Hotel Luzernerhof Lucerne

... is pretty charming. For dinner, the hotel made us turkey and mashed potatoes and a "Thanksgiving Cake". not quite like home...
Every morning we have to listen to presentations for three hours, which are really interesting about half of the time, and the other half of the time we are all trying to entertain ourselves with Sudoku and hangman.


Well, that's all that's really gone in my life over the last week...

... Once we got closer to the summit, we had to switch to a bigger gondola that looked like it held about 15 to 20 people. Now that was kinda scary! It was higher up off the ground and also being at basically the summit we could see the whole mountain range around Lucern, which was wicked! Reaching the summit it was very cold, not to mention I didn't dress properly! But in proud Canadian fashion, KB went straight for the snow and made a ...

... ride up the mountain. You take a small gondola about half of the way up, then you get off, and take a gondola that is made for about 15 people...standing room only. This one for the last part up the mountain, you're higher off the groud...but its still really cool! Once we got to the top, first thing I noticed...SNOW!!!!! I LOVED it! I thought I had been missing it at home for about a month, but nope...none in Winnipeg either. So first thing I ...

... the cafe at the top of the mountain.

In the afternoon, we spent a couple of hours exploring the town of Lucerne, including walking across the Chapel Bridge and sampling some local chocolate delicacies :-) . The town itself is has covered wooden bridges, cobbled lanes and quaint buildings, all built around a massive lake. We stocked up on lots of genuine Swiss chocolate!

YUMMO!

... attacks of the Hapsburgs. The cantons still have a degree of independence as they are often separated by mountains and other natural barriers. There are four different national languages here also: French, German, Italian and Romanisch. Romanish is based on Latin and is only found in a few regions.

The country also has more pure form of democracy, where apparently citizens vote to make decisions about every ...

... It was really neat as we don't have this size back home!

I played with the kids and one of the little ones got me to catch wasps in plastic cups for him so he could bang on the cup and then watch them drown in the orange juice. That was interesting. Good thing I had turned him down when he decided he wanted to share some nuts he had taken from some tree while he was out playing. He bit into one (after we had told him not to eat them as they weren ...

... read too so she helped me a bit and then wondered who taught me German as I read pretty good (according to her). I told her she taught me so what does a good teacher do??? Make you read more!!! :) It was fun. She took some pictures for us and then it was time for us to go as it was nearing 8 pm and I think that's when she has to start getting ready for bed. As we were getting ready to leave, Fred (their grandpa) came home from a retirement ...

... what must have been the town marching band covering Green Day and Donna Summer. I also had my first taste of Raclette; a big slab of melted cheese sprinkled with spices and served with boiled potatoes, pickled onions, and pickles. Delicious. Lots of beer and dancing, and we were even served a pink-frosted cake with a sparkler stuck in the top. I leave for Geneva today, but rest assured I will be back.

... it.

Notes on our way back from Lucerne: It is a lovely Old World city. The wooden bridge over the lake with its paintings of the history of Lucerne was really impressive and beautiful. Considering that it was done over 300 years ago is amazing. The Jesuit church, just a short walk from the end of the bridge, was just as impressive. The painted ceiling, the side altars, the main altar...WOW! It was glorious. Walking ...