Last Minute Trips Turn into Life Long Memories

Since we did not have any concrete plans for this weekend we decided to consult the only non German guide book we could find! We found this awesome little place in the mountains just before the Alps that specializes in outdoor family fun so we decided to go check it out since it was fairly close and cheap. Best decision ever. 

We took a bus, a train, and another bus to get to the park so I would say we are experts at public transportation now. We arrived at the park and bought our tickets to go up the chairlift to the top, or what we thought was the top. As soon as we got off the lift we could see the Alps. It was magnificent. The further we hiked the better the views. The weather was amazing, bright, sunny, and warm. There were tons of families on the trails and it was amazing watch little kids hike the mountains. It seems as though hiking must be a common past time in Switzerland for families because these kids were champs and all decked out in hiking gear, as were their parents.

After about two hours of hiking we reached the rest stop. It had great area to sit, a restaurant, and a playground for the kiddies. We finally found a table in the restaurant when we ran into a slight problem... The entire menu was in German and the waitress did not speak English. We settled on Portion Pommes Frites, thankfully as we hoped this was French fries or chips! After devouring our fries it was back down the mountain to the main area.

We reached the bottom thankfully with out any new injuries and after getting some well deserved ice cream we headed back to our hotel to pack up for the trip home tomorrow. It was an amazing and relaxing trip and I know I will definitely be planning another trip back to Switzerland, hopefully soon! 

30,000 Steps Later

30,000 steps = 15 miles walked in Lucerne Switzerland today. My record so far! We were soooo proud of our selves and will be bragging about it for days to come! And hopefully breaking this record in the near future... Now on to what we actually did today to get those steps! 

We took the train from Zurich to Lucerne, a little mountain town on the edge of the Alps. It was a bit foggy and chilly but Sally and I were hopeful! We started out walking around the more touristy and shopping area of the town first. This area was exactly like we pictured Switzerland to look like. The buildings were a bit older and a bunch of them had cute little paintings and architectural features to them. 

In case anyone does not recognize this, it is very similar to the sun symbol in the movie Tangled

Upon exploring the village we found a huge wall and working clock tower which of course we climbed up! Due to the fog the view was not the best but it was really cool to see all of the parts of the clock tower and watch the bells ring. 

We then began our hike around Lake Lucerne, we actually it started as a walk but we ended up in these beautiful mountains with amazing views of the Alps and Swiss country side. The scary part was that when we looked down the mountain we could not see anything as there was so much fog, we had hiked aboved the fog and it was amazing! 

Lake Lucerne

This is what all the Swiss playgrounds look like. Sooo much cooler than American playgrounds! (Not pictured, zip line) 

Greg the Goat

This where we walked to, I would tell you where it is but I don't speak German, hint its some vineyard

Finally, The Alps!!!

After our hike we went to look for dinner though did not have much luck as the town seemed to be lacking in restaurants and the few we did find we a bit too fancy and we would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Thankfully the grocery stores do a great job at providing ready meals with both hot and cold foods, I assume that most people must just eat out of the grocery stores? There are very few fast food or quick food places around. Anyway, the food was still great and we made it back to our hotel room before collapsing and preparing our feet for tomorrow.  

"American Style Donut" I wish American donuts tasted this good!!

Who Needs Sleep We've Got Switzerland

So I have officially been up for over 36 hours. A magnificent 36 hours though!! Sally and I left at 2 this morning to catch our flight to Zurich Switzerland. We got here nice an early and spent most of the day wandering around the city center. We went up some of the hills and got some great views of the mountains and Alps, though we could not get many good pictures due to the lighting. The area we walked around was not quite as we expected at first. Zurich is much more shopping focused then we realized and designer stores line the street. This might seem great but it took us 2 hours to find a grocery store let alone a restaurant for lunch! 

We did succeed however and had a nice picnic-esque lunch in a cute little park. I am sad to say that we had what we thought we sad lunches of cheese sandwiches, but we actually amazing!!! It is amazing that after 2 months in England we forgot how good food can taste! We then set out determined to find something Halloween themed because we remembered that it was today! We failed miserably though we did find quite a lot of Christmas stuff!!! There are even lights up already in the city center along the streets. 

After some more walking around the city and down along the river we went back to our hotel early to take naps before dinner.

Too tired to go find a restaurant outside we ate at the hotel, though we finally go some Swiss fondue! It was delicious though contained high amounts of alcohol. It is off to bed early tonight as we have big plans for tomorrow! We are off to the mountains! 

Happy Halloween!!

So it is officially Halloween here, and since it is 2am and I am on my way to the airport, I thought I would fill you guys in on the Halloween traditions in England. According to my British Professor in charge of us, people in England don't particularly celebrate Halloween because they think of it in the religious sense that it is All Hallows' eve. I have noticed however that store do try to make Halloween an event and among all the Christmas decorations (yes Christmas, they start very early here), there are a few Halloween costumes for younger children but no huge sales on bags of fun sized candy or anything like that. In a few hours I will be in Switzerland and I can't wait to see how they celebrate there, or if they too are ready for Christmas already!