Switzerland

The Queen of the Mountains

Our tour guide from yesterday, Yvette, walked us across the bridge to the ferry dock where we met our tour guide for today, Jutta.

There we boarded the ferry and crossed ‘The Lake of the Four Cantons’. Only in english is it known as Lake Lucerne.

Lake Lucerne has a few arms and only at one point can you see all four parts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Lucerne

After a few stops, it is a ferry after all, we made it to our final stop: Vitznau

This is where we board the first cogwheel train in Europe, and the longest continuously running one. So much so, that when they needed new cars they had to custom build them to fit the cogs in the tracks.

We went all the way up into the clouds to the top of Mount Rigi.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigi

It took us about 50 minutes to make it to the top with the train. Prior to the train Queen Victoria was carried up. No idea how long that took.

It was fun being on top of the mountain. It was a lot colder and the wind blew snow around.

Then we descended to Station 7 where we had a wonderful, and warm, lunch. We even had ‘Swiss Coffee’ afterwards. Now that will warm you.

We descended down a different track back to the lake.

Good morning, Lucerne

Our great and enduring tour guide Jutta

Sunrise

Our hotel from the ferry

The composer Richard Wagner’s house

Our destination, Mount Rigi

The cog train

Up we go!

No cars up here of course.

Into the clouds we go

It is freezing up here.

More cowbell in the gift shop on top

Walking in this to the restaurant

Baby snowman

Warm and cozy in here

How a cog train works

A little ‘Swiss Coffee’ from Alex before we brave the cold outside

The clouds moved for a moment

A second gift from the Japanese tour group

Taking the older one down

On our way down.

The Queen of the Mountains Read More »

Monk see, monk do

Our next stop was the small town of Einsiedeln.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einsiedeln

The town might have been small, but the monastery was huge. It was originally built about a fountain that had restorative water, and a lot of people undertook pilgrimages here.

Eventually a huge Baroque church was built here with the monastry surrounding it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einsiedeln_Abbey

There were at some point hundreds of monks living here, and now there are about 20 left. As the guide stated: “Not a modern career path for young people anymore.“

The church itself was not only the largest and most ornamental Baroque church we have seen in all our travels, but it also has one of the few ‘black Mary’s’ recognized worldwide.

The front facade of the grounds of multiple acres.

A photo can not convey the sheer size of this space.

One of the ceiling panels

Time-out in the corner?

The famous Black Mary

Walking the grounds

Making new friends everywhere

The fountain that started it all

Filling up my water bottle of course!
Every blessing counts.

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Cheesy, very cheesy

Off we go to a small family dairy farm to get a little up close and personal with the main ingredient of Swiss cheese: milk.

It was a sweet and way too up close experience.

This was followed by going to a local cheese producer where we not only see where and how cheese gets made, but we get to make our own cheese.

How awesome is that!

And we get to take it home. Not sure where we can fit in 5 pounds of cheese in those suitcases!

And they have a definite aroma.

Definite.

The abbey next door where the nuns live.

A true Swiss farm

Vealer

I like cow butts and I can not lie.
You other brothers can’t deny.

Baby was born that morning

She ruled this farm and owned the tour

Our cheese making guide Francesca

Drinking whey.
Tastes like drinkable yoghurt.

Our cheese making faux-chalet

The milk was boiled prior to our arrival.

Pieter cutting the milk with a curd harp

Dressed for the factory tour while our curds get cut some more

Seeing how cheese gets made

The storage smelled so good

Kenn couching the curds

In the form it goes to drain

Sampling while we wait for it to drain

Cheese is done draining

Iris showing the result after we formed the small wheels.

What our cheese will end up, and what we left with

Cheese fondue for dinner.

Cheesy, very cheesy Read More »

Nestled by the lake in the Alps

We said goodbye to our ship, and a lot of the group, and headed out to Lucerne.

Arriving at the stunning Schweizerhof hotel, we unloaded our bags and went for a walking tour of the city.

https://www.schweizerhof-luzern.ch/en/

Lucerne, even in the cold light rain, is beautiful. Our guide took us first by bus to the station and then we went for a walk around the old town. It is charming and interesting. No wonder this place has been a tourist destination for hundreds of years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucerne

Goodbye Viking Sigrun!

Hotel Schweizerhof

Hotel Schweizerhof

The Throne rooms

Luzern

Our bubbly tour guide Yvette

Pat & Jim staring at pastries

We started by taking the bus to the station

Wilkommen

Under the station

We had a tasting of Swiss chocolate

The Chapel Bridge

Our chestnut vendor and Pat

Chapel Bridge

The Baroque Jesuit Church

Ubiquitous Christmas Markets

Queen Victoria stayed in the small blue building on the right.
In preparation for her promised return, they built the Gutsch.
She never did.

The Spreuerbrücke with its paintings from the 1400’s.

Different view of the city

Mardi Gras starts officially at this fountain

Lunch at Des Alpes Hotelrestaurant

Walking ivermectin the Chapel Bridge

They found out it was someone that smoked a cigarette. Smoking is now banned on the old wood bridges.

Stopped in a tiny place to get out of the rain

Dinner with Pat & Jim

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