Travel Links� � Day One� � London on My Own
London to Amsterdam�� Amsterdam� The Rhine Valley

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We left St. Goar in a misty drizzle, earlier in the morning than most of us wanted to be out of bed. After suffering through another repetition of our "morning song," we napped or chatted quietly. I watched out the window as we drove past fields of corn, and jotted memories down in my journal.

Aaron began to tell us a bit of history and trivia about Switzerland as we drove into the country. He also came in for a bit of teasing, as he talked about the beauty of the cows near Lucerne. Several people on the back of the bus started ribbing him when he talked about their beautiful eyes and soft brown hair.

When we reached Lucerne, our first stop was at the Lion Monument. Aaron explained that this monument had been carved in memory of the Swiss mercenaries who had died defending King Louis XVI. The lion is carved out of "living stone," which is to say, it's carved right into the stone of the mountain, like Mt. Rushmore. It is meant to honor the bravery and faithfulness of the soldiers. I guess if I really needed to be protected, I'd hire soldiers who'd fight to the death simply because I was paying them. But that's certainly not a job I would take!

On the way to the Lion Monument, and throughout our stay in Lucerne, we noticed fiberglass sculptures of frogs.
Aaron was quite skillful at his tour guide's responsibilty of getting us interested in the activities included on the tour. There would be a "Swiss-go Disco," he informed us, the highest disco in Europe, held at the hotel on one of the nights. The other night would include a showing of a movie (it turned out to be American Pie). Aaron also talked up the charms of the "Swiss Folklore Lunch" and the cruise across Lake Lucerne. I decided to go on both of those.

What Aaron failed to talk up sufficiently was the experience of riding up to Mt. Pilatus on the gondolas. The first half of the journey took place in four-person gondolas. (See above.) I have a good head for heights, so I quite enjoyed the view. Other people were less comfortable.

Even I was a bit nervous when we got to the second part of the journey. This was a large gondola, which carried about twenty people, torturously climbing the steep final ascent of Mt. Pilatus. Several people wondered, as we rode up, whether the church we saw in passing was the final resting place of the people who perished in fatal gondola accidents. Aaron tried to reassure us that it was perfectly safe, but everyone wished we had a more landbound alternative for ascending the mountain.

Soon enough, though, we reached the top of the mountain, and checked into our hotel. We found our rooms, and then went to explore the mountain. We walked through a trail cut into the mountain that locals explained had been bored by a dragon who used to inhabit the top of Mt. Pilatus... or perhaps still lived there. The views were breathtaking.

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Looking down from one of the stops on the trail through the mountain, we could see an even better view of the church we'd seen on our way up. Some local people mentioned that this church is quite popular for wedding parties. This was a bit surprising, given that visitors to the church had to hike in and out on foot!

After watching the sunset, we returned to the hotel, and cleaned up before supper. We would be dining in the same hotel Queen Victoria had stayed in while vacationing in Switzerland.

That night, as I was getting ready for bed, there was a stunningly beautiful thunderstorm. Lightning crackled across the sky, although there was very little thunder. The most amazing part of the storm, however, was that in the clear parts of the sky, I saw two shooting stars. The heavens were definitely putting on a good show that night!

We got up the next morning, bright and early, and headed back down the mountain. It was a Sunday, so much of Lucerne was closed. However, given the buying power of a tour, several shops were open for our benefit. I shopped for a while, and checked my email. I bought a watch to replace the one I'd broken earlier on the trip, and checked out the Swiss Army knives for sale-none of them was as nice as my Leatherman tool.

After an hour of wandering and taking pictures, I settled in a cafe for a bit of ice cream, and wrote enthusiastically in my journal.
From my journal:

I am so relaxed, being here, thousands of miles from my responsibilities. Travel is wonderful! It forces me to let go control, to really just go with the flow around me.

And since I've waited so long for this, I've really made up my mind to be happy, and it's working. This trip has been an excellent gift to me. I don't think I would ever have allowed pleasure to outweigh practicality enough to travel if my father hadn't offered to pay for the trip. But now a lot of the pleasure in this trip is the thought that I can keep travelling for the rest of my life.

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After writing in my journal and finishing the ice cream, I went out to wander through the city some more. Once I'd moved away from the main tourist shops, the streets were quiet, and I could look at the buildings and scenery to my heart's content.

At one, I wandered back to our pre-arranged meeting spot for those who were going to take part in the "Swiss Folklore Lunch." Now, if you ever have the chance to go to Lucerne on a group tour, this will probably be offered for you as well. You have to take it for what it is. What it is not: authentic. What it is: fun and cheesy. And I mean cheesy in all senses of that word! The main menu item was fondue, which was reasonably good. The entertainment included a "cow," men doing a flag dance, and men blowing Swiss horns.

After our "folklore lunch," we embarked on one of the least "optional" optionals I've seen on a tour: a one-way boat cruise to the station for the cog railway back up to Mt. Pilatus. I have no idea how anyone who didn't choose to take part in this optional excursion would make it back up the mountain!

That said, it was a beautiful day, and perfect for a lake cruise. We were travelling with another Contiki group, so there was a lot of rowdiness. I sat back on the top deck, and enjoyed the sunshine. The beaches around the lake were packed with people. When we reached the middle of the lake, the captain of the boat offered to stop so that anyone who wanted to could jump into the lake. About a dozen people took him up on the offer, and we all enjoyed the splashing and relaxing.

Then it was time to return to the hotel by way of the cog railway. The tracks were so steep on this that the cars themselves were terraced, with each seat being a step above the next.

The scenery was beautiful, and the ride was considerably less terrifying than the previous day's journey on the gondolas. Once we were back at the hotel, we freshened up, and walked around the top of the mountain again, enjoying the clear weather after the storm of the previous night.

I walked into, and then right back out of the "Swiss-go Disco," because I realized that I didn't really want to be surrounded by loud music, cigarette smoke, and dancing. Instead, I went outside to enjoy the evening and to take a picture of Lucerne from above in the darkness.

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Travel Links� � Day One� � London on My Own
London to Amsterdam�� Amsterdam � The Rhine Valley