For Gail: Great Hikes Near Lucerne

Gail, Bouncing Bertie's Mom, will be visiting Lucerne, Switzerland this summer. Due to our notoriously poor timing, we won't be around, which is why Mom and Dad have formed a Gale Advisory Board to offer her a few hiking tips.

Tip #1: The quieter side of Mount Rigi.



Take a boat to Vitznau and connect to the Rigi train. Get off at Rigi Staffelhöhe. Climb to the top of Rotstock, drop down to First, and take in the fantastic view of Lake Lucerne as you follow the Felsenweg on the south side of Schild. Climb to the top of Dosse for more great views, drop to Hinterdosse, and hike up to Rigi Scheidegg. Take the gondola down to Kräbel and the train down to Arth-Goldau and back to Lucerne.

This is a short and relatively easy hike. Allow at least half a day. By Rigi standards it is fairly quiet because the vast majority of people flock to the Rigi Kulm area.


Tip #2: The scenic ridge leading up to Mount Pilatus.



Board a train to Entlebuch and connect to the postal bus to Gfelle. Follow the signage to Risetestock and Blaue Tosse, then continue along the scenic ridge trail all the way to Pilatus. Take the Pilatus train down to Alpnachstadt and the train back to Luzern.

This is a very long and relatively strenuous hike. Allow a whole day. It is best to take the earliest train and bus combo in the morning and plan to catch the very last Pilatus train down in the evening.

Tip #3: The Melchsee Frutt plateau.


The Melchsee Frutt plateau is a great hiking destination only 90' from Lucerne. Board a train to Sarnen, connect to a postal bus to Stöckalp, and take the gondola up to the plateau. There is a wide array of hiking options at Melchsee Frutt ranging from family walkies to freaky rock climbing experiences. Dad's personal pick is the hike to the top of Hochstollen by way of Abgschütz (very strenuous and only if you're not afraid of heights; only with perfectly dry weather conditions). Mom prefers less demanding viewpoints such as the Bonistock and the Balmeregghorn.

One more tip: the very finest maps in Switzerland can be perused and outprinted for free at map.wanderland.com.

Dear Gail, I hope you'll be able to bring Bertie next time!

Extreme Close-Up: Part IV of IV

A Declaration of Love

I received a poem from my human friend Jenn and her two doxies Zippie & Cookie. Wotten waven!

With grateful permission, here's their "Declaration of Love":

TOOTSIE! You make my wild heart sing.
TOOTSIE! You gorgeous, long-short thing.
May your adventures be endless and sweet,
With walkies and dog-thumps and the occasional treat,
I delight in knowing the world is such a fine thing
That it could hold such a magnificent being:
Exquisite hound.

Thank you, Zippie, Cookie, and Jenn! I'm basking in your love.

Love,
Tootsie

Billboards, Butts, and Beauty

Mom always asks Dad to take pictures of me posing with billboards.

Dad always takes pictures of me that include Mom's, um, posterior portion.

What's a little sausage to do?

 

Go hiking!

These are photos from our first high-alpine Swiss hike of 2012. Do you think my dorky parental units might have realized there would still be snow at 7,000 feet?

 That's okay, though, because I got cuddles up high.

And then we kept hiking. It was hot but beautiful. In the picture below, across the valley (well, sort of across the valley), there is a place called the Valley of the Dogs. Please, Dad, take us there!

Though, here, was wotten waven, too. I even found a little bit of shade for a little bit of sausage.

Can you see me?

On another note, please accept all of our deep thanks for your wonderful comments about my finalist status for BlogPaws 2012 (as a "Best Newbie" blog) and about Mom's finalist status for Foreword Reviews. Neither of us won in the traditional sense, but in the non-traditional sense? It's all wotten waven. Many congratulations to The Intrepid Pup for winning "Best Newbie" blog at BlogPaws 2012!

BlogPaws 2012!

BlogPaws is happening right now in Salt Lake City, Utah.

We're excited that Bicontinental Dachshund is a Finalist for the "Best Newbie" blog at BlogPaws 2012! It's a wonderful affirmation of our connection with YOU - our readers. Thank you.

A bark out: I received the sweetest note from Kelly at Freekibble congratulating me on my status. It really made me wag. Thank you, Kelly. And thank you - Freekibble.com - for all you do on behalf of pets. It is wotten waven that Freekibble.com will be donating to shelters chosen by the BlogPaws finalists.

Here's some information about Freekibble: "Freekibble.com was created by 16-year-old Mimi Ausland, when she was 11 years old, to help feed the homeless dogs and cats at her local animal shelter. 'There are 10’s of thousands of dogs and cats in animal shelters across the country, all needing to be fed a good meal… and they deserve it!' Mimi was named the ASPCA and Humane Society of the United States Kid of the Year because of the impact Freekibble has had on feeding animals in need, and for the awareness she has created for shelter pets."

Halo, Purely for Pets is also supporting the awards.

I wish we could attend BlogPaws, but Mom says the logistics of changing our international plane tickets from Switzerland to Idaho were daunting.

"Couldn't we take the train?" I asked.

 

For a moment, I had forgotten about the Atlantic Ocean.

If you're at BlogPaws, drop us a note! We're there in spirit. And virtually! BlogPaws will be streaming live.

In another note of pawsomeness, Mom's memoir "Body of a Dancer" (Etruscan Press, 2011) is a Finalist for Foreword Review's Best Book of the Year in the Autobiography/Memoir category. This award will be announced this weekend, too. Talk about an embarrassment of riches! I'm wagging.

Kronberg

The trail from Schwaegalp to Kronberg in the Appenzell region of northeastern Switzerland is hailed as one of the Top 12 Swiss hikes in Switzerland.


I'm often wary of highly publicized trails, but Gulliver assured me it is fairly quiet on Saturdays.



Schwaegalp itself was a zoo, because everyone parks there to board the celebrated Säntis cable car. But as far as the Kronberg trail goes, Gulliver was right.



The trail offers fabulous views of the Alpstein mountain range



and a commanding view of the Schwendibach Valley, which we hiked last fall.



Once at the top of Kronberg, the green hills of Appenzell are at your paws. It is not unusual to see some crazy Swiss German paraglider floating around on the thermals.



Kronberg has her own cable car that whisks you down to the town of Jakobsbad. Dogs generally pay half price, but I snuggled up in Mom's arms and got to ride for free. Wotten waven!

Extreme Close-Up: Part III of IV

Boardom

 Wild boars frequent hills in Tuscany. This one met a sad fate.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my dad! He's wotten waven. He loves me, of course, but he also knows me -- those two states don't always go together. With Dad, they do. I love you, Dad. Here I am in your arms.

Happy Father's Day to my grandpa! He's wotten waven. He writes me special limericks and encourages my blogger friends to name them. And he plays Hide-and-Seek with me -- inside the house! Here's my grandpa on his tractor with my human cousins.

Happy Father's Day to my uncle! He's wotten waven. He brings my human cousins and my fur cousin Yugi to play with me and Truffle in Idaho. And he is teaching me how to sail!

Keep on wagging.
Love,
Tootsie