Lucerne Journal
August 19. Thursday
Cathy
We spent hours in travel and have landed safely in Lucerne. I was totally done, so was glad our room was ready early. I crashed for an hour or so while Gary talked to Verizon. They activated the travel plan on only my phone.
It’s evening. We had pizza for dinner, then shared a huge tiramisu, which was delicious. Next was a short Stadtbummel to buy something and check out the boats for our trip to Mt. Rigi on Saturday. I’m currently on our tiny balcony, listening to an impromptu flute serenade. The notes echo delightfully off the watery expanses and I can’t locate the flutist (who is done by the time I write this).
Gary
We arrived safely in Lucerne Switzerland a few moments ago! We’ll crash now for a few hours to start processing the 9-hour jet lag and the 10 hours on 2 planes and the hour train ride to get here from Zurich. We made all connections just fine. The view from our room is fabulous!
The pizza was a perfect choice. What a lovely evening with a street musician nearby to accompany our meal :)
August 20. Friday
Gary
A busy day today! We began with a leisurely breakfast outside our hotel. At 10 we met my friend and Biblical Hebrew colleague, with whom I have corresponded for many years, but never met personally until today. He is a native Swiss Lucerne resident, and he showed us around the Old Town. His wife joined us for lunch at the lovely Pfistern Zunfthausrestaurant near our hotel along the Reuss. Following my friend's lead, I ordered Älplermagronä, listed on the menu under "Fleischlos Glücklich" (meatless happy). It consisted of: Macaroni with potatoes in a creamy cheese sauce, roasted onions, applesauce, served in 'Chacheli' (a ceramic bowl). It was absolutely delicious, and absolutely filling :)
After lunch our friends took us for a drive into nearby stunningly beautiful countryside, where we enjoyed sorbet and coffee before taking a walk amidst sweeping views of Lucerne, lakes and mountain peaks. We learned we have very much in common - living with children in a foreign country, number of kids and grandkids, personal life experiences, and more. What an amazing way to be welcomed to Switzerland!
Cathy
We met our friend at 10 am, and he showed us some of the Old Town of Lucerne. We climbed up a hillside path to go to one of the towers on the old city wall. This path took us past a small herd of cows - long-horns our friend said had been imported from Scotland and were not Swiss cows. I spotted a small lizard in the rocks by the side of the trail (~6" long including tail). The tower housed clocks, still working. The star of the show had a pendulum ~30-feet long! Great views from the top.
Our friend's wife joined us just after noon, coming in to town via train, and the four of us ate lunch together near our hotel along the Reuss River. From there we gathered the car for a short drive in the hills. More gorgeous views! The brilliant green countryside was unusual for this time of year and was due to the excessive rain they had this past month or so. (Europe, especially Germany, has had flooding with loss of life and much destruction).
We drove up winding roads to a church that was near a cafe where we enjoyed hot drinks and Eis. Our group of 4 had 3 kinds of coffee and one green tea. 3 of us had one ball of sorbet. I chose Zwetschge because where else can one find prune sorbet?? Gary had mango and it was very good. These both had chopped pistachios on top and were garnished with a perfect raspberry, plus one of those small orange fruits of the lantern flower.
Afterward, we chose to walk a way up a gravel road. We chatted as we walked – nice conversation, and we were surprised at all the similarities discovered!
Tomorrow we take a boat to Vitznau, then by train up Mt. Rigi. Our friend may join us. We’ll grab food at the train station for a picnic lunch.
Our hotel room gets warm during the day and has no AC. We can open the doors to the tiny balcony, but spiders come inside if we do. We have had at least 5 varieties, which would include the mini one Gary brought inside in his hair!
Speaking of wildlife: We also saw a good-sized hawk/falcon on our walk. It was atop an electrical pole (smallish), then flew away as we neared. Impressive wing-span!