Tag: Glorious Switzerland

Last up on our Discovery of Switzerland was Lucerne. Lucerne is a compact city known for its preserved medieval architecture and sits amid snowcapped mountains on Lake Lucerne.

The Old town is colorful with decorated buildings and wondering cobblestone streets. One of the main attractions is the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower.

The Bridge is a covered wooden footbridge spanning the River Reuss diagonally between the two sides of the river. It is probably the oldest wooden bridge in Switzerland dating back to the middle of the 14^th century. It also has old paintings under the roofs.

Some of it was rebuilt in the 20^th century after a fire. The bridge traffic also provided Janeen with a sighting of a St. Bernard puppy. The northern end of the bridge once lead directly into St. Peter’s Chapel,

today a riverside promenade separates the two.

Another notable site to see is the Lion Monument. This Monument is dedicated to the memory of the Swiss mercenaries who, in the service of Louis XVI King of France were killed during the French Revolution in Paris when the Tuileries were invaded on August 10, 1792.

The inscription “Helvetiorum fidei ac virtuti means” To the loyal and bravery of the Swiss”. The Lion’s Swiss Cross Halbard is covered by the fleur- de- lys of France, which the soldiers had pledged to protect.  The Danish sculptor, Bertel Thorvaldsen, designed the Lion Monument when he was in Rome in 1819. It was installed in the sandstone rock in 1820 or so and is 6 meters high and ten meters long.

Mark Twain praised the sculpture of a mortally wounded lion as “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world”.

After walking around the Old Town and enjoying the sites (peonies in the flower market)

and sounds (church bells) of the city market (it was market day after all) we went back to our hotel to get ready for our boat ride and cable car ride to the summit of Stanserhorn arranged for the following morning.

We had opted for the Lake Lucerne cruise for a chance to take in the wonderful mountain scenery from the water and enjoy a leisurely lake cruise before boarding our coach again for a quick ride to the funicular and open top cable car to the top of Mount Stanserhorn.

We have been on several funiculars throughout Europe so this wasn’t as impressive as the cable car.

This is the world’s only sun deck cable car with an enclosed cabin below and standing space on the roof!

The double cable system gives a very stable ride and was quite impressive as we climbed to the mountaintop at over 6,000 feet.

At the top, which still had snow, we had a lovely hot chocolate and headed back down seeing a double rainbow along the way!

That evening was the final gathering and dinner was delightful. The following morning we were off to Zurich and the airport for a flight to Paris.

 

 

 

We started the day in a very relaxed mode – a train ride from St Moritz to Chur.  This was a lovely run over the Grison Mountains but unlike our previous train the windows won’t open so the pictures were not as great.  However, the views continue to be amazing and beautiful.  Along the way we say a number of small villages, open meadows of green grass, some brown cows and ice capped mountains.

After the train we boarded our couch and headed to the 4th smallest country of Europe – Liechtenstein.

Liechtenstein, officially the Principality of Liechtenstein, is a land locked German-speaking microstate boarded by Switzerland and Austria. It is the fourth smallest country with an area of just over 62 square miles and a population of just 38,000. While we were visiting we did get a stamp in our passport!

 

Our Insight Tour was a great way to learn about Switzerland and its people and culture.  Throughout our adventure, Rob our Tour Manager, did a good job of giving us just enough information to appreciate how the country has evolved over the years and how it has been able to maintain its neutrality for the last 400 years.

 

 

After our adventures in Zermatt and the beauty of the Matterhorn and Italy we climbed aboard our coach and off we went. The first stop, along the way, was a photo op at Julier Pass. At the top of the pass are remains of a Roman temple and cart tracks showing the importance of this pass all the way back to Roman times. The road was constructed in the 1820s. The pass is at 7,493 feet! ;and on a clear day offers stunning views.

 

At the end of the our day was St Moritz. Now this place is clearly a resort town and basically open only during the winter. St. Moritz may be small, but it’s a heavyweight in the world of fashion.

From Armani and Gucci to Zegna, the Alpine resort’s selection of renowned fashion labels is second to none. Fortunately for my wallet virtually all of the stores were closed between seasons.

The following day we boarded the train to ride along part of the route of the Glacier Express,

across the Grison Mountains and through unforgettable scenes of ice-capped mountains, stone-built villages and lush meadows. I will let the pictures tell the tale of this trip.

Once we reached the end of the line our couch picked us up and we headed to Liechtenstein and Lucerne but more about that latter.

 

 

Having viewed Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) from Geneva and Montreux, we journeyed south via coach to Tasch to ride the cogwheel train from Tasch to Zermatt.

About 20 years ago, Zermatt realized they were developing a smog issue and all public vehicles (except outside construction) have been electric since the 1970s.

After a short walk from the station we arrived at the Alex Hotel. We checked in and were assigned an elegant suite with balcony overlooking the iconic peak, The Matterhorn.

The next morning, a part of our group of 37 ventured up the peak for Alpine views and the remainder of us enjoyed sunshine, hot chocolate, and strolls through the town.

Zermatt is at an elevation of 5,249ft and lies below the iconic Matterhorn peak. Its main street is lined with boutique shops, hotels and restaurants all with a lively après-ski scene.

Just a short walk from our hotel is the Matterhorn Museum.

The Museum has gathered cultural-natural displays of a Matterhorn village attempts to “conquer” the Matterhorn plus a number of significant artifacts are on display. It was an interesting place to spend an hour or so.

Our evening in Zermatt included a delicious dining experience where we got to know members of our group and prepared for our morning departure that included a coach ride over the Simplon Pass into Italy.

Napolean led his troops through Simplon Pass (6,578 ft.) on his grab for empire, but probably did not record the stellar views en route like our tour did. Our coach brought us to Baveno Piedmont Italy on Lake Maggiore in a cloud of rain. After checking into the hotel, a fairly large sub-set of the group boarded a boat for Isola Bella estate.

Isola Bella is a privately owned island with a Palace and lovely gardens.

Owned by the same family (bankers from Milan) since the mid 1600’s it was built to impress the guests and it clearly does that very well.   Originally we had been hesitant to sign on for this optional tour as we had visited the Palace during our trip to the Lake District of Italy a few years ago. However, even in the rain the tour was wonderful (fortunately our tour was primarily for the interior of the Palace) as our guide

was very knowledgeable and brought the place to life during our tour. and even the rain outdoors didn’t dim the experience. Having been owned by the same family for generations,

it has been decorated over several decades, and reflects decorative changes, but always with a focus on impressing.

Multiple Venetian glass chandeliers reflect the intent. The Grotto, constructed in the lower level of the Palace, gives the impression of sea caves and is very creative and imaginative.

Despite a gentle drizzle, white peacocks roamed the gardens, and the dogwood and azaleas splashed color.

After completing the tour and visiting the gardens, we adjourned to a short boat ride to Fisherman’s island nearby, and a splendid Italian meal with music, wine and many courses.

After visiting in Bern we drove to Geneva,the starting point for our Insight Tours – Glorious Switzerland adventure. This fit perfectly into our schedule and filled the gap between the end of our river cruise and our departure on the 15th of May. Neither of us had really been to Switzerland and signing on for this tour seemed a good way to get an overview of the Country.

Geneva – Situated along the banks of, you guessed it, Lake Geneva is the Headquarters of Europe’s United Nations,

the Red Cross, UNICEF and a number of other world organizations. Aside from all the. international organizations, it is also the headquarters for some of the best known watchmakers in the world including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Raymond Weil and many others. It also has a very large banking operation so the City isn’t lacking for money.

Our first evening included a welcome dinner at a local restaurant (did I mention we were staying in a 5 star hotel? Hotel d’Angleterre which was wonderful) and tastes of local dishes. Dinner included adult beverages which is always nice.

The following morning on the coach (that sounds so much better than bus doesn’t it?) off we went. First stop was The International Monument to the Reformation but usually just called the Reformation Wall.

This honors individuals, events and documents of the protestant Reformation depicted as statues and bas-reliefs on the wall.

This is in a lovely park and could certainly get crowded so it was good we were there early.

After a stop at the Floral Clock

we drove by many of the headquarter buildings for the various world organizations.

After leaving Geneva, and driving along the shores of the lake, we stopped at a medieval castle, Chillon. This Castle is a fortress celebrated for its beauty and is widely regarded as one of the best-preserved medieval castles in Europe.

The Castle is the former home of the Counts of Savoy (Major power for a very long time in the middle ages) and was immortalized by Byron’s poem, ‘Prisoner of Chillon’. It sits on an outcropping of rock along the banks of the Lake and was a defensive installation and also a place where taxes were collected for goods passing along the road on one side and the river on the other.

Our guide toured us through the structure and pointed out a number of very interesting areas. It was interesting to see the construction of the place and how well it has been preserved over the years.

After touring the castle, we continued our travels around the lake ending up in Montreux.

Now all I really know about Montreux is they have a world class Jazz Festival each year and have been doing it since 1967 making it possible the longest running festival of its kind and to which I would love to go.

This event is 2 weeks of music along the Lake and maybe sometime I’ll be able to attend. There are several other music events throughout the year and the place really is beautiful as it is situated on the Lake with the Alps all around.

Last year a movie was released called Bohemian Rhapsody. I hadn’t seen it prior to being in Montreux but I soon learned the movie was about Freddie Mercury – lead singer for Queen. During the ‘80’s I wasn’t a Queen fan so really had no clue about Freddie or knew anything about him. Well, turns out he spent a lot of time in Montreux and after his death the City erected a statue in his honor

and there is a Freddie Mercury Montreux Memorial Day festival that has been on-going since 2003. So, of course, we had to stop at the Statue had take a picture or two.

After walking around and taking some lovely pictures we had a very nice Italian lunch.

After leaving Montreux we were off to Zermatt and a visit to the Matterhorn.