Day 17 – Lausanne and Lake Geneva

Posted on June 30, 2019 by herktrav

Another warm day ahead. Not really complaining – it just makes the moseying a little slower.

We were up early today, hoping to catch a morning boat ride on Lake Geneva before it gets too warm. We missed the 9:15 am boat, but did catch the 9:30 am one. While we were hoping for an open-air paddle boat, we got the next best thing (sort of) – this one had air conditioning.

The plan was to cruise down to Montreux, walk around a little bit and then catch a boat back to Lausanne. The emphasis being on the boat rides up and down the lake.

So I was already sweating up a storm just walking to the pier and that only took five minutes. I was a little disappointed to see a regular lake cruiser rather than the Belle Époque steam paddle boat, but you can’t win them all. The nice part, as I mentioned, was that the Premiere Classe cabin was air conditioned.

The scenery all along the route was beautiful, though the glare from the windows didn’t allow for too many pictures.

About three-quarters of the way to Montreux, we made a stop and a huge group of school kids came aboard. Suddenly, the cabin was loaded with rambunctious little kids on a school field trip.

Things got a little frantic as the teachers and aides attempted to rein them in. We laughed when at the next stop, another group got on. Luckily the next stop was ours and I haven’t moved that quickly in a while as I headed for the exit.

Much to our chagrin, today was the first day of the Montreux Music Festival and workers were scurrying around putting the final touches on the surroundings. We had a choice and it was an easy one since it was already getting hotter. The next boat to arrive was the Belle Époque paddleboat, so we got in line for the ride back to Lausanne.

The paddle boats have been on the lake since the early 1900’s and the restoration of each of them is wonderful. Just the sound of their steam whistles makes you look up and smile.

The cruise back to Lausanne was awesome. We practically had the first class deck to ourselves, which made it great for taking pictures. The scenery consisted of small towns, vineyards and hillsides; oh, and warm sunny skies.

When we arrived back in Lausanne, we walked back towards our hotel. Along the way, there was an ice cream stand that called to us like the Song of the Sirens. What could we do, the lure was too much. Next thing you know we are both holding cones with two scoops each. Darn, Sirens! The pistachio was delicious.

For dinner, we went to a small Italian restaurant called ‘Il Ghiotto’. It took a little effort to get there, but it was well worth it. It’s not often that Sue and I choose the same thing, but tonight, the chef’s menu couldn’t be beat. Started with a salad, then fagottini ‘beggar’s purses’ – homemade pasta, filled with cheese and herbs in a sauce of black truffles. For dessert, limoncello sorbet and two glasses of limoncello.

If it looks good to you, it tasted great to us.

Our ride back to the hotel was our first Uber ride. It was a great experience and saved us $10 over the cost of a cab. Jean Olivier was a perfect first driver for us.

The evening was beautiful by the lake, so we stayed at the hotel’s outside lounge for a nightcap or two before retiring.

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Day 16 – Dust off the French, we’re heading to Lausanne

Posted on June 30, 2019 by herktrav

After a wonderful stay in Lauterbrunnen, today we travel to the French region of Switzerland. We’ll be staying in the town of Lausanne, taking boat rides on Lake Geneva and visiting the nearby vineyards.

This morning we were up early to eat breakfast and finish packing before our check-out. Check-out was at 10:00 and we made our way downstairs a little earlier to avoid the rush. Since we had nothing else to do, we strolled over to the train station to wait for our train.

One last view

Arriving at the station early, we were able to catch an earlier train back to Interlaken, which will make things much easier as we won’t have to rush to catch the second train. We originally had just seven minutes, now we have thirty-seven.

Our Interlaken train was right on time to whisk us off to Bern. Just as on the first trip to Bern, the views all along Lake Thun were beautiful. Even though it was before noon, there were lots of people enjoying the lake.

When we arrived in Bern, we had twelve minutes before our next train. No need to rush though, it was just on the next set of tracks. We left right on schedule – 12:04 and headed to Lausanne.

The scenery was much different on this leg of the journey. Rolling hills covered with crops of all sorts. Hectares upon hectares of corn, wheat and other green stuff as far as the eye could see.

When we neared the town of Levey, the train began to follow along the shore of Lake Geneva, making the scenery even more beautiful. It wasn’t long before we passed by the terraced vineyards of the Lavaux region and then arrived at Lausanne.

Bienvenue mes amis! Nous Somme’s arrivés à Lausanne.

The train station in Lausanne is large, but quite manageable. We easily found our way to the Metro station, which we rode down to Ouchy along the lake.

We are staying at the Chateau d’Ouchy, located right on the lakefront. When we arrived to check-in, our room was ready for us. It overlooks the lake and is very nice. Pretty spacious, with a large bathroom and great shower. There are two huge windows that open, but more importantly, there is air conditioning.

Historic Chateau d’Ouchy

The view from the windows.

We took the opportunity to rest a little bit before cleaning up for dinner. I don’t know why sitting on a train tires one out, but it does.

Dinner tonight is at the hotel restaurant. It’s called Le 57 Grill and is situated so you have a lovely view of the lake while dining. Our waitress was a delightful young woman who we enjoyed talking to throughout our meal. The other staff were equally friendly and attentive and really made the dinner a treat.

Sue had grilled veal filet mignon and I had grilled lamb chops. Hers came with french fries and I had potatoes with Parmesan and truffle dip. If I said ‘Yum’, would you believe me?

After dinner, we took a little walk along the waterfront and located the piers for tomorrow’s boat cruise.

It is so pretty here, I’m sure we’re going to enjoy Lausanne.

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Day 15 – Trümmelbach Falls

Posted on June 29, 2019 by herktrav

What do you do when it’s hot outside? Find someplace cool.

We found that cool place in Lauterbrunnen at the Trümmelbach Falls. The melting glaciers create a river that over the years has cut right through the mountain. It is literally a powerful waterfall within a mountain.

We bought our bus tickets and rode over to the falls in about ten minutes. The entrance fee was 11 CHF each and was well worth it. We even got a ten percent discount for staying in Lauterbrunnen.

There are ten viewports and each provides a unique perspective. Some are close enough that you get caught in the mist. Other areas, where the water is rushing in, are chilly, bordering on cold; but on a hot day it felt good.

As you approach the falls, you can hear the roar of the rushing water but you can’t see falls. We opted to take the elevator up to the higher caves first and then walked our way back down.

Inside the mountain, the roar of the rushing water echoes through the caverns. There is a cool mist in the air that is inescapable. Luckily, they have cut in good steps with sturdy handrails, as the floor can be a bit slippery with the wetness.

As you walk to each viewport, you don’t know what to expect. Some are really cavernous and some are like windows with water splashing through.

I hope the pictures give you a feeling for the power and beauty of the falls.

When you get down to the bottom, the water that was rushing through feeds into a stream that carries it away.

We rode the bus back to town, found a nice shady spot in the hotel and cooled off with a bottle of Rosé.

While we were sitting there, minding our own business, there were three big booms that were not only loud, but shook the whole building. Turns out there were some fighter jets zooming through the valley that caused sonic booms.

After our wine, we went upstairs to relax and clean up before dinner. We chose to eat at the hotel again and enjoyed our final meal there. Once again, the meal was wonderful. We certainly are enjoying our meals so far, as well as the various Swiss wines we’ve been drinking.

We have to get up early tomorrow, so after a little digestion time we headed to bed.

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Day 14 – Staubbach Falls

Posted on June 29, 2019 by herktrav

Woke up and it was warm already. The unusually warm weather is definitely making water activities more attractive. For example, we’ve been taking two showers a day.

While others have gone nearby and done some rafting on the river, we decided to take a little hike through the valley to see some of the waterfalls.

We headed out early hoping to beat the heat, but it did not help – it was still hot! The first waterfall we came to was the famous Staubbach Falls. It is located on the Mürren side of the valley and is mesmerizing to watch as it falls to the ground. It isn’t a powerful falls, but it is beautiful.

We took some pictures, met a traveling college kid named Dave and then continued on our way. While some folks climbed up closer to the falls, we opted to just enjoy the view from bottom.

We did continue our walk though, heading farther down the path to see the view of the Staubbach Falls from the other side. We followed the path a bit farther and we were able to spot four more waterfalls. One of them barely landing a dribble on the ground as most of the water turned to mist on the way down.

It wasn’t getting any cooler, so we opted to head back to the hotel. We have learned that keeping hydrated in the heat is important, so on top of our water bottle that we kept refilling, we thought a bottle of Rosé would cool us off just perfectly.

Since neither one of us wanted to go back out and get all sweated up, we finished the bottle while sitting in the hotel breezeway. Sue was able to read a little, while I worked on the blog.

There is a woman who works at the hotel that we have been having fun with. She does a little of everything, but has been our waitress in the evening. While we were enjoying the wine, she brought us a big dish of hazelnuts.

Not only were they delicious, but Sue and I had a laugh. A couple weeks before we left, we were looking all over for hazelnuts to make a dessert when friends came to visit – with no luck. Here, it’s hazelnut heaven.

After walking through town earlier and checking out the available places for dinner, we chose to once again eat at our hotel. The food is excellent, the people are friendly and the prices are reasonable.

For tonight’s meal, Sue had the trout again and I had the Wiener schnitzel. We even splurged and had dessert of homemade ice cream – two scoops each.

After dinner, we retreated to the room to enjoy the view, listen to some music and relax. I must say, not keeping up a torrid pace has allowed me to keep my back in check. Besides, who doesn’t like to relax on vacation..

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Day 13 – Lauterbrunnen, here we come

Posted on June 26, 2019 by herktrav

We really enjoyed our time in and around Interlaken, but now it is time to move on. We’ll spend the next three nights in the town of Lauterbrunnen.

Lauterbrunnen is located in a valley just twenty minutes away from Interlaken. The valley has been called the “Valley of Seventy-two Waterfalls” and Lauterbrunnen gives you perfect access to so many places. To the left, we have the towns of Wengen and Grindelwald, which we passed through on our way up to the Jungfraujoch. On the right you have the towns of Mürren and Gimmelwald – the gateways to the Schilthorn.

Our train ride went quickly and before you knew it, we arrived in Lauterbrunnen. It is such a pretty little town with the iconic Staubbach Falls and the high, rocky cliffs that create the valley – the first things you see.

We are staying at the Hotel Silberhorn, which we can see right from the train station. It’s a short walk to the hotel, but it’s uphill – Yikes!

Our room isn’t ready yet, so we decided to go explore a little bit. Sue’s choice – up to Schilthorn!

So Schilthorn is the mountaintop lair of the criminal in the James Bond movie – ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’. In fact, just before we left for Switzerland, they had a 50 year celebration for the movie up top with many of the remaining actors and staff attending.

Anyways, to get there you first take a cable car up to the town of Grütschalp. Once there, you take a small mountain train to the town of Mürren. Next is about a ten minute walk across town to get to another cable car station. The cable car takes you from Mürren to Birg. And from Birg, there is another cable car that takes you up to Schilthorn.

Cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp

Train heading to Mürren

Above and below: Grütschalp station.

Scenery along the train route to Mürren

Cable car station in Mürren heading up to Birg and Schilthorn

Flowers on the way to the cable car

When you finally arrive, you have a 360 degree view of some awesome scenery. Snow covered mountain tops, streams of water from the melting snow rushing down the mountain, views down to the towns in the valley and on this day – blue skies.

Since the weather is so warm, I was walking around in just a short-sleeved polo shirt and felt very comfortable.

Schilthorn views

Taking aim with Bond

Someone doesn’t like this Bond

A couple of Alphorny guys

Inside the building there is a restaurant / bar called Piz Gloria that actually rotates over the course of your drink or dinner. There is the “James Bond Experience”, which contains pictures and memorabilia from the movie, plus there are some interactive games that you can amuse yourself and others with. There are a few shops that you can peruse and maybe find something to add to your souvenir pile.

Piz Gloria

007 Bar

Telly Savales – Who loves you baby?

Interactive bobsled chase

Bond, James Bond

After walking around for a while, we headed back to the hotel by reversing our original path. Cable cars down, short walk to the train, train ride to cable car; and cable car down.

It’s probably about a four to five hour round trip journey, though you could make a full day of it by checking out a few other places or stopping along the way.

The coolness of the mountaintop dissipated with each level heading down, so much so that we were both in need of a cool shower to refresh ourselves. Luckily for us, when we arrived back at the hotel our room was ready.

We have a corner room on the top floor with gorgeous views down the valley. The room is a nice size with big windows and a balcony. The bathroom has a wonderful shower that happened to be the first thing we made use of. Very happy with our choice of hotel again.

We made a reservation for dinner in the hotel restaurant, so when 7:00 pm rolled around, two very hungry people were ready. We had a great table, right next to an open window that provided an incredible dining backdrop. Our meals were delicious. Sue started with a bowl of beef barley soup and I started with a house-smoked salmon plate. Then we both had the river trout over ratatouille with roasted potatoes. A nice bottle of Swiss white wine paired perfectly and we were happy as could be.

Quite a jam-packed first day in Lauterbrunnen. And I thought we were just taking a train ride today – go figure!

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Day 12 – Bern, baby, Bern

Posted on June 25, 2019 by herktrav

So now that the threat of thunderstorms has passed, it’s time for heat warnings for the next week. Temperatures are expected to soar into the 90’s and possibly even hit 100 in parts of Switzerland.

Today we visited Bern, the capitol of the Swiss Cantons. The train ride was really nice. You travel along the shore of Lake Thun the majority of the way and have great views of the lake and surrounding mountains. The trip only took about an hour and was an easy journey.

Once there, we headed for the old town. It was just a short walk down to the Zytglogge or clock tower. The tower was built in the 1200’s and was part of the city’s western fortifications. The famous clock was added in the 1400’s. It features an astronomical calendar clock and an animated mechanism that chimes on the hour with moving bears, lions, a bell ringing jester and Chronos, who flips his hourglass at the hour change.

Bern clock tower

Astronomical clock and animated mechanism

Next, we headed over to the Einstein Museum. They have a wonderful exhibit that takes you through his life and times. Lots of interesting photos, documents and even film clips of his life and accomplishments. It was fun seeing some of the items that were patented while he worked in the patent office.

Sue cozying up with ladies man – Albert

What do you mean the Bills have no chance?

Several patents given out by Einstein

The even had an illustration of his theory of relativity in layman’s terms. As I understood it, the speed of light is constant, but you can drink cool Rosé faster on a hot day. I may have to read through it again for clarity.

Theory of Relativity explained with bouncing balls.

After the museum, we made our way over to the Bear Park. As the official mascot of Switzerland, bears can be found everywhere – not real ones, of course. However in Bern, there is a special place along the river that was built for them. On this day, there are three bears present. Berna was sent away to Bulgaria to shack up with a boy bear after clashing with her mother. Kids!!

Bear butt

Many things to see as you walk through the town. There are quite a few fountains, the riverfront and the casino as you walk, plus the sidewalks are covered most of the way, so even on the hot days you can always find a little shade.

Bern had been celebrating the return of Formula-E racing on Friday and Saturday, so today they were cleaning up. With that going on all around, we decided to head to Thun so we could take a boat ride back to Interlaken. When we checked on the boat schedule, we found that we had missed the last one for the day.

On such a nice day, a boat ride would have been perfect. No sense crying over spilled milk though. We just caught a train back to Interlaken instead.

Many restaurants were closed since it was Sunday, so we checked with the restaurant from the night before and we were able to get a reservation. It had been so warm in Bern that we both needed to cool off with a nice shower before getting ready for dinner.

We sat outside and really enjoyed the beautiful evening. Just a light breeze as the sun was beginning to set behind the mountains.

Tonight’s meal was equally as good as yesterday’s. We started with an order of spinach dumplings that I was nice enough to share with Sue. Then we both had the Veal with mushrooms in a light gravy, along with Rosti and grilled vegetables. The customary bottle of wine presented itself in the form of a red blend called “Lune Noir”.

After dinner, a nice stroll back to the hotel completed our time in Interlaken. Tomorrow we are off to Lauterbrunnen.

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Day 11 – Chilling in Interlaken.

Posted on June 25, 2019 by herktrav

After last evening’s romantic rainfall, we were hoping today would be dry and sunny. However, the weather person says more rain and a chance for some afternoon thunderstorms is in the forecast.

Oh well, we had decided to rest up a bit and enjoy Interlaken, so we can deal with it.

We started the day off with a little walk towards the river. The water flows so fast between Lake Brienz and Lake Thun; this morning there are actually paddle boarders zipping by.

The Aare River flowing through Interlaken

The water has greenish-blue tint. We found out that the color comes from all the minerals it picks up as it flows down from the glaciers.

Just around the bend from the river is the funicular to go up to Harder Kulm. Since it looks fairly clear up top, we decided to head up.

This is another steep ride. The grade is at 68 degrees at one point. We did pass some folks who were hiking up to the top and struggling a little bit – we waved.

Up top, the views were gorgeous. There were more clouds in the direction of Lake Brienz than Lake Thun, but the other mountain peaks were clear. We were snapping pictures in every direction, as the views were awesome everywhere you looked.

There is a cute restaurant up top with views to die for – just don’t drop your spoon. Additionally, there is an observation platform to take pictures and we’re told that in the evenings there are folk music performers.

A little breeze came up and in mere minutes we were surrounded by clouds and the beautiful views disappeared. We started walking back to the funicular and could see that the clouds were thinning so the views would return.

Pretty flowers along the path

More flowers along the path

Upper and lower – the views disappear when the clouds blow in

Views from the funicular

Hikers crossing over the tracks

This time, we had front row seats on the funicular and could really see how steep the grade really was. Passed some more hikers on our way down – waved again. The funicular takes eight minutes to make the trip; the hike is two sweaty hours. No math needed for that equation.

The weather was still decent, so we took a walk into the town center. Very nice, lots of little shops – especially watch shops. When we arrived at the park, waiting in front and loading passengers was the City Tourist Train. Call me crazy, but I love those things, so we hopped aboard.

The City Train and below, Heidi’s grandpa on the right.

According to Sue, our “engineer” bore a striking resemblance to Heidi’s grandfather. She was delighted; I was wondering why he left Heidi home alone. Must be a Swiss thing.

He took us around town, regaling us with interesting facts and folklore – including the man whose face is in the mountain after the death of a girl from a fall.

Can you see his eyes and mustache?

After our ride, we hopped across the street to sample some delicious gelato, before crossing back over to watch the paragliders landing in the park. I’m not sure if there is really a weight limit, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Otherwise I would have been gliding like a bird.

By the way, still no rain.

We took a nice walk back to the hotel to relax for a while before dinner. Tonight we are going to the restaurant in the Hotel Interlaken. We saw the menu when we walked by and it looked good, so I can’t wait.

When dinner time arrived, we grabbed our umbrellas and head to the restaurant. Our meals were delicious. Sue had a salmon dish and I had roasted pork belly. Yum!

Tom’s Smoked duck appetizer

Sue’s goat cheese appetizer

Tom’s pork belly dinner

Sue’s salmon and white asparagus

When we finished, we walked back to the hotel with our umbrellas still closed up – so much for the thunderstorms.

We enjoyed looking at the pictures from the day and then made our plans for Bern tomorrow morning.

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Day 10 – Journey to the top of Europe – Jungfraujoch

Posted on June 24, 2019 by herktrav

We have enjoyed the beauty of Switzerland in each and every place we have visited so far. Everything is just so green and natural, plus exceptionally clean. I can honestly say I have never breathed in such fresh air and I am relishing every breath.

Today we visited a mountaintop location known as Jungfraujoch. It is called the Top of Europe because it is the highest train station in all of Europe. It is located in the saddle between the peaks of the Eiger, Monsch and Jungfrau at an altitude of 3571 M or 11,782 ft. More on this later, but trust me – it’s beautiful!

So our journey began with a train ride from our home base of Interlaken to the town of Lauterbrunnen. We switched trains at Lauterbrunnen and then traveled up to Kleine Scheidegg by way of Wengen.

At Kleine Scheidegg, you board another train that takes you up to Jungfraujoch. There is some spectacular scenery, however the bulk of the trip is up through a tunnel carved into the North Face of the Eiger Mountain. When you arrive up at the station, you have a few different activities you can participate in. As for Sue and I, we were there for the views, not to play in the snow.

You take an elevator up to the observation platform where you can step outside and get some heavenly views. When we first arrived, we both could really feel the effects of the altitude. I was definitely more affected by the thin air and struggled to catch my breath more than a few times. We just took it slow and moseyed through the passages.

When we went outside, the clouds had very nearly blanketed the neighboring peaks and left us looking at a fog-like mist. Additionally, it was raining / snowing and was not as pleasant as we had hoped. However, just a few minutes later the clouds moved on and we had some gorgeous views. We made sure we took pictures and got a look from every possible angle before the clouds returned to obscure the views.

Snowy, cloudy glacier

A little snow collecting on the sign.

That black spot is actually a bird

Edge of the clouds as it clears out

A view to remember

Clouding up on one side

Still clear on the other side

I’m sure a sunny day with bright sunshine would have made for even better views, but we were both awestruck by the surrounding mountains, the views of the Aletsch Glacier and the incredible engineering feat of getting a railroad and all the facilities up to the top.

I hope the pictures give you an idea of what it was like.

After viewing the mountains and the glacier, we headed over towards the station to head back down. Along the way we walked through a couple of exhibits that told the story of the men who dug the tunnels and built the railroad, plus there was a fabulous snow globe that was all carved out of wood and with its animated characters, brought a smile to everyone’s face.

An old goat – wooden, of course!

No shaking this snow globe

Murals

High cave found while digging

Shoppers

Once on the train, we headed back down to Kleine Scheidegg, where we connected with our return train. For the ride back to Interlaken, we chose to go through the town of Grindelwald. Grindelwald is another quaint little town with charming shops and restaurants.

Once back in Interlaken, we needed a little while to take in all we had seen. That’s one of our favorite things about traveling – settling back and comparing notes, looking at the pictures we took and talking about our day.

After resting up for a little while, we cleaned up for dinner. The restaurant is called Chalet Beizli and is connected to our hotel, which is a good thing because that rain the weatherman had threatened finally arrived. We both smiled knowing that we had enjoyed a great day under the threat of rain and then got to have a romantic dinner on the restaurant’s covered terrace with the rain now falling.

We enjoyed a bottle of wine, salads and a plate of Wiener Schnitzel. The meal was delicious, the waitress was very nice and the evening was romantic. I definitely like this traveling thing.

We headed back to the room to change and relax before heading to bed a little earlier. Tomorrow we’re just going to hang around town as the weather is not suppose to be so nice. We’ll wait to go to Bern on Sunday.

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Day 9 – Moving on to Interlaken

Posted on June 21, 2019 by herktrav

Wow, that went fast. Hard to believe that we are finished with Lucerne and moving on to Interlaken.

We really enjoyed our time in Lucerne. The boat rides, the mountaintop, the riverfront and the old town were all wonderful. I had read beforehand that Lucerne was many people’s favorite town and I would be hard pressed to find fault with their thinking.

Today we are taking the Golden Pass Panoramic train from Lucerne to Interlaken. It’s the same train that everyone else takes, except there are a few cars that have bigger windows and ceiling glass. We did enjoy the fact that there were only six people in our car and everyone was pretty quiet while watching the scenery go by. There was even one gentleman who slept most of the way.

So it’s not the best thing to take photos through the windows, but I did to give you a bit of a feeling for the scenery that we saw. Forgive the quality and enjoy the ride.

When we arrived at the Interlaken OST station, it was mobbed. Apparently, another train had arrived just before us and deposited a bunch of people. Luckily, the mob thinned out a little when they got on their buses and headed out. Not sure if they are staying here or are just on their way to another destination; you can probably guess what I’m hoping.

Our hotel is less than a five minute walk from the train station. We’re staying at the Carlton-Europe Hotel and it is perfectly located. An interesting fact about the hotel is that it is adults only, though you can bring well-mannered dogs. As for the children, they say that there are many other nice hotels nearby that welcome them.

We were cheerfully greeted by the counter staff and offered a beverage while filling out the paperwork. Our room is very nice, with plenty of space to walk around, several chairs to relax, a bathroom with a tub and separate shower and a very comfortable bed.

Once settled in the room, we decided to head out and have an early dinner. The two nearby restaurants didn’t start serving until 5:30pm, so we stopped by the house bar called “Whiskeyness” for a little refreshment. Two gin and tonics later, we were ready for dinner.

Dinner was at Johnny’s Pub and Grill. The waitress was great, guiding us along using our hacked-up German. She really made things fun. Their specialties are grilled items with fries/rice and a salad bar. Sue had a grilled pork steak and I had a T-Bone steak and we both thought they were awesome. A nice bottle of red wine to go along with our meals made for a nice evening.

Since the restaurant was right next door to the hotel, it was just a short walk home and we were inside just before the rain started. Nothing terrible, just a steady rain. Hopefully tomorrow the rain will cooperate and hold off until later so we can enjoy another mountaintop excursion.

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Day 8 – Exploring Old Town Lucerne

Posted on June 21, 2019 by herktrav

After yesterday’s wonderful day in the mountains, today we explored the old town of Lucerne. Once again, we got an early start as thunderstorms were scheduled to head this way in the afternoon.

We walked over to the bus stop and hopped on a bus heading to Löwenplatz. It only took about ten minutes to get there and we certainly could have walked, but we have the Lucerne city pass that allows us to use the bus, so why not ?

From Löwenplatz it was just a short walk to our first site, the iconic “Dying Lion” Monument. As we were walking up the street, there was a large tour group coming towards us. However, when we arrived at the little grotto, it was us and just a few others – so it was peaceful.

It was carved in 1820 in memory of the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 defending the French king during the French Revolution.

There is a real emotion you feel looking at the lion. His facial expression and the way he is twisted with the spear piercing his body is very moving.

Very touching indeed…

After leaving the monument, we returned to the main street to catch the bus back to the center of the old town.

There is a very well known, but touristy restaurant in the square. It looks cute, but so far we are quite satisfied with our meals.

The Old Swiss House restaurant

I wonder if there is a place to buy souvenirs ?

The bus back dropped us off right in front of an ice cream store, but we resisted and started into the old town. As we’ve seen elsewhere, there are many fountains – all with drinkable water.

Many of the buildings have painted facades telling the story of the family or of a town event. The photo below depicts Mr. and Mrs. Fritschi and Lucerne’s annual Mardi Gras celebration, called Fasnacht.

Lots of small shops, restaurants and even fresh fruit markets can be found throughout the old town.

Next thing on the agenda – lunch! We chose a historical restaurant located right on the riverfront called Zunfthaus zu Pfistern. The building dates back to the early fifteenth century when it was a guild house for bakers and millers.

After a delightful and light meal, which finished with two scoops of ice cream each, we took a nice walk back to the hotel. We relaxed for a little while with the intention of going back out for a walk and a drink along the riverfront; however the thunderstorms that they promised arrived.

Heavy rain and some big boomers were more than enough of a sign to keep us in the hotel. Since we were able to get in everything that we wanted to see, this was the perfect time for it to rain.

We spent a nice night listening to music, reading and planning for our travel day tomorrow.

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