When we last left off, we were at the top of Mt. Titlis and it was starting to get crowded with tour groups. So, we hopped back on the cable car and headed down the mountain. But, instead of riding all the way down to Engelberg, we stopped here:
This is Trübsee, an Alpine lake sitting at 5,866 feet (1,788m). There is a path circling the lake, and as if the scenery wasn’t enough to make this an amazing hike, it also included some “special” touches. But, we will get to that in a minute.
After we headed out of the cable car station, we got to the lake and saw a dock with a few row boats tied to it, and a sign that said (I think) that the boats were free to use. So, we suited life-jacketed up and headed out on the lake.
It actually ended up being kind of difficult and awkward to position everyone and for C to get the hang of rowing, so we just kind of went in a circle, and decided it was too much work, so we made A row instead.
do you think we let these kids freeload? No way, they have to earn a spot in this family!
Kidding of course, but A and I did both take a turn rowing, then we spent more time trying to get the boat back into the dock than we did actually on the water. Once back on dry land, we started our walk around the lake.
I think the pictures of our walk speak for themselves (once I’ve spoken for them to say that I suck at taking pictures, so you can just visualize it like twice as good as I’ve managed to make it look).
I can’t take credit for this bad one. We are definitely still working on our family selfies!
He may be the best selfie-taker of all of us.
What could possibly make this hike better?
How about pedestals for the kids to jump on?
or HAMMOCKS!?
I don’t know what they teach kids in schools in Switzerland, but whatever it is sure seems to be working! Some Swiss genius came up with the idea to put HAMMOCKS on scenic Alpine lake walks – just wow. This goes right up there with dry shampoo on my list of best inventions ever.
So I hung out for a bit while the kids played. Alas, I was eventually motivated to get up and keep going, if only to find out what other magic we might encounter further along.
As we circled around the far end of the lake, our views changed to see the mountains that were behind us at the start.
We soon came to our next diversion – a water feature that pumped water from the lake, and had all sorts of features to stop and start as the water made its way back to the lake. The boys had a blast playing with it!
Meanwhile…
“play as long as you want, boys!”
It was only hunger and fear that we would miss mealtime at the one restaurant in Trübsee that finally drove us from the water feature/hammock. 
As we walked, the views changed, but stayed pretty amazing.
I’m happy to report that we did make it to the restaurant before they stopped serving food. Sadly, the food was expensive and not very good. It was redeemed somewhat when the kids got free toys (that they are still carrying them around), including a small stuffed animal with a carabiner on his head that they creatively named “key chain guy” and a larger (carabiner-free) version).
With some more energy and calories to burn off, we continued on the path to a playground.
After some time at the playground, we took a short walk to complete the loop and get back on the cable car to Engelberg.
Heading down the mountain (L is holding his new prize – the big brother of “keychain guy”)
What an amazing day it was. The hike (and hammocks 😉 ) is going on my personal “favorites” list! We had a great time in Switzerland, but are quickly blowing through lots of Swiss Francs – time to move onto somewhere at least a little cheaper – France. Stay tuned….
