There was a little bit of sun out, when my husband K and I woke to the sound of the alarm at 6. We got washed up and dressed, before putting our large luggage in the hall for pickup at 6:30. Our daughter J came over at 6:50 as planned and we went to breakfast.
J got some Rösti and kindly gave me bit to taste. It was very good, as was the rest of breakfast.
At 7:20, we went back to our rooms to brush our teeth and make sure we'd packed up everything. We were downstairs with our hand luggage to identify our bags for Rolf at 8:15. As we identified them, he put a mark on each AmaWaterways plastic tag strip that he'd previously given us to put on the bags. J and K went downstairs to checkout and we hung around until it was time to board the bus.
We boarded our assigned bus, the one with the yellow Ama paddle, at 8:45. K and I sat together and J across from us. It was 48°, but felt like 45°. J and I were both wearing a scarf and I had on my gloves.
Because a regularly-scheduled guide had a family emergency, Rolf was on our bus to do his best to fill in. Our driver Sasha boarded and we left at 9:02. As we did so, it started getting sunnier.
Just before 9:30, I photographed this lovely view of the Zürichsee from our vantage point in Horgen.
At 10:25, we arrived in Schwyz, the town whose name was adapted into the German name for Switzerland, die Schweiz. We were here for a pit stop in the restrooms below the Pfarrkirche St. Martin, the lovely church below. However, there were several busses of us and it was slow going. Luckily, a nearby hotel called Wysses Rössli also let folks, including J and me, come in and use their downstairs (of course) restrooms.
This gave us more time to photograph the heavily illustrated Rathaus. The decorations were commemorating the 1315 Battle of Morgarten. Troops of
farmers and herdsmen, who were the Confederates of Schwyz supported by
their allies of Confederates of Uri and Unterwalden, with whom they'd
formed an alliance in 1291, fought off trained troops of the Austrian
army. This defeat of the mighty Habsburgs was shocking, of course. It
led to the consolidation of the League of the Three Forest Cantons from
1291, which led to other cantons joining this core of the old Swiss
Confederacy. That 1291 document, by the way, is considered the founding document of the Swiss Confederation, the official name of the country. A really impressive depiction.
When we were on the road again at 10:51, we saw a small Ascension Day procession going down a side road. And soon, in the town of Ibach, we saw the headquarters of Victorinox, the makers of Swiss Army Knives. Happily, they are still made there.
As we drove past Brunnen, still in the canton of Schwyz, we saw some traditional Swiss houses and farmhouses.
We reached Vitznau along the shores of the Vierwaldstättersee at 11:16. What's that? You've never heard of the Vierwaldstättersee? It means the "4 forest cantons lake". Remember that Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden were called the 3 Waldstätter? So, what's the fourth forest canton? That's the other canton that borders the lake, Luzern or Lucerne, as it is spelled in English and you won't see me write or hear me say. The city with the same name as the canton gave its name to the English name for the lake- Lake Lucerne. I'll admit it is shorter.
A low-hanging, atmospheric cloud obscured the view of Mt. Rigi above Vitznau. It made for dramatic photos, but all we could see was the station for the railway up the mountain and that wasn't until we were sailing. We had a few moments to photograph the nearby buildings and the lake before boarding the boat that would sail us to Luzern.
J hurried ahead to secure us a good seat inside the boat, which was full of tables and chairs. I don't believe anyone chose to sit outside on this chilly day and K didn't even go out to take photos. I got a window seat, which let me take some good photos after we departed at 11:34. Someone on board did a commentary as we went along.
I loved the mixture of old and new houses that we saw as we headed west. Sometimes, we could even see waterfalls or dramatic rock faces.
At 12:18, we came upon the only island in the lake. Right after that, we saw the statue of Christ, that someone had put below Schloss Meggenhorn.
We learned that 1/3 of the Swiss own homes. The rest spend 1/3 of their salary on rent. They pay about 500 CHF ( $560.49) per room per month, including the kitchen. Just crazy expensive.
By 12:35, we were seeing Luzern .
The lake boasts its own transportation company, Schifffahrtsgesellschaft des
Vierwaldstättersees (SGV) AG. Some of their boats are paddle steamers and run on a regular schedule.
When we docked and disembarked at 12:39, I couldn't help but notice how clear the water was.
The guides were awaiting us onshore. The easy guide moved us rather quickly along the dock, but I still had a chance to notice the Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) in the distance.
She led us to what would be our meeting place at 1:45 for the tour of the town and where our guide Jeanette was waiting. She sent us off to find lunch, pointing to the area along the river Reuss as being full of places to eat. That was all well and good, but all of the folks were being sent down there and the place already had plenty of tourists. We tried to avoid cafés due to the temperatures, but even they were pretty full. We stopped at the Rathaus restaurant, but there was no indoor seating. We went on past the Rathaussteg (townhall bridge) and came upon Zunfthausrestaurant Pfistern and felt we had no choice, but to eat at this old guildhouse.
It was 1:05, when we sat down at the outdoor table we were led to. We quickly chose 3 meals to share, all of whose names were in Swisss German and I can't find translations of them: Chnosprigs Tomate-Mozzarella-Chnoblibrot for 9,90 CHF, Chääschueche ,,Pfeschhtere" described as Käsekuchen mit Käse aus der Region mit Salatbouquet (cheesecake with cheese from the region and a salad bouquet) for 18,50 CHF, and Äntlibuecher Tätschli described as Kartoffeln, Lauch, Karotten, rezenter Bergkäse, knusprig frittierter Frühlingsrollenteig, Tzatziki, knackige Salate (potatoes, leeks, carrots, fresh mountain cheese, crispy fried spring roll pastry, tzatziki, and crispy salad) for 19,80 CHF for a small portion. J and I ordered Coke and Coke Zero respectively for 5,50 CHF each. K ordered hot coffee, which was wise, because it was a cold 53° under the balcony. He grabbed blankets for us from chairs at an empty table nearby.
The food seemed to take forever to come, which was probably due to the feeling of being in a time crunch. We took turns going to the restroom and discovered free postcards there.
The food was really good, and we hated having to wolf it down. We had to flag down the waiter and I paid by credit card. We hurried back to the meeting place and weren't quite the last ones to arrive.
The city tour began at 1:50 and I discovered that the earphones for my Whisper were broken. I tried to stay close to the guide, but I also dug out another pair of earphones and they seemed to work.
Of course, we strolled across the Kapellbrücke, along with a lot of other tourists. For the first time ever, a guide emphasized that the Kapelle in question was the Peterskapelle (St. Peter's Chapel) on the Old Town side of the Reuss. As usual, however, we did not enter that church.
On the bridge, we could see some of the 17th century paintings that survived the 1993 fire that nearly destroyed of this bridge that was originally built in 1365. It is the oldest truss bridge in the world. Besides the other wooden footbridge in Luzern, none of Europe's other footbridges have such paintings.
From the bridge, we could see the city hall, as well as our restaurant. The latter was really quite pretty.
At the other end of the bridge, one of the older gentlemen in our group fell. He was using walking poles and seemed very unsteady on his feet. He was able to get up and follow along.
As we neared the Jesuitenkirche (Jesuit Church), the guide pointed out a hotel high on the hill down river. I'd never seen it before. The Hotel Gutsch was built, when Queen Victoria enjoyed a stay nearby. We could also just see the other wooden footbridge, which was also new to me. I've been here on numerous occasions, but there are still things to discover.
When we reached the front of the church, we had a nice view back at the Rathaussteg and Kapellbrücke.
We spent more time than usual in this lovely church, the first baroque church in Switzerland north of the Alps. This gave more time to photograph. The guide noted that what looked like marble was just paint.
Crossing over the Rathaussteg, we got a good look at the ornate decoration that was painted on our lunch restaurant.
Being a Catholic town, it wasn't a big surprise to see a statue of an angel carved into the corner of a building.
She took us to see the facade of Restaurant Fritschi with its Karneval designs. She told us that this restaurant served local specialties and told us about some of them.
At 3:10, she took us back to the beautiful fountain where we'd met. Since I had coins, I gave her 2 CHF as a tip before she left to catch her bus back home to Bern.
We were led to the bus waiting area in front of the Bucherer store (we'd already been given coupons to get the free spoon they give away) and we boarded our bus for the hotel at 3:18. It was another six minutes before we got going, but only two minutes to the Hotel Astoria.
Inside, we found a table in the lobby with envelopes with our names on them. Inside were the key cards and a notification of where and when to go for breakfast. To my dismay, not only was J's room not near ours, but it also wasn't in the same building! The hotel was composed of a sort of set of towers, which they called buildings. I couldn't imagine why our group was spread all out, but then I saw that there were info boards for an awful lot of tour groups.
Our room was up a ramp from the lobby and right in front of an elevator. That did not bode well. Our luggage was there and we dragged it in the room.
The room was clean, if a little tired. There was a desk by my side of the bed and a lounger by K's. We settled in, noting how noisy it was outside of our door.
J came to let us know that they'd given her the key to the wrong room and now she was moving to an entirely different tower. They'd not even had us check in like the Marriott did.
We took some time to settle in and decide what would go where. It stayed noisy outside the door.
When J came back around 6, we went about determining where we wanted to eat dinner. We decided that the guide's discussion of local specialties had intrigued us and we really wanted to find some place on our side of the river that had them. We asked Google Maps for restaurants around us. Then, we found one that had local specialties.
We left the hotel at 6:30. On our way we passed the huge Franziskanerkirche (Franciscan chuch) at Franziskanerplatz. What was interesting though was the obviously old building across the street. It seemed to have shops on the ground floor and living space above.
A few minutes later, we were outside the restaurant we'd chosen. However, I noticed that less than half a block away was the river. I knew it would be dark, when we got out, so I asked that we go have a look now. We had a totally different view from any we'd had all day. This was a less touristy area. We'd be back tomorrow, according to our plan.
At 6:50, we were back in front of Wirtshaus Taube. A "Wirtshaus" is basically a traditional restaurant. A "Taube" is a pigeon. I loved the lanterns out front and we were quick to note the blankets for outdoor diners.
When we walked in the smallish doorway, there was a table with 2 diners just feet ahead of us. There was a bar to the left with a couple of tables between it and the window. Behind the wall to our -and the table for 2- was another room , brightly lit and with tables.
There was a family ahead of us consisting of a man, woman, and 2 teenagers. The man who was obviously the proprietor asked them in German if they had a reservation. I didn't hear everything that was said, but I gathered that they didn't and they were sent to a corner with a few stools and menus.
When it was our turn, I immediately said in German that there were three of us and that we had no reservation. He didn't seem to be quite as dismissive of us an said to wait.
I could see that there was a large table in the well-lit room that was empty. I could see that there were at least two rooms at the back of the establishment.
Shortly after 7, we were led to the room on the back right. It was a cozy place that I would have photographed, had the light been better. There was an old door over on the far wall and I wondered if it was ever used.
The menu was interesting in that the dishes were first listed in the local dialect, then German, and then English. So, I didn't have to translate for the others. The first thing we chose was the dish the guide had described: Original Lozärner Chögalipaschtetli met Riis ond bontem Gmües. Now, that looks like gobbledygook. A few of the words, I probably could have guessed. The German was much clearer for me: Blätterteiggebäck mit Kalbfleisch, Reis und buntem Gemüse (Luzerner Spezialität). The English was close, but not exact: Lucerne puff pastry with veal, rice and vegetables, for the German was clear that the vegetables were colorful. It was a beautiful dish made to look like a pastry house.
Next up was Stunggis Eintopf met Lamm vo de Göschener Alp ond Gmües dezue Härdöpfu ond Chrüter, another mass of letters. The German was Eintopf aus Lammfleisch von unseren Göscheneralp-Lämmern dazu Gemüse, Kartoffeln und frische Kräuter (Innerschweizer Spezialität). The English definitely missed some nuances: Lamb stew served with vegetables, potatoes and fresh herbs (a local specialty). What was left out in the translation? Well, the lamb is from Göscheneralp, which is an alpine settlement in the canton of Uri. (Remember that one from our history discussion?) The English also says it is a local specialty, but the German notes that it is a specialty of inner Switzerland. When it came, it looked like a fully-loaded stew.
I got very excited by the page that said "Spargleziit", which had to be the same as the German "Spargelzeit", that wonderful time of year, when white asparagus is in season. Germans will put it in everything, even desserts. Here, I figured that "Vorschpiise" was the German "Vorspeise" or appetizers. It mattered not, once I saw Spargelsalot met Ärdbeeri und Chrüter-Vinaigrette. By now, I was getting the hang of some of this and the German confirmed it: Spargelsalat mit Erdbeeren und Kräuter-Vinaigrette or Asparagus salad with strawberry (actually, strawberries) and herb-vinaigrette. Two things I love- asparagus and strawberries. We had to order it and it was beautiful and colorful.
To drink, K decided to try the relatively nearby Einsiedler Lager 5 dl. ( Fun Fact: Einsiedeln was the location of the abbey that sent Benedictine monks to the Arkansas River valley to found Subiaco Abbey. Eventually, they would have a boys boarding school, where I taught for four years early in our marriage.) J and I each had a Ramseier Apfelschorle, which is an apple juice spritzer, for 5 CHF each. We all found our drinks to be delicious.
We thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Getting to taste all three dishes was just perfect. We couldn't let the opportunity for dessert go by. The first item we chose was Willisouerringli- Parfait met lauwarme Waldbeeri. So, that looked like parfait with lukewarm forest berries. The German said it was Parfait vom Luzerner Gebäck mit lauwarmen Waldbeeren, which seemed to be the same thing, but the parfait was to be made of Luzern pastries. That was no parfait we'd ever heard of, but the English confirmed it. What we received was this beautiful presentation on a black slate. We still don't know what made it a parfait. It was so very, very good!
J and I will not say no to a chocolate dessert. So, we also chose Mousse vo de Aeschbachschoggi met Mandlechnoschperli, which in German was Schokoladenmousse von Aeschbach Chocolatier mit Mandelgebäck. Once again, English was lacking a bit: Swiss chocolate mousse with an almond pastry. It wasn't just Swiss chocolate. It came from a very specific chocolatier, Aeschbach Chocolatier, which makes a premium chocolate. Their main location is northeast of Luzern. This dessert did not disappoint. Such a fantastic chocolate! We didn't notice any almond pastry, though and didn't really miss it.
Since this bill was large, we decided to put it on a credit card. We were pleased to find that the restaurant accepted Discover. The charge was 127.20 CHF, which was $141.48. Well, it was a great meal and Switzerland is expensive.
We left the restaurant at 9 and I asked to cross the river to see if the other restaurant had found my hat. It had disappeared and I had a feeling it was at lunch. It's a distinctive hat- black with the Scottish Slàinte toast on it. I bought it in Inverness, when I suddenly discovered I needed a hat after all.
I described the hat in German and asked if they'd found it. They asked the various people who worked there, but no, it was gone. This was very disappointing.
However, I did get this great shot of the Kapellbrücke. So, there's that.
We got back to the hotel at 9:18 and said good night to J after determining a meeting time for breakfast.
In our room, we found we could hear all the sounds coming from the lobby that was so close by.
My phone said that I'd walked 7887 steps for 2.7 miles and climbed one floor.
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