Unlike the other days, the morning was a late start – 8am. In the warm sun, we made our way through the streets of Lucerne to Mount Pilatus – a mountain 7000 feet above sea level – half an hour away.
As we were waiting in line waiting to get on the world’s oldest cog-wheel train, Simona gave us all Mount Pilatus baseball caps as a souvenir which was a really nice touch, we all thought.We climbed the mountain in a 45 degree angle and could see the whole of Lucerne and beyond as we climbed higher and higher. You could feel the temperature drop the higher we got to the top until we could see some snow next to the train.
At the end of the line, there was a man in traditional Swiss dress blowing an Alpine horn. I went off and followed a trail that skimmed around the mountain. The view was breathtaking. I could see for miles and miles and took many, many, many photos.
I then retraced my steps and took another route that took me to the other side of the mountain and had stunning views of Lucerne and the surrounding area. There was a clear view of three lakes including Lake Lucerne. Again, many, many, many photos taken.
I then went to see if I could get right to the top of Mount Pilatus but there were many, many, many, many steps so I counted that out – there was no way I was going to make it.We had an hour up there so after my photo taking, I just took a seat and soaked up the beauty of the view. Sometimes you just have to put the camera down and take a look around.
On the way down, we firstly took a big gondola (or cable car) that took all 29 of us, and then changed into smaller gondolas that only took 4 people. I got to go into one with Jo and Paul. The smaller gondolas were smoother than the larger one – the larger one had a few dips in it after it passed the metal towers that reminded us of the funny feeling in your stomach when you go on a roller coaster.
In the quiet Swiss air, we heard a sound like a cow bell. We thought it was some kind of sound effect being pumped into our gondola, but it was actual cows happily chewing grass near where our gondola passed. As we neared the bottom, we could actually see in the yards of people’s houses that lived near the gondola track. Not much privacy for the residences.
When we got to the bottom, it was back to the hotel where we had the chance to dump the things we didn’t need to go into town and have the whole afternoon to ourselves. After 45 minutes, it was back on the bus and into town we went.
My first stop was to go into the pharmacy and ask for some hay fever tablets because the Claratyne was not helping at all. I walked in ready to seek some tablets or nasal sprays that I expected to be on the shelves just like back home. All I could see was cosmetics, sunscreen, and more cosmetics but nothing else. Lucky for me the pharmacist spoke English and, after stating what I needed, he opened some vertical shelves and took some tablets out. That’s when I learned that they don’t have the tablets/medications out on display – they are kept in tall, vertical cupboards behind the counter so you have to talk to the pharmacist. So, hopefully these tablets will work. I’ll find out tomorrow.
When we registered at our hotel we were given an envelope with a map of Lucerne and a voucher for a free souvenir teaspoon. After the pharmacy, I then went to claim my free souvenir teaspoon at a shop called Bucherer. This store is something like a cheaper version of Myers or David Jones and has the most expensive watches on the ground floor and, as you go up the floors, the watches go down in price. We were not surprised to see many Asians on the ground floor buying very expensive watches, like Rolex.
I skipped the ground floor and headed straight up to the second floor to the souvenir section to claim my free teaspoon. That’s when I found the others stocking up on souvenirs.
Jean, a Philipino American lady mentioned to me that Simona had said that the prices for souvenirs was cheaper just across the street at Casa Grande so Jean, her husband James and I headed off to Casa Grande. I bought all of my souvenirs here as they indeed were better priced – Switzerland is sooooo expensive! I went a little nuts with my souvenirs but they had some really nice things. Well, they were nice to me anyway.
Jean and James went off to have lunch and I continued my exploration of Lucerne’s streets, eating my Swiss chocolate as there was no time for lunch – I had too much to see to have lunch.
After about 2 hours of just roaming around the cobblestone streets and squares, taking pictures of anything that caught my eye, I decided to walk back to the hotel – a short 20 minutes stroll from the city centre.
It is quite a beautiful walk around the lake in great 25 degree sunny weather with a cool breeze coming off the lake. I stopped every now and then to take photos but mostly I tried to appreciate the views of the lake, the town and, of course, the magnificent Swiss Alps in the background.There were so many people out and about, I wondered how many people were locals and how many were tourists. During my stroll, I came upon a small park with bright red park benches and grassed areas surrounded by beautiful flowers. Then, as I was lining up a photo of a statue, I realised that there were people in their bikinis/bathers sun baking! It sure ruined my shot!
I continued on my way and dropped off my souvenirs in my hotel room and headed out to continue my stroll towards a pier that I heard someone mention last night. Didn’t realise it was another 20 minutes stroll. It seems that everyone was out sun baking today. Some, I just wanted to yell out to them to put their clothes back on! There was a rather large man wearing a male g-string that really should’ve put his clothes back on. Not a good look. After coming back to the hotel, I was extremely tired but backed my suitcase ready for tomorrow’s trip. Then, it was time for dinner.
I still can’t get used to how they eat here in Europe. They eat their salad first, and then the hot meal is served, followed by dessert, then the coffee or tea.
As the tables were set for an exact 36 people, I had to sit with the Americans from Tennessee and California again. This time, we were joined by another American couple I didn’t know. How boring these people were! I started off the conversation by asking if they enjoyed the day and the conversation lasted about a couple of minutes, then we just sat there...not speaking. Boring! Barbara and David had wanted me to sit with them – they are a lot of fun! - but Simona said I couldn’t because then one of the couples would be split up. I feel this may continue throughout the rest of the tour as Simona mentioned something to that effect. Great. Just great. I must admit, I was a lot peeved. I ate my meal at a lightning rate just to leave the table!
Some things I learned about Switzerland:
· The CH in their country code stands for Confoederatio Helvetica when Switzerland was known as Helvetica in ancient times – translated: Helvetica Confederation.
· Switzerland is made up of various regions and each region has its own flag and coat of arms. Lucerne’s flag is blue on the top half and white on the bottom half.
· Their currency is the Swiss Franc. You have to ask the shop assistant or restaurant waiter, for example, to give you the price in Euro. When using Euros, some shops will give you the change in Euros, some in Francs.
· Switzerland has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and, walking the streets on my own, I definitely felt safe. I was still aware that there may still be pick-pockets.
· Mount Geiger was the setting for the Clint Eastwood movie “The Geiger Sanction”. We had a good view of the mountain from Lucerne.
All in all, I have fallen in love with Lucerne. Its streets, its stunning vistas.Tomorrow, it’s off to Salzburg, Austria, stopping briefly in Liechtenstein.
