BigWeather's Blog

We awoke around 7am and headed to breakfast after our showers, about 8am. We were all geared up for our trip to Mt. Titlis — multiple layers, serious coats, etc. — as it is in the Alps at around 10,000′ and it being, well, December. I wasn’t optimistic about our chances of going, however. While yesterday had been gorgeous a storm had moved in and, while it was fairly nice weather in Lucerne, Mt. Titlis was getting heavy snow and hurricane force winds. As we’d be taking a free-hanging gondola up to the peak… yeah.

After a nice breakfast we were met by Jack and he informed us what we already sort of knew — the excursion to Mt. Titlis was cancelled and Viking would be refunding the money. We headed back up to the room to finish packing and shed off some of our winter clothing then headed back down to check out at about 9:30am. In the lobby we talked with a few Viking representatives and they recommended going across the lake to Burgenstock Resort for a nice substitute trip. They pointed us to pier 7 and we were on our way.

When we got to pier 7 we realized we needed to be at 3. Luckily it wasn’t that far and we made it there with plenty of time to spare. It being the off-season it was just a little over 100CHF round-trip for the three of us and included not only the catamaran ride over but also the funicular up to the resort at 2,000′. There were hardly any people on the boat nor at the resort. We arrived at the top about 10:30am and after using the restroom took some pictures. Genetta and I took a short walk and went over a metal suspension bridge and saw a few carved wooden sculptures. Afterwards, we shopped a bit with Genetta getting a postcard and the both of us getting a free coffee (as part of the initial ticket price).

Sadly we missed the 11:25am funicular back down the mountain so had to wait for the 12:25pm one. None of the restaurants were open so that wasn’t an option. We explored some more and luckily the delay meant we discovered an awesome viewpoint we had missed before so it was all good. It was really neat seeing the lush green hillsides with chalets scattered here and there and the Alps looming in the distance. The viewpoint also provided a panoramic view of the lake and Lucerne. Really breautiful!

We took the 12:25pm funicular back down and met the catamaran. There was a woman on the boat with two enormous but very rich-looking (you know the type) dogs. One was quite dirty, however, and she was in white pants trying desperately to keep the mud off of her. The boat let us off in Lucerne right at 1pm, leaving us enough time to get a bite to eat before returning to the hotel for our departure.

The three of us went to La Piaf, a small cafe in the KLL (the black glass performing arts center on the lake) for lunch. We got a 0.5L bottle of still water for the table. Michelle and I had Croquet Monsieurs, which is ham and Swiss on awesome bread with an egg fried on it. The side salad was even great! Genetta had a sub she didn’t like much. It was a ham and egg with some strange peppers. Guess they can’t all be winners. Wrapped up around 1:30pm and headed straight to the hotel nearby.

Back at the hotel we used the restroom, got our checked backpacks, and hopped on the bus for Basel at around 2pm. Our boat, the Viking Mani, was not in Basel because France had a lock strike and then the lock broke. Our guide for the bus trip to Basel was Brandon, a somewhat younger than us guy from Canada. He was great, giving us lots of facts about Switzerland as well as everyday life.

One of the first things we noticed on the way out of town was a number of steel towers arranged in a rectangle in a vacant lot. Turns out that by law new building proposals require these be erected to show neighbors both the footprint and the height of the proposed building. They’re left up for a bit and the neighbors get to vote on whether the project proceeds.

He told us about fishing in Switzerland — it is strictly catch and kill and a license is only good for a single lake. The country uses extensive use of speed cameras and thus doesn’t have many officers involved in traffic enforcement — it is all done automatically and because the fines are steep drivers generally behave. We passed an immense fortress, Festung Aarburg, on a hillside built by the Habsburgs but now a juvenile detention center. Brandon also showed us some Nazi tank traps. Though Switzerland was neutral they built the traps just in case. He also explained that the various cantons of Switzerland all joined voluntarily over time. Switzerland has great infrastructure (lots and lots of tunnels and fantastic roads) but gas is quite expensive. He also mentioned that closets aren’t really a thing, most people have armoires to hold their clothing and other belongings. Also all livestock, from chickens to cows, must be free-range — meaning that they are not confined and can leave their shelter at any time and go outside.

We arrived at the Hyperion hotel in Basel around 4pm to use the restroom and pick up people that did their pre-stay in Basel. We then proceeded on the bus to Kembs, France and met our boat (moored to a levy) at 5pm. All us guests were very efficiently led to our rooms by members of the crew, who also carried our bags. We were led to the lower deck down the stairs in the middle of the boat and shown our room. Michelle and I had one and Genetta’s was directly next door to the left, both on the starboard side of the ship.

The rooms were small, no doubt, but very functional, bright, and clean. Very Nordic. We took the time to unpack into both the dresser and the coat closet and placed our suitcases under our bed. It was a bit crazy to look out the window (at chest height) and see the water level just a foot below eye level. We headed to a 6:15pm orientation where we met the captain (a Dutchman), our manager (Mohammed), our head chef (and he looked every bit a chef and did this rubbing-tummy-“yummmmmmm” thing), and our on-board tour coordinator, Sharon. Afterwards we had a quick safety check involving our life jackets on the main deck.

We headed to dinner at 7:15pm. It was fantastic! The way lunch and dinner work is that there’s always some items on the left available like steak, chicken, classic vegetables. On the right the menu varies daily, with regional offerings. There is a salad then main course then dessert and one can mix and match between the left and right sides. They’re very flexible. I had a German salad with pickled cucumbers, ham, and cheese followed by veal in a mushroom sauce with a potato pancake and coffee ice cream (!) to top it off. Genetta had what I had except for the salad, she opted for a Caesar salad. Michelle had a Caesar salad, rotisserie chicken, and mashed potatoes. I drank coffee and Genetta had some wine.

Our dinner company was nice. It was a dude and his wife, both general managers of live music venues in Washington (used to live in Colorado). Accompanying them were his parents and his 80yo aunt living in Florida. They also had a cute tiny dog with them. The guy looked just like Scott Ian from Anthrax, it was uncanny. We talked about concerts and the odd requests that acts had, like a black metal band that wanted to sacrifice a live goat before the show. He managed to talk them down to a dead goat. Also learned about a famous artist that really, really hates air conditioning and demanded to be paid up-front.

Headed back to the cabin around 9:30pm for blogging and relaxing before bed at 12am.

We awoke (after a few presses of the snooze button) at around 7:20am and got ready for a second day in Lucerne. We headed downstairs around 8:45am and enjoyed the Radisson Blu’s buffet. It was actually quite good, having a lot of choices — meats and cheeses, bacon, eggs (fried & scrambled), hash browns (if a little tater tot for my taste), croissants, breads, and even some Indian food. I focused mainly on the croissants with strawberry jam while Michelle had bacon and scrambled eggs. Genetta appeared shortly thereafter and had some bacon and fried eggs and some yogurt. Michelle went back up to the room as she wasn’t feeling great while I sat with Genetta and we had tea.

At 10am Genetta and I went down to the lobby for the guided tour. Unfortunately, Michelle wasn’t up to it. Stepping out of the hotel we were surprised by how nice the day was — nearly perfect blue skies with just a few clouds here and there. We walked along the lake, the blue sky reflected beautifully. Jack pointed at the row of large buildings across the lake — hotels built during the Victorian tourism boom. We once again passed the train station with its former entrance (now free standing arch) and walked onto Kapellbruke. Jack explained that the bridge had almost 80% burned in August 1993, likely the result of a late-night toss of a cigarette into a wooden boat moored to one of the bridge’s pilings below. Mooring boats is no longer permitted. It re-opened in 1994. Sadly only 30 of the original 150 or so paintings from the 1600s survived. Some of the burnt timbers were left in situ.

Rather than cross the bridge we stayed on the south side of the river. Jack pointed out the Rathaus Brauerei, a building that was built from 1602 and 1606 and served as town hall and held the corn market. Still visible were the arches that in the past let boats go under the building and unload goods. With the river banks filled in and paved to allow for foot traffic they form a pleasant arcade. Jack pointed down river at the an ornate white building perched high on the hillside. This was the Hotel Chateau Gutsch. After Queen Victoria visited Lucerne while in mourning over Albert (and carried up Mt. Pilatus on a litter) she wrote letters about how much she enjoyed the visit. This kicked off a tourism boom marked by building lots of hotels, including this one.

We then walked to the Jesuit Church (Jesuitenkirche Luzern). The Jesuits were invited by Lucerne residents to stave off the advance of Protestantism from the north in the mid-1500s. The church itself was consecrated in 1677. Lucerne is pretty much the furthest north in Switzerland that Catholicism still has a foothold. In front above the doors was a statue of Francis Xavier converting Indians. The only problem was they sculpted Native Americans rather than Indians, as Xavier had traveled to India. We went inside the church and, while not as ornate as most Catholic churches we had seen, was adorned with bright paintings and golden chandeliers in the Baroque style.

Our next stop was a building with flags of all of the parts of Lucerne’s canton flying above it. Jack pointed out that one of the benefits of living in Switzerland was the flag — it’s a big plus (rimshot). The building was built by a returned mercenary. Switzerland has a long history of providing mercenary forces for various countries in Europe, including the Swiss Guard which to this day guards the Vatican. This mercenary, flush with cash, commissioned an architect to build this massive stone building in the 1600s. Eventually running short on funds he accused the architect of a crime and, on his way to his death he cursed the mercenary, saying he wouldn’t live to see the building finished. He didn’t, allegedly dying in the following year.

Jack also stood by a public fountain and said that it was one of many fountains throughout Lucerne. Once vital for sanitary reasons the fountains are still treasured by the residents. There had been talk of getting rid of them to save some amount of euros but the residents voted for a tax for their upkeep. He explained that the Swiss vote on everything and tend to be fairly rigid and private. He said one of the worst things you could do would be firing up a leaf blower too early and disturbing your neighbors. 100% agree on that! Also, he noted that many restaurants have hides and furs for use by people eating outside during the winter. The residents had voted down allowing space heaters and such as they didn’t want people lingering too long outside during the winter eating, drinking, and carrying-on.

We walked over the river on a small pedestrian bridge, taking the time to admire a small dam / lock on the river. The water was stopped by a series of over a hundred wooden “paddles” and opening them required people to get in a rowboat and lift them up one-by-one. Passing the window of a mouth-watering bakery we came upon a courtyard with a very spindly tree — a linden tree. According to legend, one can not tell a lie while standing under a linden tree. A linden had grown on the spot for years as it was right next to medieval Lucerne’s courthouse, now the ornately decorated Hotel des Balances (Hotel of Scales). Walking past the old wine market and to the old corn market we came upon a charming nativity scene in front of the impressive clock tower of the old town hall.

A bit farther down we came upon a small white chapel, Peterskapell, the chapel at the end of the bridge for which Kapellbruke was named. Those coming into the city via the bridge would have to pass through and acknowledge the church. Also in the plaza in front of the church was an ornate fountain with a soldier atop it — another mercenary. Unlike the one earlier this one was beloved as he came back to Lucerne and spent his money on the people by throwing elaborate celebrations and handing out oranges. To this day the celebration is held during Fasnacht, basically German Carnival / Mardi Gras. Tens of thousands pack the small square, a far cry from the near emptiness of a very beautiful, but cold, Thursday in December.

At this point Jack left us to our own devices. It was about noon and Genetta and I knew we should probably go back to the hotel but we were this close to the shopping district we wanted to check out. So we did. We passed a store called Bucherer with a giant Christmas tree above the entrance and neat wind-up Nutcracker soldiers in the window and Chocolatier Bachmann which had a really neat chocolate fountain / wall inside. After that we visited Laderach where we tasted some tasty dark chocolate almond bark (and bought some). We also visited another chocolate store and I bought a Swiss milk jug with chocolate truffles inside and we found a nice magnet and some postcards. We headed back through town and got a gingerbread latte for Genetta at a cafe that I was clearly too old to be seen in and then went across Spreuerbrucke with its danse macabre paintings as Genetta hadn’t seen them yet. Heading back toward the hotel on the south side of the river we crossed Kapellbrucke back to the north bank then came back south on the auto bridge as it offered some amazing views of the mountains beyond the lake.

Now 1:45pm (oops), we arrive back at the hotel and pick up Michelle and head for lunch. We had a mind to get some fondue so headed to the Restaurant Fritschi. While the hotel had amazing paintings of the beloved mercenary something seemed a bit off once we entered. Thus we decided to head to Zunfthausrestaurant Pfistern, which was also elaborately decorated. It being past 2pm the restaurant was mainly empty. We enjoyed a cheese fondue with potatoes and bread and still water. At first it tasted a little funky (no weak sauce cheese like we have in the US) but I quickly grew to love it. Fully stuffed we walked out to the late afternoon light.

As we walked toward Lucerne’s main Christmas Market (surrounding the Franciscan church) I tried to give approximately the tour Genetta and I took in the morning for Michelle to catch her up, hitting many of the same places. We arrived at the Christmas Market on the south bank (Genetta and I had passed it earlier) near the Jesuit church about 4pm. It was opening day and not too crowded yet as it wasn’t night. We enjoyed shopping the small wooden house-like stalls and admired the large horizontal wreath with four large candles near the fountain. Michelle and Genetta bought some souvenirs and we enjoyed some mulled wine in souvenir Lucerne mugs.

Resting on a bench we listened to a person play the accordion before heading back along the river to the hotel. As it was nearly dark all of the Christmas decorations were lit up and it was quite beautiful.

We arrived at the hotel around 5pm and rested for a few before heading to Osteria across the street for dinner around 6pm. They were packed, however, so we went to the Luce bar in the Radisson to have some tea. While there we talked to some people from South Carolina as well as a lady who had gone up to the Hotel Chateau Gutsch for lunch. It sounded like the view was amazing and lunch was very tasty.

At 8pm we tried our luck with Osteria again. While still packed we were seated and enjoyed an excellent dinner of bruschetta as well as pancetta and mushroom pizza. Genetta had some hot chocolate while Michelle and I had still water. Around 9:15pm we headed back across the street to our hotel to relax and work on the blog, with sleep following shortly thereafter.

On Tuesday, December 3rd we wrapped up packing after eating bagels for breakfast. Addison drove us to the airport, dropping us off at around 11am. We veritably sailed through self check-in with United, baggage drop off, and TSA, leaving us before noon with quite a bit of time to kill before boarding at around 2pm. We decided to enjoy a sit-down at Whiskey River. Michelle had a delicious pork sandwich (it truly was, I tried some of the meat — flavorful and moist!) while Genetta and I had Southwest style bacon cheeseburgers (though she had tots and I had a decent side salad).

When they were halfway boarding they announced a delay from a 2:30pm departure to a 3:15pm departure, but then backed that up to 2:45pm — yay! Not so fast. Once on the plane and out on the runway the pilot informed us that the snow in the Northeast had unexpectedly dipped south over Newark and there was a full ground stop for at least thirty minutes. I don’t know what year he thought it was but his lie was easily disproven with a quick look at the phone. Regardless, not much we could do but grumble. Finally we were up in the air but much later than intended. On the flight we met a nice couple from Holly Springs that were also going on to Zurich then Budapest for a Christmas Market bus tour. They had visited a number of the places we were to visit with this trip, however, and were able to provide insight. Upon landing in Newark the pilot announced it was 43F and partly cloudy — no acknowledgement of his prior lie what-so-ever. I mean, make up something believable but unproveable like “a flock of Canadian geese blocked the runway for a bit”. Believable because those birds are assholes. I later learned the real reason for the delay was FAA staff shortages incurred by them trying to move ATC for Newark to Philadelphia. The clown show continued, however, when we sat 50 yards from the jetway for fifteen minutes since they didn’t have the ground crew to bring us all the way in. Then the jetway had issues synching up with the plane, leading to the plane having to be pushed back a foot!

The flight to Zurich was fairly uneventful. Despite flying full economy (Economy Plus wasn’t available when we booked) there was ample leg room. I spent most of the time watching an interesting documentary about Mad Max fans and their gatherings, trying to sleep, and watching our progress on the flight map. Apparently doing that (watching the map) is part of what the youths call “raw dogging a flight” — oooookay. Michelle watched the new “The Fall Guy” movie and Genetta “IF” (Imaginary Friend) and “The Fellowship of the Ring” to go to sleep to. The dinner wasn’t too bad — some beef and vegetables with “potatoes” — polenta, I think. Ok, it wasn’t great. Better than breakfast, though, which was this kinda nasty sausage McMuffin… thing.

Anyhow, landed in the early morning and used the restrooms, got some croissants, zipped through customs, and picked up our luggage. We encountered two other Viking travelers and the Viking rep who got on onboard a small van for our drive to Lucerne. The day was quite rainy and a bit dreary but it was still an enjoyable ride staring out the window at the traffic, road signs, farms, etc. while succumbing to sleep occasionally. After nearly an hour we entered Lucerne, passing one of the towers of the town wall and many stores and other points of interest.

On arriving in Lucerne at the Radisson Blu we were greeted by Jack, Viking’s representative during our stay in Lucerne. He gave us a brief talk about the coming days, the various excursions people were doing, timing, etc. He stays at a desk in the hotel every day 8am to 6pm helping anybody with Viking in a concierge way — really neat. As our rooms weren’t ready we left the luggage in the hotel lobby and six of us (including myself and Genetta) went on a quick orientation walk with Jack. We left the hotel and walked around it and the train station with the lake to our right. There was even a rink for curling at the hotel! Just beyond the hotel was the site of one of Lucerne’s two Christmas markets opening tonight with the later, larger one, opening tomorrow night. Though the clouds were low and it was spitting rain the lake and the many ferries upon it were serene and quite scenic.

We passed Lucerne’s very modern looking arts center and came upon a neat ice-themed area adjacent. A zamboni was working a small rink and there were some food stands and cute seating for two in repurposed ski lift pods. We walked beyond the arch that stood at the entrance to the train station then stood on a quay overlooking the old town across the river as well as the famous Kapellbrucke, or Chapel Bridge, that crossed the River Reuss that runs through town. The arch was the entrance of the previous train station that burned down in 1971. Jack gave us some tips on buying chocolate (where to find, what to buy for personal consumption and what to buy for taking home including some non-exported cheaper “grocery store” brands (from Coop and Migros) that are amazing) as well as navigation tips in the city. He told us a bit of his background — he is from Indianapolis but moved with his wife five years ago as she works for the elevator company (it has its ups and downs, bummm-tish!) Schindler at their world headquarters just outside of town. Lucky!

The orientation walk over, Genetta and I set out on a brief visit to the train station where there is a fairly large shopping area below that includes some of the aforementioned chocolate stores. We saw the location of one of the fanciest chocolatiers, Laderach, which had some amazing chocolate displays. We ended up getting a very festive chocolate cupcake with a gingerbread man and candy cane from another nearby store, Bachmann. We also saw a Coop and Migros location right there in the station.

We headed back to the hotel around noon to meet up with Michelle and check in to our rooms. As Genetta’s room wasn’t quite ready yet she stayed with us and ate the cupcake and then she and Michelle took a nap as I tried to figure out where we could eat. About 2pm we visited Jack and got a list of four places on our side of the river — and then promptly tossed those out the window and crossed the river Rathaussteg, an open bridge decorated with greenery just west of the Kapellbrucke.

We decided to eat at Rathaus Brauerei, a place offering traditional Swiss and German fare. It was an old stone building on the river front spruced up for Christmas with nice decorations. We shared a still water and Michelle and I each had those tiny cans of Ginger Ale that Europe seems to love serving. Michelle had a pretzel (a bit salty) and two white sausages (one shared with Genetta). Genetta had the house sausages as well with potato salad. I had “Lucerne Cheese Pie” which was basically a really generous (and tasty!) slice of quiche with many local cheeses and a nice crust. I also ordered that “garnished” with a salad. I wasn’t sure exactly what that entailed but it was actually impressive — a mass of various types of salad with a Ranch-like dressing as well as some beets (thankfully to the side), carrots, cucumbers, etc. It was actually quite tasty. The restaurant also had a funky bathroom situation — out through the back past the bar and a courtyard then up some stairs to an obviously old part of the building with a pillar in the middle of the sink area. The toilet itself sat in a room that got increasingly narrower. The whole set up reminded me of some of the restaurants in New Orleans like Mona Lisa Pizza.

After eating Michelle was wanting to go back to the room and rest, as was Genetta. They decided to head back while I explored a little. I had wanted to visit a comic shop to see if they had any bandes-desinee in the style of the Vasco books that I had bought in Switzerland in 1988. I strolled through the old city, continually surprised by quiet alleys and quaint squares with fountains. It was really neat to see how many stores had Christmas displays in their windows. I finally came to the Spreuerbrucke, a bridge from the 1500s with dozens of “dance of death” paintings that show scenes of daily life but with skeletons in them to remind the living of their mortality. Exceptionally creepy but really cool. There was also a small chapel with a statue of Mary and lots of flowers and stained glass windows providing a ton of color.

After crossing the bridge I was in the new(er) city and found the comic (and vinyl) store. Though they didn’t have any Vasco they did have a cool pirate-themed bande-desinee in German that I couldn’t resist. After leaving the store I stumbled upon the not-yet-opened main Christmas market of Lucerne. As it was getting quite dark (despite being only 5pm!) I resolved to hurry back to the hotel. That resolve was quickly weakened by the sound of cowbells from across the river. A small procession of children carrying cowbells was the source of the commotion. They were followed by a person that looked like Santa Claus (wearing red, carrying a staff, and sporting a long white beard) and a person at his side wearing a brown robe. Following them was some livestock (a mule or donkey, maybe a goat, etc.). I took note (and pictures) and decided to ask Jack back at the hotel what was up with that. I continued walking towards the hotel, snapping pictures of the bridges that were now fully lit in the late evening light.

I returned to the hotel and checked on Michelle, who was fast asleep. I took a quick nap as well then Genetta and I headed out to Rudolfs Christmas market near the hotel at 7pm. Despite the cold and fairly large cloud we had a very enjoyable time. The crowd definitely skewed younger, mostly young professionals and a few soldiers in uniform enjoying leave. Mostly locals as we heard almost exclusively German — something we would notice about subsequent markets. I had feared they’d be inundated with English-speaking tourists but that often wasn’t the case.

We shared a potato that was sliced and impaled on a three foot wooden skewer. It was lightly fried and salted and was delicious! Genetta had a cinnamon and apple crepe while I had a waffle with cinnamon sugar. We finished up with two chimney cakes that we took back to the hotel and ate with Michelle before blogging a bit and heading to bed around 11pm.