It’s 3 AM and time to get up! At least that’s what our bodies and minds did. Get up, get up, get up! It was still dark, so we laid in bed and probably fell back asleep, but then were fully wake again by six or so. The plan was to go up the gondolas into the mountains and hang out on Mount Titlis, but the day was cloudy and rainy, and you couldn’t see the mountains at all in the morning. The webcams at the summit were totally greyed out, so we decided to head back to Lucerne for a day in the city. But, not before we had a tasty breakfast! Oh, the joys of European hotels where they have amazing food for breakfast. Fresh bread, fresh jam, fresh yoghurt and granola, croissants aplenty, cheese for days, fresh juices, eggs, sausage and of course gemüse! There is nothing like stewed vegetables for breakfast. Europeans really take their time eating in the morning, for lunch and for dinner. It’s a nice way to live. Not a nice way to live was the Muslim couple behind us. The wife was all bundled up and the husband was a douche bag. It made everyone very uncomfortable. I think Sara felt like she had to go liberate this lady from her and take her out on the town, go watch Pitch Perfect 2 and have a girl’s day at the spa, because they were pretty hard core. Obviously, we saw plenty of happy Muslim couples on our trip, but this was a bit hard to see. So, we stopped seeing it and left for Lucerne.
The train ride down was pleasant, and we arrived back at the Lucerne train station with no rain and somewhat sunny skies. It was a perfect day for a walk around the town. We saw the Castle bridge first and admired all the pretty flowers. We then admired all the chocolate and bought some Luxembergli. The first taste of these little macaroons are life changing. It was a wonderful moment and we walked from there up to the sad Lion monument that commemorates the lives of Swiss conscripts killed serving French Kings. It was kind of a staggering number in the end. It also seems to be the lion that they based the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on because he was a dead ringer for Asland. We then walked through the shopping area and back over to the Castle bridge (and crossed it this time) taking the obligate number of selfies. Then it was shopping time for a few minutes (Sara found Madeline some cute clothes that were more expensive than our last car). In a panic, Mike discovered a distraction: lunch! So, we ate fondue and salad down by the river. Following lunch there was more strolling to other bridges, watching ducks surf the rapids, and then off to the castle wall that sits on a hill overlooking the city. The views from the top were outstanding, but the best part (in Mike’s mind) was that there were two little girls from the UK that sounded 100% exactly like Bluey and Bingo. Mesmerized, we unknowingly followed them down the stairs and out into the courtyard where the parents politely told us to “pop off”. No, actually they were a super nice family, and we enjoyed a quick little convo with them. We popped back up the castle for some more amazing views, and some more Luxembergli. We ate these while sitting at the lake watching the swans swim by and wondering why we don’t live in Switzerland. One of the boats on the lake was even named the Wilhelm Tell, so it seemed like a sign. Tired from our day in Lucerne, we hopped back on the train to Engelberg. By now, the clouds had cleared up and we went for a long walk around the town, up into the canyons and marveled at the beautiful views. It was stunning. So much green, so much water, so may mountains! It really is a beautiful place, and we were grateful to be able to see it without being covered in clouds. After our long walk, we found another Italian style place and got a pizza and some dessert. What struck us the most was that everyone else, after they finished their meals, pulled out card games and started playing them at the tables. It was so fun to see friends and families, just sitting playing games after dinner instead of getting back on their phones. Very refreshing. No games for us, however, we were again exhausted, so it was off to bed.
The train ride down was pleasant, and we arrived back at the Lucerne train station with no rain and somewhat sunny skies. It was a perfect day for a walk around the town. We saw the Castle bridge first and admired all the pretty flowers. We then admired all the chocolate and bought some Luxembergli. The first taste of these little macaroons are life changing. It was a wonderful moment and we walked from there up to the sad Lion monument that commemorates the lives of Swiss conscripts killed serving French Kings. It was kind of a staggering number in the end. It also seems to be the lion that they based the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on because he was a dead ringer for Asland. We then walked through the shopping area and back over to the Castle bridge (and crossed it this time) taking the obligate number of selfies. Then it was shopping time for a few minutes (Sara found Madeline some cute clothes that were more expensive than our last car). In a panic, Mike discovered a distraction: lunch! So, we ate fondue and salad down by the river. Following lunch there was more strolling to other bridges, watching ducks surf the rapids, and then off to the castle wall that sits on a hill overlooking the city. The views from the top were outstanding, but the best part (in Mike’s mind) was that there were two little girls from the UK that sounded 100% exactly like Bluey and Bingo. Mesmerized, we unknowingly followed them down the stairs and out into the courtyard where the parents politely told us to “pop off”. No, actually they were a super nice family, and we enjoyed a quick little convo with them. We popped back up the castle for some more amazing views, and some more Luxembergli. We ate these while sitting at the lake watching the swans swim by and wondering why we don’t live in Switzerland. One of the boats on the lake was even named the Wilhelm Tell, so it seemed like a sign. Tired from our day in Lucerne, we hopped back on the train to Engelberg. By now, the clouds had cleared up and we went for a long walk around the town, up into the canyons and marveled at the beautiful views. It was stunning. So much green, so much water, so may mountains! It really is a beautiful place, and we were grateful to be able to see it without being covered in clouds. After our long walk, we found another Italian style place and got a pizza and some dessert. What struck us the most was that everyone else, after they finished their meals, pulled out card games and started playing them at the tables. It was so fun to see friends and families, just sitting playing games after dinner instead of getting back on their phones. Very refreshing. No games for us, however, we were again exhausted, so it was off to bed.
train ride to lucerne
lucerne
walk around engelberg
