09/10/25 Clouds and A Castle

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"Riding along the river is nice," said the bicycle man as he pumped up the tires of my rent-a-bike. "You can ride along beside the Lake with lovely views of the Alps."  He obviously hadn't looked outside at the cold cloud sinking lower over the lake with every passing minute. "Then you can come back along the old railway."

That sounded fine to me. Off I went, chanting 'stay on the right' to myself and avoiding roundabouts because it was just all wrong to do them on the right.

Roger and Steve came with me to hire the bike. Steve tried to do a runner with new friends, but thankfully Roger kept him under control.

I rode beside the lake, through avenues of autumn trees,


and up the hill to Wagner's house, through a teeny tiny forest.



Out in the country(ish) I followed a sweet little road past cattle ringing cowbells and vines climbing steep hills  where chalets overlooked the lake.



Past beautiful old villas and interesting buildings.

I couldn't find any information about Villa Kruezfluh.



and along the waterfront through the old town of Winkel.



I rode along the very grand rail trail back to Lucerne, past growing high rise units and busy garden allotments, and had lunch with Roger and Steve who were, I'm glad to say, managing quite well without me. 

They were managing so well, in fact, that I ditched them again after lunch and headed out along the promenade toward Schloss Meggen. I may have gotten a little excited and taken my long suffering rental bicycle on paths not intended for bicycles, such was my dedication to discovering new lake views whilst coincidentally avoiding traffic.

So many steps, and we're only halfway up...

First sight of Schloss Meggen.

Schloss Meggen was delightful blend of  fairytale castle and stately home with manicured gardens and a little neo-Gothic chapel with gargoyles on every available corner. None of it was open when I was there so I didnt get to see the interior or appreciate the historic and still playable pipe organ in the chapel.


I could not find any explanation for the red bit.

The chapel from the vineyard.

Details.

I took a different adventure on the way home and committed myself to the open road and the terrifying task of staying to the right while buses roared past my left elbow. Of course this was Switzerland, so everyone stayed in their lane and it was all quite civilised except for being regularly overtaken by speeding bicycles who obviously weren't mumbling 'keep right' under their breaths and focussing on not inadvertently sliding left when turning corners.

Schloss Meggen courtyard garden.

Bicycle safely returned, I went home to my familial responsibilities who had managed quite nicely in my absence. A piano accordion busker outside the Coop duelled with a viola busker at the other end of our street. Combined with the bells marking the quarter-hour, it was a melodious end to the day.

And finally, a red crested pochard that didn't run away.





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