A Small Cable Car Ride to Alp Weid High above Seelisberg.

Monday September 13th, 2021 -- Urs had the day off but I had to work in the morning. The day was beautiful and a shame to not take advantage of, so we met after my shift and traveled to Seelisberg, which takes less than two hours from Zug.

Our goal was another of those private cable cars, one that hasn't got a lot of hiking opportunities for us, except to walk the 450 meters back downhill from the mountain alp it serves (Alp Weid on the flank of Mt.Niederbauen). So since we only had part of an afternoon and evening left, it was a good solution for this day.

Alp Weid is a popular destination because a) the view of the Reuss Valley, Lake Uri, and the Glarus Alps is stunning and b) it is a cozy place to have something good to eat or drink and enjoy the sunshine. The little cable car (carries only four people at a time) runs whenever you operate it, and we were lucky that we were the only poople going up at the time. (Lunchtime must be horrendous!). To get to the mountain alp from Zug goes like this: Train/Train/Bus/Boat/Funicular/Bus/Walk-for-30-minutes/CableCar.....!!!

We enjoyed some superb home-made desserts, then had a pleasant walk down the mountain, much less steep than expected, and visited the chapel at the Beroldingen castle before walking down to the idyllic and aptly-named Lake Seeli below Mt. Niederbauen, where we waited for the bus back to Seelisberg to do the return trip: Bus/Funicular/Boat/Walk-ten-minutes/Train/Bus (or maybe we walked that last bit home...)

As far as outings go, it wasn't one of our 5-hike hikes, but just as memorable and successful an outing, as you would want to have during your vacation....

From our home town of Zug we took the train to the town of Brunnen (then a bus to the lake shore where we then traveled a short distance by boat to Treib below Seelisberg). The mountains behind Brunnen are called Gross and Klein Mythen.

The old dock at Treib, a familiar sight for us, as we have been here many times.

Taking the Treib-Seelisberg funicular from lake level to the village of Seelisberg.

Another familiar view as we ascend with the funicular, westward along Lake Luzern with Mt. Bürgenstock and Mt. Pilatus in the background.

A look westward along Lake Luzern with the flanks of Mt. Rigi on the right.

TSB stands for Treib-Seelisberg Bahn

From the Seelisberg summit station we had to take a bus to "downtown" Seelisberg and walk for 30 minutes to the base station of the Brunni-Weid cable car. Most of the walk was through the forest. Then after spending an hour up on the Alp, we walked downhill (over 400m) and then to the lake, and caught a bus back to the funicular along the main road. In all, it was still over 2 hours of walking!

At one look-out point we had this spectacular view North along Lake Uri to Brunnen, where we had gotten on the boat.

This is the look-out point. 15 minutes from where we got off the bus, and another 15 minutes to the cable-car station.

One of my favourite views of the Uri Alps in the Reuss Valley

30 minutes through the forest on a hot afternoon is actually quite pleasant.

Approaching the base station of the cable car, we can actually see where the alpine farm is, at the end of that long cable! The peak behind it is Mt. Niederbauen.

At the base of the mountain is a small lake aptly named "Seeli" (Little Lake) which we plan to walk to after descending from Alp Weid

The little Seelisberg/Alp Weid cable car carries only four people at a time. Because it was now mid-afternoon, there were fewer people using it, so we rode alone!

The view while riding up on the cable car (direction Luzern, with Mt.Bürgenstock in the front)

Watching the cable-car descend from the summit station at Alp Weid. Right below on this side is Seelisberg, and at the top of the lake are the towns of Brunnen and Schwyz.

Restaurant at Alp Weid. Having just discovered this, it was disappointing to hear that the people running the restaurant are retiring after 10 years. No idea if it will continue as a restaurant...

Absolutely fantastic views from up here. This view is into our beloved Riemenstalden Valley, with the tiny lake-side town of Sisikon at the bottom.

Panorama View North up the Reuss Valley. The air was so clear this day, it was a perfect "view-day"

VIDEO:

Fantastic Panorama View from Alp Weid over Lake Uri,
across to Fronalpstock and into the Riemenstalden Valley,
below from Flüelen up the Reuss Valley.

It was perfect weather, sunny and not too hot. We have our coffees, and are just waiting for dessert!

Urs had Meringue with ice cream and whipped cream, and I had the most tasty lemon-currant-cheese cake. Mmmmm!

Alp Weid. The farmer is hard at work. These mountain alpine mountain meadows are not easy to cultivate.

We spent about an hour up here, and then headed back downhill (we only took the cable car up), before this side of the mountain had too much shade.

Still some sunshine here on our descent, but we soon got into the mountain's shadow side!

To our North, a little peek at Seelisberg.

At 4:20 p.m. we had shadow here. But the descent, though over 400 meters, was actually easy and good to walk.

When we got down to the Swiss Trail (a themed trail that goes all around Lake Uri), we came to the small historical castle called Beroldingen, built in the 15th Century by the family Beroldingen. They had their own chapel, built in 1545. You can visit the chapel, and it has one of those interesting art pieces whose side doors can be closed. This dates from 1618.

Our trail takes us back to the base station of the Alp Weid cable car, from where we are headed down to the lake.

That cable car is actually quite impressive, as it floats through the sky!

The first Autumn Saffron flowers prove that the summer is over...

The lake is actually only accessible at one location which is an official bathing access, and it costs to enter. So we sat here near the pond for 20 minutes before going up to the street to catch the bus.