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| Happy Hippo |
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| Lucerne Stunner |
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| Ancient Bridge |
Sept. 29, 2015-Lucerne
Cruising
A picture IS worth a thousand words. I got many more responses from the photo
of Schilthorn than my usual postings. BTW the white carpet at the bottom of the
picture is clouds not snow. Remember, the picture was taken 10,000 feet up.
We slept 9 1/2 hours straight last night. My cold is at the sneezing, runny stage. No more sore throat. No cough yet. It will come. I carry prescription benzonatate pills with me. They're easier to take than cough medicine and non-narcotic.
Our granddaughter, Rylee collects hippos. As we rounded the corner to the train station on our morning constitutional, we saw a display of small stuffed animals in a store window. I was pointing to the rhino when I noticed it's partner was a hippo! The store was a pharmacy of all things. We went in and asked if anyone spoke English. They sort of did. I used my best pronunciation of hippo in German as written by the clerk at a Coop (nilpferd) and got blank stares. I resorted to "hippo" to no avail. David walked outside to show one of them as I explained about my adorable nine-year-old granddaughter's collection and how hard it was to find a hippo in Switzerland. I offered to show them a picture of Rylee. Eventually, I was understood, but they had to check with a manager. My plea was effective and we trooped outside so she could open the display window. The key wouldn't work. Someone more skilled was summoned, the window opened, and we all cheered. I'd noticed other stuffed animals priced for sale on a shelf in the pharmacy and offered to pay ($22). They wouldn't hear of it. Can't believe I scored a free hippo. So generous. David said I was a big game hunter in Switzerland.
We even made our train on time. They run hourly to Lucerne. Love this system. By now we know where to stand on the platform for second class and where the platforms are by which food stands we pass. We had enough time to buy a pretzel. The stand bears re-visiting. It sells only varieties of big loopy pretzels including some cut in half to make sandwiches.
True confession time. You all know we don't knowingly eat pork or shellfish. It's not a religious thing but a cultural reminder. I have always exempted New Orleans. Love oysters Bienville. Up at the Matterhorn, I had a salad bar. There were several toppings: quinoa, rice, etc. One of those had what I thought was a chewy mushroom in it. On closer inspection I saw it was a tiny shrimp. Yesterday we had barley soup. There were tiny floaters in it and the flavor was delicious. Yup. Ham. Michael Simon is right. Everything is better with bacon/ham.
Even though our train pass was costly, we are saving a bundle on entry fees, trams, cable cars, and museums (to date, $262 plus trams). That includes a free two-hour boat ride in Lucerne. It was on a double-decker with fancy menus and white tablecloths. The dock was conveniently across the street from the train station.
Before we boarded we asked if we could bring our lunch and were told we could. I bought a loopy pretzel sandwich at the station, then David got a long pretzel one at Coop's, also in the station. Sandwiches tend to have butter or mayo on them. Sure could use mustard. Wonder if they have little packets we could buy with the food.
I swear you could survive for days in these stations in the larger towns. They not only have food but shoe repair, electronics, beauty salons, etc. And in Lucerne, as I was buying my lunch, a train pulled in and was practically in my lap. The wonder of it all is that it's clean.
Once we saw the menu on the boat we were relieved we bought our $12 lunch ahead of time. It would have cost $80-100 onboard for a main and non-alcoholic beverage. After eating, we ordered coffee. It came with my first taste of Swiss chocolate. Yum!
The cruise was glorious. The sun came out providing perfect lighting for photo-ops off the port side. The starboard displayed the foothills of the Alps. Hills also rose from the waters of the lake providing a background for old estates and new hotels. As we came around for our return. Mt. Pilatus was off the stern.
After docking, we continued on a walking tour crossing 16th century bridges (some of the oldest wooden ones in Europe) and stopped at the landmark Jesuit church. The history museum was on the Pass and worth the price (free). Lucerne has been inhabited since 4000 BC and was occupied by the Roman Empire, of course.
We slept 9 1/2 hours straight last night. My cold is at the sneezing, runny stage. No more sore throat. No cough yet. It will come. I carry prescription benzonatate pills with me. They're easier to take than cough medicine and non-narcotic.
Our granddaughter, Rylee collects hippos. As we rounded the corner to the train station on our morning constitutional, we saw a display of small stuffed animals in a store window. I was pointing to the rhino when I noticed it's partner was a hippo! The store was a pharmacy of all things. We went in and asked if anyone spoke English. They sort of did. I used my best pronunciation of hippo in German as written by the clerk at a Coop (nilpferd) and got blank stares. I resorted to "hippo" to no avail. David walked outside to show one of them as I explained about my adorable nine-year-old granddaughter's collection and how hard it was to find a hippo in Switzerland. I offered to show them a picture of Rylee. Eventually, I was understood, but they had to check with a manager. My plea was effective and we trooped outside so she could open the display window. The key wouldn't work. Someone more skilled was summoned, the window opened, and we all cheered. I'd noticed other stuffed animals priced for sale on a shelf in the pharmacy and offered to pay ($22). They wouldn't hear of it. Can't believe I scored a free hippo. So generous. David said I was a big game hunter in Switzerland.
We even made our train on time. They run hourly to Lucerne. Love this system. By now we know where to stand on the platform for second class and where the platforms are by which food stands we pass. We had enough time to buy a pretzel. The stand bears re-visiting. It sells only varieties of big loopy pretzels including some cut in half to make sandwiches.
True confession time. You all know we don't knowingly eat pork or shellfish. It's not a religious thing but a cultural reminder. I have always exempted New Orleans. Love oysters Bienville. Up at the Matterhorn, I had a salad bar. There were several toppings: quinoa, rice, etc. One of those had what I thought was a chewy mushroom in it. On closer inspection I saw it was a tiny shrimp. Yesterday we had barley soup. There were tiny floaters in it and the flavor was delicious. Yup. Ham. Michael Simon is right. Everything is better with bacon/ham.
Even though our train pass was costly, we are saving a bundle on entry fees, trams, cable cars, and museums (to date, $262 plus trams). That includes a free two-hour boat ride in Lucerne. It was on a double-decker with fancy menus and white tablecloths. The dock was conveniently across the street from the train station.
Before we boarded we asked if we could bring our lunch and were told we could. I bought a loopy pretzel sandwich at the station, then David got a long pretzel one at Coop's, also in the station. Sandwiches tend to have butter or mayo on them. Sure could use mustard. Wonder if they have little packets we could buy with the food.
I swear you could survive for days in these stations in the larger towns. They not only have food but shoe repair, electronics, beauty salons, etc. And in Lucerne, as I was buying my lunch, a train pulled in and was practically in my lap. The wonder of it all is that it's clean.
Once we saw the menu on the boat we were relieved we bought our $12 lunch ahead of time. It would have cost $80-100 onboard for a main and non-alcoholic beverage. After eating, we ordered coffee. It came with my first taste of Swiss chocolate. Yum!
The cruise was glorious. The sun came out providing perfect lighting for photo-ops off the port side. The starboard displayed the foothills of the Alps. Hills also rose from the waters of the lake providing a background for old estates and new hotels. As we came around for our return. Mt. Pilatus was off the stern.
After docking, we continued on a walking tour crossing 16th century bridges (some of the oldest wooden ones in Europe) and stopped at the landmark Jesuit church. The history museum was on the Pass and worth the price (free). Lucerne has been inhabited since 4000 BC and was occupied by the Roman Empire, of course.
We strolled across the water enjoying this storybook old city from a different perspective while David noshed hot chestnuts from a street vendor. Noticing a city train tour, we decided to check it out. We timed our train back so we could take the 5:00 city tour, paid our fare, and picked the ideal seats. At 5:00 the driver approached and we realized there was a problem. We were the only passengers. He explained that they usually require five to be environmentally and economically worth the trip. We understood and he gave us our money back. Now we had an hour to kill before the train back to Bern.
Starbucks Cafe Americano called to us. We sat out by the water enjoying the moderate mid-60 degree weather (still no coat needed for David) and watched swans, ducks, seagulls, and sparrows vie for crumbs.
Went back to Bellini Due tonight. I had the Turkish pizza which comes rolled up like we do gyros. Very tasty. David had a tuna pizza. Ick. He liked it though. Menus here list the origin of the country from where their meat was imported. They used "hinterschinken" from Switzerland. That translates to hind end of pig or pork butt.
The same customer who was there yesterday was there today. It turns out he's a friend of the owner and taxi driver who has lived here twenty-six years. He learned English while in Turkey when he worked with Americans for an international company. We mentioned our friend, Janet, in Akron, who teaches at the university and is an expert in Turkey, speaks Turkish, and has published. He Googled her and, voila, there was her curriculum vitae and mention of her praiseworthy book. We didn't know how he'd take this since she writes on Kurds and other ethnic minorities, but it turned out he was a Kurd. In a burst of generosity, we offered to send him her book in Turkish. This will probably cost us as much as we saved on lunch today.
Thanks to our Swiss-savy friend, Patti, we now know where more free bathrooms are in downtown Bern. We'll probably stay in town on Saturday, the day before we catch the train for Milan. It will give us down time and we can use weekdays for travel when it's less crowded.
Tomorrow it's Geneva!
Toby
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