The lake shrinks to a ribbon of light before the gondola even reaches the top.
Seelisberg
High above the lake, the air smells of hay and quiet water.
Seelisberg sits on a shelf of pasture and forest, over 500 metres above Lake Lucerne, in the canton of Uri. The village keeps cars out of its centre: a small chapel, a scattering of timber houses, and a view across the water to the Urirotstock that needs no embellishing.
A funicular climbs from the lakeside hamlet of Treib, connecting the village to the boats below. Below Seelisberg lies the Rütli meadow, where representatives of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden are said to have formed their alliance in 1291; paths through the forest lead down to the site, joining the Swiss Path that circles the lake.
Above the village, the Naturseeli offers a swim in water warmed by the sun, ringed by reeds and a few minutes on foot from the centre. The pace here follows the slope: uphill slow, downhill unhurried.
More in Brunnen
Bells mark the hour above the rock where legend says Tell once leapt to shore.
In the glass cabin of the Hammetschwand lift, you ascend 153 meters vertically in less than a minute.
Grass, lake wind, and the spot where three cantons once swore an oath.