  Instead, the helicopter simply drops a net over the target wolf to restrain it. Then a guy jumps out of the helicopter and attempts to attach the collar to the wolf. Keep in mind the wolf is fully awake, not asleep or sedated in any way. Then he has to wait there with the wolf until the helicopter comes back to pick him up. This job requires a lot of guts!

They also tried to re-collar Twin of the Lamar pack. He already had a collar but it failed immediately afterwards. So they tried to replace the collar, but this operation was unsuccessful, and they called it a day.

Red fox on the hunt

After all the excitement of the collaring operation, I spotted a nice looking Red Fox and got some good photos. He was hunting for small prey -- mice or other small rodents. I could see him listening for the faint sounds of movement under the snow, with his super sensitive ears. I was hoping he would do the characteristic nosedive into the snow, and said so out loud. Within 2 minutes, he did it! And I captured it in my camera. On my way out of the Park I saw a second fox cuddled up into a little ball of fur and napping.

Red fox caught in mid-leap

Sleeping fox

[1] camera geeking is discussing technical specs and details of photographic equipment that would bore normal people