It's very hot and humid at Lucerne even though we can see snow on the nearby alps.
Lucerne has a population of 80,000. It is a medieval city surrounded by lake and mountains.
We started the morning with a cruise on the lake Lucerne. Very relaxing sightseeing the various properties and views of the Swiss alps from the lake. The captain/tour commentator/ cafe operator was funny with his English and dry wit humor commentary. If you ordered a coffee you had to drive the boat while he made the drink.
A visit to the famous lion sculpture, which is sculptured into rock -by a danish sculptor -to commemorate the heroic fall of 3000 Swiss soldiers in 1792 while defending the royal palace A beautiful memorable quoted by Mark Twain "as the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world". Note the sword in his back and expression as he is dying in the photo- it really was an amazing piece of art.
On return from this tour it was off on our next excursion up the mountain to Titlus mountain- 10,000 ft high. A scenic drive through typical Swiss farms to the small ski village at the base of the mountain. Here we took a series of cable cars to the top of the mountain. There were three separate cable cars to the top and it took about 40 minutes. The first a 6 seater, then a larger single unit that took about 25 people. The last leg was on the revolving cable car that had a revolving base- to ensure that you did a 360 degree rotation by the time you got to the top. Very spectacular scenery. We went from 22c at the base to about 2c degrees at the summit. At the top is a combination of glaciers and snow. We were able to walk on both which was fun. There was also a glacier cave to wander through. Lots of scenic snaps of the alps, glaciers, small farm houses, ski chalets, etc. Very spectacular.
There was an optional dinner tonight which we opted not to do- stayed in Lucerne with another couple and had dinner by the river instead- which was very pleasant (and so was the waiter). The adventure continued then trying to get back to our hotel ( which was out of town) on the public bus network. Difficult when there are no english signs. We finally found a bus that appeared to be heading in the direction we wanted to go. We asked the bus driver and he did not know where we needed to go- a few people had some English and a mass discussion broke out on the bus as to what these tourists should do to get back to their hotel. Amazingly there was an old gentleman who could speak some English- he had actually been coming home from his English class. He ended up telling us to get off with him as the hotel was near where he lived and he walked us to near the hotel- about 15 mins from where we got off the bus- we were most grateful and thanked him for the efforts he made- we certainly would have been battling otherwise.
We sit in our hot and stuffy hotel room with the window open- no air conditioner, watching CNN - the only English speaking channel on the tv, with the cow bells ringing outside from the fields nearby!!
Switzerland has been a bit more challenging as they have separate currency- franc and are reluctant to deal in Euro which is used through the remainder of Europe. The locals know the tourists and rip you off a bit I'm sure in this regard.
Another enjoyable day comes to a close- certainly different adventures.
A couple of photos-
Greg and Leanne
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:Lucerne- Switzerland
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