(Also) Switzerland is beautiful!

Short distances – beautiful sceneries 

At one time, a Swiss went to France for vacation. There he was told by a Frenchman: “La Suisse est belle.” The Swiss did not understand that he was expected to return the courtesy. “Non, la France est belle!” is what he was supposed to reply. Instead, from then on, the Swiss spent all his holidays in Switzerland. 

This behavior is simple-minded: France is beautiful, and so is Switzerland. Here in our country everything is incredibly close and within a short period of time, we can enjoy and experience very diverse sceneries and sensations. 

A great example in the center of our country, located 15 kilometers from Lucerne, is a mountain called Stanserhorn with an elevation of 1900 meters. From the neat little town of Stans, a nostalgic “Funi”, i.e. a funicular, carries you up half way to the so-called Kälti. From there, in sharp contrast to the vintage funicular, an ultramodern cable car brings you to the summit. This cable car is deservedly called “CabriO”, since the passengers can stay on top of the roof while being carried up. 

Wheelchair users, however, stay downstairs within the protected and weather proof inside of the car. This is not a big deal since the view is nevertheless spectacular and, apart from this, the infrastructure is flawlessly wheelchair-accessible all around. On the top of the mountain, the visitor gets the impression to be master of the world and admires the vista which includes the mountains Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Far below are the Lake of Lucerne and Sarnen. Here is the website link: https://www.stanserhorn.ch/en. 

Those who wish may enjoy a good meal at the restaurant which is located on the summit before being carried down smoothly to the valley. Back in Stans, the trail leads southwest to lovely Lake Sarnen. There at Sachseln lies Flüeli-Ranft where 600 years ago Nicholas of Flüe, patron saint of Switzerland, was born. He made an impact on the spectacularly located town and made it a destination for pilgrims. Also if you are not a pilgrim, you will enjoy the Flüeli-Ranft, also due to the romantic Art Nouveau hotel PaxMontana (https://www.paxmontana.ch/en). The hotel has been tastefully renovated but not ostentatiously and is fully wheelchair accessible. There are also wheelchair accessible rooms.

They are not particularly large but appealing and functional. The restaurant offers original and delicious meals. However, it is also possible to spend a fasting week as a group at the PaxMontana. The hotel satisfies all kinds of different requests. Word of that has spread: among their guests are also many Asian travel groups. 

Nevertheless: the Stanserhorn and the Flüeli-Ranft are the perfect destination for an adventurous day trip or a more extended over-night stay. For wheelchair users who would like to take a ride along the slopes of Flüeli-Ranft, it is recommended to use their wheelchair pully (SwissTrac).

[translation from the original German blog post]