#BeaumontTravels: Germany + Italy + Switzerland, Summer 2018: Day 8

Greetings from Lucerne, Switzerland.

Day 8 already, time is moving so fast now.

Today we got to sleep in - breakfast was at 7:45 and we left for the city center at 8:30. Our first adventure of the day was our trip up to the top of Mt. Pilatus. This mountain is 2,128 meters high and overlooks the city of Lucerne. To get to the top you have to take a small 4 person gondola 2/3 of the way up and then a 30 person cable car the rest of the way up. The entire ride up takes about 45 minutes. It’s really cool riding up in the small car, if it is quiet, you can hear the cowbells from the cows grazing on the mountainside before. Once at the top the view was amazing. We had about an hour and a half at the top to see what we could see. There were a few trails people could take each affording different spectacular views.

At 1:15 we started our 40-minute ride down the backside of the mountain by cog railroad. Most of the trip down is between a 30% and 45% grade and once again the views were spectacular. Once on the ground, we had a 30-minute boat ride back to Lucerne. (See picture #1) All in all a wonderful trip.

Next lunch. We had to get a quick lunch,about25 minutes, so we all went to the big department store that had a food court. It was quick and the food was good.

Then we started a short walking tour of the old town section of the city. There is a really neat covered wooden footbridge that spans the Reuss River. We walked across it and then proceeded to a section of town with houses built in the 1400s. Really? That is crazy. We then walked to the Lion Monument. This statue of a dying lion was designed as a memorial to the Swiss soldiers who died in the service of King Louis XVI during the French Revolution. Very sad and very moving.

After the Lion Monument, we had free time. Sheila and I had made arrangements to meet with Asta Adukaite the head of EF Tours Mobile Technology Division. She was with us in Hong Kong at the Teacher Convention we attended over New Year’s. She is a lovely young woman and we had a wonderful visit. Then back to Old Town and exploring.

The group met up again at 6:30 and most went back to our hotel for dinner while we, Silvana, and 4 of the Texans went to a special Swiss Folklore Evening. After a short walk, we entered theStadkeller, a large restaurant where we enjoyed an authentic Swiss meal with traditional live entertainment. For dinner we started with cheese fondue, followed with Wiener schnitzel, scalloped potatoes, with spinach, and strawberry ice cream for dessert.

The entertainment was wonderful, they had a five-piece band that could play anything - they played and sang traditional Swiss songs, played the Alpine Horns, and taught us how to yodel. They showed us a broom dance, flag throwing, and even a typical Swiss Folk Dance. The girls loved it - they liked the food, sang along with the band, yodeled, and danced. They had so much fun they didn’t want to leave and they kept on singing. All the way back to the hotel they serenaded us with Abba songs - it was wild. Once back at the hotel they signed a “Thank You” card for our bus driver then off to bed for tomorrow is our last full day in Germany.

Wow - day 8 was another fabulous day!

Talk to you soon,
Bob