Lucerne? Check.

Saturday, August 21 - Sunday, August 22 2010 

Ang with Priyanka and Sid

Not only was this our first over-night trip since arriving, but it also marked our first group-trip.  There is another “Expedia-power-couple” (both work at Expedia) over here in Geneva - Priyanka and Sid - who let us tag along on this trip.  They are nuts when it comes to travel, and have been gone pretty much every weekend since the beginning of July.  Priyanka seems to have found her second calling in life doing itinerary planning, so when she invited us to come along and presented us with a list of all the things to do in Lucerne, it was really easy to say ‘yes’.  :)

We left early Saturday morning, by train, to Lucerne and arrived around 10am.  The first order of business (and most exciting for Priyanka) was to scale Mt. Pilatus.  No, we did not do this by foot, although we did see others attempting this and we both agreed that it would be a fun option for next time.  The round trip from Lucerne to Mt. Pilatus started with a 90-minute scenic boat ride offering views of grassy hillsides and tall hills/mountains that screamed ‘Switzerland’.  At the end of the ride we reached the base point for the steepest cogwheel train in the world (or so the signs claim—but it is the Alps, so we’ll trust them), which would be our ride up.  We’ve heard stories that the alpine transportation infrastructure in Switzerland is second to none and we are slowly seeing why.  The ride up was filled with more ‘classic Switzerland’: steep mountains, green pastures and even cows with large, loud bells around their necks! (video below)  Ang commented that those poor cows must be deaf by the end of their lives because the sound of those bells really carries!

Toward the end of the ride we entered some fog, which made us nervous, and once we reached the top, ours fears became a reality – no spectacular views to behold! :(  Yes, we were almost completely fogged in, although Dave thought for a second he could make out Lake Lucerne below, but he was probably just making that up to look cool.  Nonetheless, the top of the mountain was fun even without the view.  We enjoyed a bratwurst while listening to the four-piece band and there was even a guy walking around with an Alp-horn (long horn seen on the ‘Ricola’ commercials).  Surprisingly, there are two hotels at the top (fun fact: one of them named the ‘Bellevue’ Hotel) and a couple restaurants, so it’s quite developed for the little amount of flat ground up there.  


We saw something neat as we were hiking up a path to the main viewpoint - we were pleasantly surprised to find a plaque with Psalm 66:5 posted on the mountainside.  Of course it was in German-- so we didn’t immediately know what it said.  Come to find out, it reads: "Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf!"  Yes, indeed!

After holding out for about an hour to see if things would clear up, we gave in and took the gondola ride down the other side of the mountain.  We spent the last couple of hours with Priyanka and Sid walking around downtown Lucerne (they were taking a train to Zurich that night…did we mention they were nuts when it comes to travel?).  We finished the evening checking out a couple more sights in the city and had a great dinner at a little Italian restaurant, which quickly became one of our favorites because of the amazing food and wine (some of the best we’ve found over here!).

We promise we usually won’t write in detail about our lodging accommodations in order to keep these posts from turning into a small book (too late), unless of course it’s special.  The hotel we opted to stay in that night was called the ‘Jail Hotel’.  Not metaphorically, but literally.  It was a functioning prison from 1863 until 1998 (watch out for Dave, he only plans the best for his lady!).  As you can see from the photos below, it had less of a ‘prison’ feel to it and more of a ‘minimum security’ vibe.  It even still had bars in the windows!  


We at least pushed the beds together.  It actually turned out to be a great stay except that the hotel was a magnet for the younger crowd (noisy all night) being that it’s by far the cheapest lodging in the area.  The front desk did provide complimentary ear plugs, so at least we had that going for us.

The next morning we took a self-walking tour around the city.  Lucerne is surprisingly similar to Geneva, just a little smaller.  We included some of our favorite shots below. 

Mt. Pilatus...on a clear day

Finally, a few hours before our train back to Geneva, we spent some time in the Transportation Museum.  Take every form of transportation that you can think of and it was all probably there.  It had great reviews as a family activity but actually turned out to be pretty interesting for adults, too.  We spent around four hours exploring each unique exhibit about how different forms of transportation have evolved over time.  And of course we had to save the best for last-- the tractors. :)  A few choice shots below.  (If only the Germans knew how funny their language is).

So that’s Lucerne!  Checked off the list.