The vacation of great vistas -
Switzerland and the Italian Lakes
Switzerland and the Italian Lakes
Luzern and environs
Day One – Arrival in Luzern
We stepped off the plane to a clean, modern, efficient airport in Zurich, and
easily found our way to the rental car counters, and eventually out of the
airport on to the highway. It was only 9am and none of us had slept, but
somehow we were running on adrenaline at that point. We drove north of
Zurich to Schaffhausen and picked the first stop we could find for the Rhine
falls. It was a bit of a comedy of errors trying to figure out how to pay for our
parking. We were supposed to put some coins into a box, but of course,
having just left the airport, we only had large CHF bills. We ended up
walking down to a concession stand to buy a drink, just to break up the bill
and feed the parking box. Then we headed down to the overlook, only to
find out it was fairly far down the river, looking right straight into the sun (not
good for pictures), and not a particularly good view. Off to a good start, we
got back into the car and drove on through Schaffhausen and found a
bridge over the river and, eventually, more signs pointing to the Rhine falls.
This viewpoint was much better, and naturally, much more crowded. We
were able to walk right down next to the roaring falls, with the water literally
feet away. We could have taken a boat out to the little island in the middle
of the falls, but we decided to press on.
Stop two was going to be Stein am Rhine, the supposedly colorful,
picturesque little town straddling the German/Swiss border, a few
kilometers up the river. Well, following the map wasn’t quite as easy as we
thought, and we ended up taking the long route, which involved crossing
the border about four times – remember Switzerland is not part of the EU,
so there are border stations. Some guards were interested in seeing our
US passports; others were not. We arrived in Stein around lunchtime. It is
small, so it didn’t take too long to walk around the town. It is a pretty little
town, as billed. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was nice to stroll around
after a long plane flight. Having just started our trip, we were still getting our
bearings as to how/when/what/where to eat. By then, we were quite hungry,
so we stumbled into a little pizza restaurant at one end of the main square
– after a lot of discussion with Allie about what she would be willing to eat.
We were just about the only people there. Perhaps it was too early, who
knows?
From there, we decided to make a beeline to Luzern, about 90 minutes
away. Chris was driving, Allie sleeping soundly, and Marisa trying hard to
stay awake (not altogether successfully). Our route took us right through
central Zurich and out along its suburbs, and there was quite a bit of traffic.
We finally arrived in Luzern in the late afternoon. After a couple of
misadventures trying to find a parking garage (we had a map in advance
with some parking recommendations marked), we finally settled on a plan
to drive over to the square near the hotel, drop Chris and Allie with the
luggage, and then Marisa would drive the car back across the bridge to a
large parking structure near the train station. A little anxiety ensued, but all
worked out fine. We settled into our room, took a quick break to say,
“Ahhhh” at the view, then set out for a little walk around town. It was still a
marvelous, warm sunny day, so we decided on an hour-long pedal boat
ride on the Vierwaldstatersee for a little up-close and personal with the
ducks and swans.
Following our ride, we took a stroll through the Kapelbrukke, the wooden
bridge that is one of the main attractions of Luzern. The original burned a
few years earlier, so this one primarily is a reconstruction. We studied the
paintings inside the bridge, noted all the spiders (yuck!), then hightailed it
off the bridge to find some dinner.
Dinner that evening was a simple one on the terrace at our hotel, followed
by some ice cream while walking around. We decided to turn in around 10,
in hopes of kicking the jet lag, but the revelers at the Mr. Pickwick bar next
door had a little something to say about that. Well, that and the fact that
Allie slept for a few hours in the car during the day made for a long,
somewhat sleepless night.
Day Two --- Pilatus and Luzern
We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning, and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast
at the hotel. Since it was such a nice day, we decided to make our day trip
to the top of Mt. Pilatus – we could see from our hotel room that it was
perfectly clear up at the top. Based on some literature we’d picked up, we
decided to do the round trip that includes gondola one way and cogwheel
and boat the other way. You can go in either order. Because we wanted to
take advantage of the clear weather at the top of the mountain, we chose to
go up by gondola and take the slower train/boat trip on the way back. We
purchased our tickets from the hotel, and then set off on a short bus ride
out to the gondola station on the outskirts of Luzern. The first part of the
ride up is in small cars which were just about big enough for the three of
us. We coasted up over the trees, over cows, to a station part way up the
mountain, where we joined others in a much larger cable car. This was our
first real introduction to the Swiss cable car system. It is just amazing to
think how they secure the supports for these cars in such a way that they
can carry loads of people up seemingly sheer cliffs. With the car swinging
over open spaces, this is a little nerve-wracking for those who have an
issue with heights, like Marisa. Nevertheless, you have to try to put this out
of mind and enjoy the stunning scenery. Most of the way up to the top, you
can see a small chapel out on a rock near a cliff-edge. Wonder how many
visitors they get?
We arrived at the top and started to explore. It was fairly crowded, but it is a
big facility (I think there is a hotel there) and plenty of room to spread out.
Because of Pilatus’s position, it affords a more-or-less 360-degree view –
down to Luzern, across the Vierwaldstatersee (Lake of the Four Cantons),
and over toward the Berner Oberland. This was our first view of the really
high Alps (Marisa has seen them before; the others, just from a plane). We
climbed up to some of the various vantage points and took some pictures
of Kirsten, the doll, enjoying the view; in all spending about an hour and a
half at the top. We continued on our round trip, taking the cogwheel train
down the other side of the mountain. The ride is a bit easier, but the
scenery is every bit as dramatic in its own way. Our train was stopped on
the tracks for a bit, enabling us to stare straight up the mountain. Once
down at the bottom, we had a little bit of a wait for our boat, then we set off
across the length of the Vierwaldstatersee – about an hour and a half ride,
if I recall. The boat served food, so we enjoyed a little lunch of sausages
and potatoes; Allie had pasta, and enjoyed looking at the lake scenery and
the cute towns along the shore. With a little more time in Luzern, it would
have been nice to drive along the lake.
We arrived back in Luzern in the early afternoon, with plenty of time left for
exploring the town. We set out for the old city walls up the hill from the main
part of town, circling back behind them, then climbing a stairway to get on
top of the wall itself. There are a number of old guard towers, some of
which you can climb, and we did. The views from the wall and towers are
spectacular, down over the town and out onto the lake with the mountains
in the background.
Following our walk on the wall, we headed toward the Gletschergarten,
with a stop first at the Bourbaki Panorama - a large circular painting
depicting the retreating French Eastern Army into Switzerland in 1871. This
was quite interesting, even for Allie. We also stopped to see the
Lowendenkmal, the figure of a dying lion carved into the rock,
commemorating the heroic deaths of the Swiss Guards during the French
Revolution. We spent the remainder of the afternoon at the
Gletschergarten, the large park with Ice Age remnants, including rocks,
boulders, potholes and other formations. It was interesting, but of more
interest to Allie were the park's other attractions, such as the hall of
mirrors. We visited the Hofkirche, the twin-spired church visible from
around Luzern, on our way back to the hotel.
Allie looked upon tonight's dinner with much anticipation. We'd been
talking up fondue for months, and what could be more appealing to a nine-
year-old than pieces of bread dipped in melting cheese. So we staked out
the perfect place, a nice looking restaurant with a large outdoor seating
area next to the river where we could have a nice fondue dinner. We
ordered up a large, family-sized fondue. Allie eagerly dipped her bread into
the cheese, took a bite, and .... burst into tears. Not at all what she was
expecting. Apparently the swiss cheese mixed with kirsche had a bit of a
different flavor than the mild Kraft macaroni and cheese flavor she was
used to. So we quickly ordered up a plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce
(pretty much her staple for the rest of the trip) and we struggled to
consume the huge pot of fondue. A little ice cream after dinner helped even
further, and Allie was back to her happy self. We spent the remainder of the
evening strolling along the promenade over to the casino on the north end
of town.
Day Three --- Luzern
Today, we took it a bit easy, sleeping in some to try to kick the jet lag. There
was a farmers market on the quai right below our hotel, so we wandered
through it. Our main destination for the day was the Swiss Transportation
Museum -- a fascinating destination for kids and adults alike, and one of
the largest museums of its kind in the world. It covers virtually every kind of
transport you can think of, with an exceptional display of trains and cable
cars, as well as an airplane and many other exhibits. We also took in the
planetarium show, although as I recall we had trouble with the English
translation. Altogether, this took most of our day -- a definite must for
anyone traveling to Luzern with kids. I should add that the stroll along the
lake to and from the museum was quite nice, as well.
We thought about taking a drive around to the north side of the lake, and
even went for our car. Oddly, we were unable to pay to get it out -- seems
this unmanned parking garage has a pay station that requires you to enter
a PIN with a credit card, something we'd never encountered, so of course
we didn't have a PIN for our card. After much trying, and trying to find
someone to help, we gave up and made note to have some cash for the
machine when we were ready to leave tomorrow.
For dinner, we picked an Italian restaurant near the Schwanenplatz with a
nice outdoor seating area. Not bad food, but we did not make note of the
name. More ice cream after dinner, and another nice stroll over to the area
of the casino and large hotels. We even took the funicular up to the
Montana hotel, where Marisa stayed on her first visit to Luzern in 1987.
Next > Grindelwald and the Berner Oberland
See all of our trip photos on Webshots
our travels
home
contact us
Day One – Arrival in Luzern
We stepped off the plane to a clean, modern, efficient airport in Zurich, and
easily found our way to the rental car counters, and eventually out of the
airport on to the highway. It was only 9am and none of us had slept, but
somehow we were running on adrenaline at that point. We drove north of
Zurich to Schaffhausen and picked the first stop we could find for the Rhine
falls. It was a bit of a comedy of errors trying to figure out how to pay for our
parking. We were supposed to put some coins into a box, but of course,
having just left the airport, we only had large CHF bills. We ended up
walking down to a concession stand to buy a drink, just to break up the bill
and feed the parking box. Then we headed down to the overlook, only to
find out it was fairly far down the river, looking right straight into the sun (not
good for pictures), and not a particularly good view. Off to a good start, we
got back into the car and drove on through Schaffhausen and found a
bridge over the river and, eventually, more signs pointing to the Rhine falls.
This viewpoint was much better, and naturally, much more crowded. We
were able to walk right down next to the roaring falls, with the water literally
feet away. We could have taken a boat out to the little island in the middle
of the falls, but we decided to press on.
Stop two was going to be Stein am Rhine, the supposedly colorful,
picturesque little town straddling the German/Swiss border, a few
kilometers up the river. Well, following the map wasn’t quite as easy as we
thought, and we ended up taking the long route, which involved crossing
the border about four times – remember Switzerland is not part of the EU,
so there are border stations. Some guards were interested in seeing our
US passports; others were not. We arrived in Stein around lunchtime. It is
small, so it didn’t take too long to walk around the town. It is a pretty little
town, as billed. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was nice to stroll around
after a long plane flight. Having just started our trip, we were still getting our
bearings as to how/when/what/where to eat. By then, we were quite hungry,
so we stumbled into a little pizza restaurant at one end of the main square
– after a lot of discussion with Allie about what she would be willing to eat.
We were just about the only people there. Perhaps it was too early, who
knows?
From there, we decided to make a beeline to Luzern, about 90 minutes
away. Chris was driving, Allie sleeping soundly, and Marisa trying hard to
stay awake (not altogether successfully). Our route took us right through
central Zurich and out along its suburbs, and there was quite a bit of traffic.
We finally arrived in Luzern in the late afternoon. After a couple of
misadventures trying to find a parking garage (we had a map in advance
with some parking recommendations marked), we finally settled on a plan
to drive over to the square near the hotel, drop Chris and Allie with the
luggage, and then Marisa would drive the car back across the bridge to a
large parking structure near the train station. A little anxiety ensued, but all
worked out fine. We settled into our room, took a quick break to say,
“Ahhhh” at the view, then set out for a little walk around town. It was still a
marvelous, warm sunny day, so we decided on an hour-long pedal boat
ride on the Vierwaldstatersee for a little up-close and personal with the
ducks and swans.
Following our ride, we took a stroll through the Kapelbrukke, the wooden
bridge that is one of the main attractions of Luzern. The original burned a
few years earlier, so this one primarily is a reconstruction. We studied the
paintings inside the bridge, noted all the spiders (yuck!), then hightailed it
off the bridge to find some dinner.
Dinner that evening was a simple one on the terrace at our hotel, followed
by some ice cream while walking around. We decided to turn in around 10,
in hopes of kicking the jet lag, but the revelers at the Mr. Pickwick bar next
door had a little something to say about that. Well, that and the fact that
Allie slept for a few hours in the car during the day made for a long,
somewhat sleepless night.
Day Two --- Pilatus and Luzern
We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning, and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast
at the hotel. Since it was such a nice day, we decided to make our day trip
to the top of Mt. Pilatus – we could see from our hotel room that it was
perfectly clear up at the top. Based on some literature we’d picked up, we
decided to do the round trip that includes gondola one way and cogwheel
and boat the other way. You can go in either order. Because we wanted to
take advantage of the clear weather at the top of the mountain, we chose to
go up by gondola and take the slower train/boat trip on the way back. We
purchased our tickets from the hotel, and then set off on a short bus ride
out to the gondola station on the outskirts of Luzern. The first part of the
ride up is in small cars which were just about big enough for the three of
us. We coasted up over the trees, over cows, to a station part way up the
mountain, where we joined others in a much larger cable car. This was our
first real introduction to the Swiss cable car system. It is just amazing to
think how they secure the supports for these cars in such a way that they
can carry loads of people up seemingly sheer cliffs. With the car swinging
over open spaces, this is a little nerve-wracking for those who have an
issue with heights, like Marisa. Nevertheless, you have to try to put this out
of mind and enjoy the stunning scenery. Most of the way up to the top, you
can see a small chapel out on a rock near a cliff-edge. Wonder how many
visitors they get?
We arrived at the top and started to explore. It was fairly crowded, but it is a
big facility (I think there is a hotel there) and plenty of room to spread out.
Because of Pilatus’s position, it affords a more-or-less 360-degree view –
down to Luzern, across the Vierwaldstatersee (Lake of the Four Cantons),
and over toward the Berner Oberland. This was our first view of the really
high Alps (Marisa has seen them before; the others, just from a plane). We
climbed up to some of the various vantage points and took some pictures
of Kirsten, the doll, enjoying the view; in all spending about an hour and a
half at the top. We continued on our round trip, taking the cogwheel train
down the other side of the mountain. The ride is a bit easier, but the
scenery is every bit as dramatic in its own way. Our train was stopped on
the tracks for a bit, enabling us to stare straight up the mountain. Once
down at the bottom, we had a little bit of a wait for our boat, then we set off
across the length of the Vierwaldstatersee – about an hour and a half ride,
if I recall. The boat served food, so we enjoyed a little lunch of sausages
and potatoes; Allie had pasta, and enjoyed looking at the lake scenery and
the cute towns along the shore. With a little more time in Luzern, it would
have been nice to drive along the lake.
We arrived back in Luzern in the early afternoon, with plenty of time left for
exploring the town. We set out for the old city walls up the hill from the main
part of town, circling back behind them, then climbing a stairway to get on
top of the wall itself. There are a number of old guard towers, some of
which you can climb, and we did. The views from the wall and towers are
spectacular, down over the town and out onto the lake with the mountains
in the background.
Following our walk on the wall, we headed toward the Gletschergarten,
with a stop first at the Bourbaki Panorama - a large circular painting
depicting the retreating French Eastern Army into Switzerland in 1871. This
was quite interesting, even for Allie. We also stopped to see the
Lowendenkmal, the figure of a dying lion carved into the rock,
commemorating the heroic deaths of the Swiss Guards during the French
Revolution. We spent the remainder of the afternoon at the
Gletschergarten, the large park with Ice Age remnants, including rocks,
boulders, potholes and other formations. It was interesting, but of more
interest to Allie were the park's other attractions, such as the hall of
mirrors. We visited the Hofkirche, the twin-spired church visible from
around Luzern, on our way back to the hotel.
Allie looked upon tonight's dinner with much anticipation. We'd been
talking up fondue for months, and what could be more appealing to a nine-
year-old than pieces of bread dipped in melting cheese. So we staked out
the perfect place, a nice looking restaurant with a large outdoor seating
area next to the river where we could have a nice fondue dinner. We
ordered up a large, family-sized fondue. Allie eagerly dipped her bread into
the cheese, took a bite, and .... burst into tears. Not at all what she was
expecting. Apparently the swiss cheese mixed with kirsche had a bit of a
different flavor than the mild Kraft macaroni and cheese flavor she was
used to. So we quickly ordered up a plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce
(pretty much her staple for the rest of the trip) and we struggled to
consume the huge pot of fondue. A little ice cream after dinner helped even
further, and Allie was back to her happy self. We spent the remainder of the
evening strolling along the promenade over to the casino on the north end
of town.
Day Three --- Luzern
Today, we took it a bit easy, sleeping in some to try to kick the jet lag. There
was a farmers market on the quai right below our hotel, so we wandered
through it. Our main destination for the day was the Swiss Transportation
Museum -- a fascinating destination for kids and adults alike, and one of
the largest museums of its kind in the world. It covers virtually every kind of
transport you can think of, with an exceptional display of trains and cable
cars, as well as an airplane and many other exhibits. We also took in the
planetarium show, although as I recall we had trouble with the English
translation. Altogether, this took most of our day -- a definite must for
anyone traveling to Luzern with kids. I should add that the stroll along the
lake to and from the museum was quite nice, as well.
We thought about taking a drive around to the north side of the lake, and
even went for our car. Oddly, we were unable to pay to get it out -- seems
this unmanned parking garage has a pay station that requires you to enter
a PIN with a credit card, something we'd never encountered, so of course
we didn't have a PIN for our card. After much trying, and trying to find
someone to help, we gave up and made note to have some cash for the
machine when we were ready to leave tomorrow.
For dinner, we picked an Italian restaurant near the Schwanenplatz with a
nice outdoor seating area. Not bad food, but we did not make note of the
name. More ice cream after dinner, and another nice stroll over to the area
of the casino and large hotels. We even took the funicular up to the
Montana hotel, where Marisa stayed on her first visit to Luzern in 1987.
Next > Grindelwald and the Berner Oberland
See all of our trip photos on Webshots
our travels
home
contact us
Luzern - Kapelbruckke
Schaffhausen - Rhine Falls
Stein am Rhine
Luzern
Top of Pilatus
Hotel Des Alpes balcony
View from Pilatus
Luzern
Pilatus view from Hotel Des Alpes
