After two hours of mountain hiking, my first destination came into sight, and it hardly seemed worth the trip. The wooden shelter was barely noticeable in the mist, but when I slid open the door, all doubts disappeared. A tiny blue cable car was waiting inside, it seemed, just for me.

I settled inside the vehicle, and picked up a clunky phone attached to the wall. Through the static I heard a woman’s faint voice answer in German. “Hi,” I said. “I’d like a ride down,” wondering if this was really going to work.

My answer came 20 seconds later, as machinery buzzed to life and the car glided out of the open side of the shack, floating above a spruce forest and looking out over emerald-green pastures. I felt like a feather slowly descending to Earth.

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