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Clockwise from top: Hikers often overnight in
en in Fluelen, where my postage-stamp-
size room had a twin bed and a parking
meter, the chef helped me master the
hotel’s wifi – and explained that he used
his grandmother’s recipe to prepare my
traditional German meal. At City Hotel
in Brunnen, where I landed a spacious
room with a deep bathtub, I was trail-
sore and sorely tempted to skip dinner.
I’d have missed a scrumptious platter of
lake perch sautéed in almond butter. My
dessert was a long soak in that delicious
tub.
Day 4 was dedicated to Mount Rigi – at
almost 6,000 feet elevation. But instead
of hiking up an 8-mile trail, I hopped a
cogwheel train from Arth Goldau to Rigi
Kulm, the mountain’s peak. This was
the first mountain railway in Europe,
transporting riders since the 1870s to
the panoramic view up top. I rode with
an Indian family; we had a common pas- Atop Rigi Kulm, we disembarked into a
sion: Swiss chocolate. cloud. Fog was so thick I could see only
36 Wine Dine & Travel Winter 2015
Brunnen, a small resort town on Lake Lucerne.
Cheesemaker Urs Aschwanden offers samples at
his family owned dairy farm in Seelisberg. The
trail wanders through a forest near Rutli, said
to be the site where Switzerland was founded in
1291. Stop for a cheese break at Rigi-Alpkase, a
family operation on the slope of Mount Rigi.
a few feet of trail in front of me. Snow
was expected. I zipped my jacket, put on
woolen gloves and set out on a 5-mile
up-and-down hike to Rigi Kaltbad –
where I had a hot date.
Wild and wonderful
By mid-afternoon, I was sinking into
the warm healing waters of Rigi Kaltbad.
The mineral springs here have drawn
visitors for six centuries – and as fans
around the world attest, the place is rea-
son enough to visit Switzerland.
The spa is housed in a sleek, contempo-
rary temple designed by Swiss architect
Mario Botta. Bathers luxuriate in an in-
door/outdoor pool equipped with an ex-
travaganza of feel-good massaging jets
that make magic from head to toe. Like
a child at an amusement park, I played
at every station – leaning in to intensify
the pressure of jets on my calves, mov-