Waking up without an alarm this morning was truly lovely but waking up before Grant or the barking dog alarm is really bordering on the miraculous!! We took our time getting up and organized and made our way to breakfast.

The day is a glorious and sunny day and perfect for our plans to head up one last mountain. There is an aerial tramway here and since we had not tackled a cable car yet we decided it was time and the perfect day helped solidify the idea.

A short walk (up hill!) with a stop to visit with the goats (I like to think he liked me but it probably had something to do with the clover!) we found our way to the Rigi Kaltbad aerial cable car ticket office. We asked for two tickets to ride the cable car and were asked in return "how high up do you want to go?". I answered "to the top" and gratefully Grant interrupted and asked a few questions. To get to the very top would require a switch to a cog train and several more hours then we had planned to spend away from our rest day at our hotel. When we purchased our return tickets to simply ride the cable car to the first stop of Rigi Kaltbad we were shocked at the requested amount. SHOCKED. However, we swallowed; rationalized to ourselves that the money must be keeping the metal box hanging from a cord that we were about to enter completely safe! Yes… that must be it! Pay the man!

While waiting in line we joined the crowd already gathered including parents travelling with a child who we would have guessed to be around three and a half. This was a very very unhappy little one who cried/temper tampered from the line up, into the cable car and All-The-Way-Up the Mountain and for all we know is likely still crying!! We all hoped that since her stroller was taking up a big chunk of window real estate (and the rest of us somewhat resembling sardines squished into a can) that once we got moving that she would be entertained by the ride. Not so much. The cable car operators realized about half way up that there was no end in sight so suddenly … there was music! As as we rose higher, so did the volume on the music. The call of our quiet respite on our sunny patio was also increasing in volume as well!

We reached 1,433 metres of Rigi and found ourselves overlooking Lake Lucerne and Weggis. We discovered the connection to the Cogwheel Train as well as wellness spa and a small collection of hotels and restaurants. There was a foot path to discover but since we could still hear the wailing child, we opted to skip that route. It was a clear day so we decided to take in the views including the Bernese Alps including Elger, Monch and Jungfrau. We enjoyed a look out point where we stopped and soaked up the sun. We found a few other look out spots and Grant enjoyed watching a truck catching a ride on the cog wheel train. We could see our hotel in the distance and the call was too loud to ignore so we headed back down on the cable car. Apparently we were not the only guests relieved to have a quiet ride. In fact, we almost rode silence as we descended, appreciating the views and the unique perspective from the front window from our suspended ride.

We stopped at the grocery store (we keep getting our timing wrong. 1-4pm everyone closes shop in the bakery etc.) and bought a fresh loaf of bread for our picnic lunch which was from the closed bakery that morning so nothing lost. Once we were back in our room it was mere minutes before we were in our bathing suits set up on our sunny patio for the afternoon and this is where we stayed. Grant made us lunch and bounced from the lake to the pool and back again while I used the afternoon to catch up on blogging and soaking up the warm afternoon. Weggis, we learned is also known as the "Rivera of Central Switzerland" because of it's tropical climate. It did not disappoint this afternoon!

As the evening arrived we took a walk, almost bought Grant a watch from a private watch maker (they are works of art here!) but resigned ourselves to strolling the streets. We found an outdoor patio (Who could have known that we would be outside in only a light sweater in Switzerland at this time of year?) and took our place at a large wooden table. Our fellow guests, who seemed to know the routine, went inside returning with a stack of cozy blankets that they kindly shared with us. We ordered something that appeared as a strange looking piece of chicken to share but our drinks of local beer, my favourite Spritz and the walk home under the stars by the lake all helped to make this another memorable day as our time in Switzerland appears to be quickly coming to an end. Tomorrow our final stop!