where others come for vacation ...
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What better way to while away a sunny Thursday afternoon, than sailing away on Dolphin... Blue Skies, Green meadows, melodious sounds of Cowbells, a nice breeze and the Indian Flag flutters proudly..
Jana Gana Mana.....
Goosebumps, Smiles.. and sooooooon Snores 
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I'm out for my afternoon walk and the deep resonating sound of the Alphorn beckons me... I follow the sound to its source, two youngsters are practising in front of the Ridli Kapelle... I listen transfixed by the melodic tones...
For generations, shepherds and herders have sounded the alphorn from high up on the meadow to signal a comforting “all is well” to their families in the valley below. Primarily, though, they used it to call in their cows for milking.
Swiss dairymen have long believed that the sweet sound of the alphorn helps to keep cows quiet during milking. The Alphorn also served to announce news from one valley to another. It was used to warn of the arrival of an enemy, a fire or the occurrence of natural damage. Each 'type of news' corresponded to a particular sound. Like a sort of community radio, the alphorn can echo throughout a whole valley - its powerful sound can travel up to 10 kilometres from source.
"It may not seem handy - some alphorns are twice as tall as the men who play them. Nevertheless, it can be carried by hand" says one of the two youngsters after they finish playing their song.
I thank the two young men for giving me another glimpse of the Swiss Cultural Tradition "The Alphorn .. it belongs right there with the Fine Cheese and Chocolate" and continue my walk back home.
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It's a glorious and sunny Sunday afternoon. We park the car in Stansstad and set out for a little walk along the lake. About a kilometre into our stroll, we come to an innocent looking wooden shed with a Nidwaldner Museum sign. Hmmmmm.. "What kinda museum could that tiny shed possibly be?" I wonder out loud..
Lukas tells me... It's not common knowledge that some of the towering cliffs along this idyllic shore road are not real! It's an artful camouflage... behind hides "Fortress Fürigen" built in the middle of WWII (1941/42). The Swiss military leadership fearing the inevitable invasion of the German Armed Forces, built many bunkers in the more defensible Alpine area, the Reduit. The plan was to give up the plains in the face of an attack and retreat into these fortresses. Fürigen was one of the many bunkers built for this purpose. Due to tensions between Eastern and Western Europe, the importance of the fortress remained intact until the 1980s. With the end of the Cold War, the army was reformed and many of the bunkers shut down. This bunker was given a second life and turned into a museum in the 1990s.
Read more: A hidden alpine Fortress, idyllic swiss village and Flammkuchen -- April 09
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It's a sunny spring afternoon and we decide to hike from home to our neighboring Dorf (village) "Emmetten" which lies at an altitude of 774 metres above the southern shore of the Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne) between Beckenried and Seelisberg.
About halfway up, we turn a corner and Lukas points to a small nondescript building on the side of the road. "That's the water supply station of Beckenried". He starts to explain a bit and suddenly the manager comes out and asks us if we'd like a tour of the small station.
But of course!!! It's been an uphill hike all the way, with more to come (we need to climb up to 910 m.a.s.l before we can descend to Emmetten), so a break is extremely welcome. Moreover, utterly delicious and totally safe - the Beckenried drinking water is sourced from natural springs and groundwater, so I'm eager to know more of the supply details.
Read more: Chance visit to the Beckenried water supply -- April 08' 2017