We opt to pull off the autobahn and drive through Zug, but don't stop there, and then follow roads through many smaller towns to reach Luzern. The air is still a but misty today so visibility is limited but we see plenty all the same.
Once we arrive at our hotel, I get a new problem - hemorrhaging - of my wallet that is. I am blown away by how much everything costs here in Luzern, starting with the cost to park our car, and use the laundry (much needed now!!!), and even buy basic food.
Once settled in we head off on foot to explore Luzern. The city centre is actually quite compact and is a shoppers paradise, with plenty of variety, but the prices - whooah! Any swiss watch that is even vaguely in my price range, is cheaper to buy in New Zealand by far. Every shop, no matter what they sell, has a range of swiss army knives and swiss watches for sale.
The city however is beautiful. The obvious drawcard is the bridge, but the architecture is lovely and the streets are paved in cobblestones.
The following day we go up Mount Pilatus. I typed this up in detail, without saving as I went - but Windows 7 spontaneously restarted the laptop to apply updates, without asking me. What a stupid feature that is - thanks a lot Microsoft!!! I am writing this for the second time now - my enthusiam is weaning.
Lucerne is the gateway to Pilatus, and the reason why Helen has brought us here. She has been before and wanted me so see it. The visibility on the day is poor, the city in thick mist. We are assured there will be sun at the top however.
The ride up takes firstly a small gondola which transfers to a second set of wires half way. The ride is spooky as we can't even see the wires, they fade into the mist. It's dead quiet too except the clanging of cow bells all around.
Next we transfer to a larger gondola, which takes around 50 people, and break through above the cloud into sunshine. It's all blue sky above and white below.
We spend a couple of hours exploring the various viewpoints, some of which require climbing steep steps. The view across the Swiss Alps is incredible from here.
Eventually we have to get into queue to descend on the cog train. This is incredibly steep, we sit up front for a view, but as we drop into the clouds the view fades quickly. The ride down is very smooth and most enjoyable. Once at the bottom, the boat we planned to ride home across the lake is an hour away, so we opt to catch the train instead.
For dinner on our last night in Lucerne, we went to The Old Swiss House, a restaurant which Helen discovered on the internet as being reputed to serve the best Weiner Schnitzel in Lucerne. Cost aside, this was a good decision, the restaurant is beautiful inside, the cutlery and most other pieces are silver, and the service is amazing. They cook the schnitzel at the table, bringing out the raw veal, then dipping and crumbing it before our eyes, and cooking on a large copper frying pan in plenty of butter. This was fun to watch and they made it look so easy, and it tasted great too! Highly recommended.
1 comment:
Hi Helen and Mike,
Happy to see you enjoyed Switzerland despite its expensive (especially these days).
Wish you a great end of trip and hopefully the winter doesn't come too early.
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