Short Walk near home to the Ruins of Fortress Wildenburg in Allenwinden

December 10, 2019 -- This was a Tuesday, my day off, and the weather was just too beautiful to spend the day indoors, so I traveled by bus to Allenwinden, not even 30 minutes from here, to check out a castle ruins which I happened to notice on the hiking map. From there it was an easy walk through the farms back down to Zug. 

I had miscalculated on my planning though: On the hiking map, instead of following the official hiking trail, I mapped out some roads through a couple of farms (it is often possible to do this) but when I got there, there were signs forbidding access to vehicles and horses, and only after I passed through the first farm did I realize that there might have been forbidden access to all unauthorized traffic, even pedestrian, "on pain of death!". So I didn't risk the second farm, and had to follow the main road, where there was also construction.... I'll stick to the official hiking trails from now on, if at all possible!

On the start of the trail in Allenwinden, the sign warns me that it is perilous to leave the trail or the fortress grounds, so I expected a much more treacherous trail than it ended up being.

Even though it is December, I'm pretty sure this trail isn't life-threatening.

Information about the Ruins of Wildenburg: First construction in 1200, the fortress was abandoned in 1400.

It's never boring visiting the ruins of fortresses

Not sure what the purpose of this narrow tower was

I always love it when our trails include forested sections into small ravines, usually accessed on such stairways.

This waterfall was special: It built itself a stalagmite slide made of limestone!

Usually there are several bridges to cross at the bottom of these ravines

First glimpse over the city of Zug and Lake Zug

Next to this barn was a road marked on my map, which I followed to descend a section of the hill

Once I passed through the farm, I saw this sign which indicates that no horses or cars are allowed to use this road, but the sign below it also seems to indicated that passage is forbidden for anyone without permission (hopefully no one saw me!)

At the second farm, and on closer inspection, I figured they were quite serious, so I made my way along the regular road, where there was construction going on, and quite a bit of traffic, so not as much fun.

At this farm it was OK to walk down their driveway, because they had a farm store selling eggs.

At the bottom of the hill I came to the community of Inwil, and had a small coffee break on the bench in front of this 450-year old chapel which is under heritage protection

There are many such lovely old farm houses amongst the newer residential developments

This hike started in Allenwil and ended in Zug. Later in February we did a hike starting in Unterägeri and ending in Allenwinden (Those photos HERE)

We have covered a lot of ground in this area because it is easy and quick to get to by public transit

Short Afternoon walk from Knonau (Canton Zürich) to Steinhausen (Canton Zug)

December 1, 2019 (Saturday) -- A very mild early winter this year, and when there is no snow in the lower areas, we can still do a large assortment of local hikes or short afternoon walks.

To get out for some fresh air this winter afternoon we took a train to Knonau, a little town with its own castle, and only a 20-minute trip for us with public transit, so a good starting point when we start late in the day. This town is just North of the border between Canton Zug and Zurich, so the 5-kilometer walk we did from there to Steinhausen (which is one village West of Zug) meant we once again crossed the border line, which is always fun.

Among other things, we came across an "erratic", which is a large stone deposited upon the retreat of a glacier, in this case probably the Reuss Glacier. Amazing to think that there was once glacier ice this far North of the Alps

On really clear days, you can actually see the Alps from this area just northwest of the city of Zug.

Watching Paragliders on Mount Zug, and supper at Geissboden Restaurant

(This post published February 22, 2025)

Saturday June 8, 2019 -- Today we took the funicular up to our local mountain (Mount Zug) in order to walk to one of the several restaurants up here: Hintergeissboden Restaurant. It was another gloriously beautiful day with good visibility of the city of Zug below, the lake, and the two distinctive mountains which we see from here: Mount Rigi at the south end of Lake Zug, and Mt. Pilatus to the west (Luzern's main mountain).

What we hadn't realized is how popular Mount Zug was for paragliding, and the conditions must have been perfect for this day, as there were several dozen parachutes all over the skies here. So before heading to the restaurant, we went to watch the paragliders taking off, one after another.

The walk to the restaurant was quite a long one (two kilometers in each direction), so we took it very slow. Considering the pain that Mum had been having in her legs, this was quite the achievement!

(Side Note: As I am writing this several years later, I don't have any photos of our meal at the restaurant, so I cannot remember what we ate. What I do remember is that even though we sat indoors, the wall to the outside was large sliding glass doors, and therefore we still were plagued by the smell of the cigarette smoke from the outdoor patio! And the cows were so close to the restaurant, that the continual sound of their bells became an actual nuisance!)

A convenient funicular takes us up to the summit of Mount Zug. 

First views of Lake Zug and Mount Pilatus at the far back. 

When we got to the top, we saw the sky full of paragliders, so we decided to head over to the take-off place to watch them for a while. It's just a couple of minutes' walk from the funicular station. 

On a grassy hill, the paragliders are taking off one after another....

Down below at the north end of Lake Zug is the city of Zug whee we live. Our apartment building is the one within the red circle. 

One flyer has just barely taken off, and the next one is ready to lift the chute. 

Enjoying watching the paragliders on a warm June afternoon on Mount Zug. 

The large circle in the back, just beyond our neighbourhood, is the preparation for the National Wrestling Championships to take place at the end of August this year 2019. The event takes place every three years in a different part of Switzerland. It is one of Switzerland's national sports and draws crowds of over 50,000.

To walk to the take-off spot for the paragliders, then to the restaurant and back to the summit station of the funicular was over four kilometers!

Heading out now on the walk toward the restaurant. 

View of Lake Zug as we pass the Montana International school. 

There were restaurants closer to the funicular station, but we had chosen the walk to the Hintere Geissboden Gasthaus, which turned out to be quite a long walk! We got here at about 4 p.m. 

"Geiss" means Goat, thus the little goat sculpture in front of the restaurant. 

Usually we enjoy the sound of cow bells in the mountains, but that's OK if you are passing by. But if you are sitting at a restaurant patio or just inside the open-walled restaurant just a few meters from the pastures, the noise of the cowbells (which was surprisingly loud) kind of got on our nerves. 

Heading back to the funicular station at 5 p.m. 

Even up here, the farmers are busy cutting grass for hay, as the weather is perfect for this!

Another look at the north end of Lake Zug just from the site of the International School.

A view of Mount Pilatus from the funicular station

And now we are headed down the mountain again, just after 6 p.m.