Switzerland...Day 2...Part Two...An Afternoon in Luzern (Lucerne)

So we called our cab driver that took us to Mt Pilatus to come back and get us and take us to the town of Luzern...near Old Town..this is where he dropped us off...at Chapel Bridge Kapellbrucke)

 

 

I had seen it in pictures and it was on my list of things to see but man was this beautiful....I had no idea

 the bridge crosses over the river Reuss

 under the covering of the bridge is just gorgeous with paintings...can you tell I liked this bridge...it was hard for me to choose which pictures of it to share with you

 the bridge was built in 1333 to help defend the city...after a fire in 1933 the landmark was restored

 and the swans just make this beautiful

 and a view from the bridge

 this town was just gorgeous

 it was a great place to walk and sight see

 while walking around we found this cute gift store with with this cute Swiss dude we had to take pictures with (lol)....inside this store is where I found my Luzern ornament...I love collecting ornaments from different places

 views while we walked

 after walking around Old Town we walked near Lake Luzern...so beautiful with the Alps in the background...I think I hear that song again

 lots of people on the lake and sitting around steps along the lake...the lake is in the heart of town

 people were sitting around feeding the swans and what I think are ducks  but I guess maybe they may be the ugly ducklings that will eventually turn into a beautiful swan...they were all along the waters edge

only thing this picture is missing is some snow



 we made our way to the Dying Lion Lucerne Monument

it is a famous carving in a small park that was made to commemorate hundreds of Swiss guards killed by mobs who stormed Tuilleries Palace in Paris during the French Revolution in 1792

After this we hit a couple shops along our walk back to the train station ...it was time to head back to Zurich and end our night and figure out what would be our plan for tomorrow.

 

Once back in Zurich it was rainy...it had started to rain when we were at the train station that morning and apparently it had rained all day...so it ended up being a good choice on how we spend our day, not a drop of rain in sight where we were.

 

We got back to our hotel around 5pm and most of the shops around us were closed and some eateries as well...we got a umbrella from the hotel and were headed out for dinner, we didn't want the rain to stop our evening...we decided to try this cute place we saw the night before and try the fondue...sitting was inside due to the rain.

 

We walked in and asked if we could get a table, we were told to wait and we did for 5 minutes and when they returned they seated the locals behind us and left us there...one guy had made the comment to the others "English" as to that is what we spoke...they came back and got us and sat us right next to young guys they sat before us...there were just a few people in this place so why we had to sit right next to someone who was loud and we could not hear our own conversation is beside me...they came to take their drink order and not ours...after 10 minutes we felt uncomfortable and out of place and were already not enjoying our evening the rethat we decided to just get up and leave...and so we did.

 

We went up the street to a place where we ordered some food to go and took it to our hotel, enjoyed the view and ordered and bottle of wine up to our room...it ended up being the perfect night...and then we made our game plan on what we would do tomorrow.

 

Stay tuned for our wonderful last day in Switzerland.

 



First Day of School...The Teacher and The Kindergarten Kid

Today I had the privilege to be a part of Colton's first day of Kindergarten.

 

Tammy is a teacher (her second year) and would not be able to walk Colton to class when it was time since she had to be on duty to receive her students....Kyle was unsure if he could make it on time (he's a police officer and works the night shift) so I offered my services if she needed me.

 

Guess what...she needed me!

How excited I was...I had always wanted to be a part of this milestone but also not wanting to take away from the parent so I never asked...after all I had already done my duty with taking kids to the first day of school.

 

Kyle was able to make it...he made it to the school right after we did so we did pictures, went to Tammy's classroom and when it was time I joined Kyle in walking Colton to class.

 

 Colton in front of the school sign...the sun is trying to come out but not quite yet...

Tammy had to be at school a little early being a teacher and all

 Colton was was excited for school to start

 Colton and his mommy on their first day of school

 Colton and all his school gear and below Tammy behind her desk...I think she's excited about her first day as well....she's a second year teacher but this is her first year at this school

 Colton outside his classroom...he's ready to go inside and get his day started

 and he's at his desk...he's a happy camper

I will say, it is so much easier taking your grandchild to his first day of school than your own child...for me it was less emotional....I feel the excitement he feels and though I still wonder where the time went I was able to enjoy this milestone in his life...I remembering when taking my own to school for the first time, once I made it back to the car I cried all the way home...my babies weren't babies anymore and I knew that we were getting closer to the time they wouldn't need me as much anymore...so yes, a different feeling this time around.

 

To Tammy and Colton ....I hope you both have a wonderful school year.

Switzerland....Day 2...Pilatus Kulm

So we had decided last night we would go to Mt Pilatus and go up to the Alps and then after that we would visit the town of Luzern.

 

In today's post I will share pictures of the first part of our day...Mt Pilatus...7,000 feet up....

There was no snow but once going up became very chilly and very windy...down below a gorgeous day.

 

There were two ways up to Mt Pilatus....Cog Train (that had claws and not wheels) and Gondola...since there is height issue we choose Gondola.

 Most of this post will be pictures

 a view from the gondola

 it was beautiful seeing houses from time to time  as we were going up the Alps

 and their cows with the big bells around their necks...you could hear the bell all the way up on the gondola

 scenery with gondola's to the top right of the picture...we are looking back and down

 another Swiss home

 just loved seeing these huge trees...they are the tallest trees I have ever seen...didn't know trees grew that tall....loved seeing the water and the Alps around it

 nature at it's best

 don't cha' just want sing...the hills are alive, with the sound of music...I know...another country but still feels like the song

 and a church up high in the middle of no where

 I'm amazed with all of God's beauty

 we've arrived....it's a little bit chilly...glad I packed a light sweater...we walked a round a little and took a few pictures and before taking the trail to climb up to the highest point (a look out point) we decided to grab a little bite to eat and warm up

 so we had a light lunch...some wine and lattes and cost us $100....expensive lunch... 7,000 feet up and there is a gift shop, a place to eat and a small hotel...a lot of people like to hike this...

 so we warmed up and out we went....

 just gorgeous

 these are the steps on the trail that takes you to the highest point to look out...one side there is the mountain and the other side you could fall over....we did have a lot of clouds but they moved out and rolled back in and so forth...still beautiful to be among the clouds...I could just imagine what it would look like with snow

 amazing this high up there would be birds

 scripture on a sign...not sure the language as more than one is spoken in Switzerland

 but in English it says....

New American Standard version:

Come and see the works of God,  Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of man

Psalm 66:5

 

and here I am up top the look at point...clouds had rolled in but you can see greenery below...

His works are amazing indeed

 Me and Lonnie

 

and on our way down we saw birds again (not sure what our deal was with birds on this trip)

so while taking pictures Lonnie says...lean in a little and get close to the bird so I can take your picture...there were two...you only see one...they were so still and then they went to take off and scared the crap out of me....you can see my face is a little freaked out...but my cousin loves this picture so because of that I share it with you.

so...we went back down...got back on the gondola and headed back to lower ground...next stop the town of Luzern...just a 15 minute cab ride...

I will share that part of the day with you in the next post.



Our First Day In Switzerland....Zurich

 

After a wonderful train ride through Switzerland we finally made our way to Zurich...found a taxi and off to our hotel we went....it was a beautiful day...the sun was out and the temperature was to die for..

 

Our hotel was beautiful and sat on the River Limmat...below is the view from our room....

I know...it's gorgeous!

 Below is another view from our room looking down the river.

 

Once we got settled it was time to set out to the streets to see what this place had to offer....we stayed close by as we had already had a long day with our travels and such.

 

We decided to go across the river from our hotel to what was called Old Town....apparently that's the place to visit and with it being so close it sounded like a good idea.

 another view from our hotel room

 and here is a view of our hotel while we were crossing over the river

 and a front view of our hotel from across the river....and if you look at the left side the first widow above the long balcony with floors, that is our room

 so we walked around...it was pretty and wonderful views...it was mainly shops and then places to eat..we scoped out where we thought we might want to eat and have a drink or if we wanted to just go back to the room....we were becoming fond of those outdoors places to wine and dine.

 walking through the streets

 and this cow sat on the balcony that belonged to a hotel...I thought it was cute

 while walking around we came across what we believe to be a bachlorette party...we couldn't really figure it out cause the language...it almost looked like they were doing dares but we didn't know for sure...but whatever it was they were loud and looked to be having fun

a lovely side street

 and great views

 after walking around we decided we would try dinner and wine at a cute outdoor place...

it was cute and the waitress was friendly and knew English....something we found hard to find in Switzerland.

 

We opt to order our own instead of sharing as we were unsure by the menu as to what to order....Lonnie ordered this burger which was pretty but hard to eat as a hamburger but I think she said it was good...it was a safe choice...

 and then I just ordered a vegetable plate...it seemed the safest thing to order...in the picture it looks a little weird....that looks like chicken on top but it's not...it was good and it was actually a good choice to order as well

 

and the wine wasn't bad either

as you can see we picked a place across from the cow...we also had some street vendors that put on a show...it was a busy night as it was Saturday night...

 

Notice in the picture below I have a light cardigan on...was just a tad nippy where you needed your arms covered up...felt wonderful...a big difference from the weather in Italy.

 Once dinner was over we decided to go back to our room and enjoy the rest of the evening from there and plan our day out for tomorrow as we didn't really have any plans...

 

We sat our table and chairs to look out to the river and we enjoyed a bottle of Bellini that Lonnie had bought from our time in Venice ...we opened the door and let the cool air and sounds of night in and it enjoyed it all wearing a jammies.

 Goodnight Zurich...for tomorrow we travel again...it's day trippin' time in Switzerland as there really isn't much to see in Zurich and it's expensive.