MONDAY 28 JULY 2014.  LUZERN.

Bright sunny morning when we woke up.  After breakfast at the Hotel we headed for the railway station and caught a train to Luzern.  The journey took about 45 minutes.  Swiss trains always run on time.   Went into the tourist information office on arrival and picked up a map, then headed for the old town.  Discovered this lovely covered bridge - apparently the longest in Switzerland.  Spent time walking around the old town - Brian was a bit disappointed - it was not as extensive as he had anticipated.  I guess we were spoilt by the size of the Zurich old town.  Eventually found our way to a walk around the town walls with all their very Swiss towers.

Bought a picnic lunch and sat on one of the seats in the bridge to eat it.  

Then a stroll down by the lake before heading back to the station and the train back to Zurich. 

A "Grand Budapest Hotel" on the Hill overlooking Lake Luzern.  We saw lots of Hotels du Lac in Switzerland.  Some that had a touch of 'faded elegance' but others like this one on top of the hill that were very very grand.

As usual Brian well out in front of me going up hill!  This was the first of about six towers on our walk around the walls of the city. 







Flowers everywhere.  This is part of the longest covered bridge in Switzerland.


The photo below was just one of the grass verges on our way back from the city wall walk.   

The Ugly Ducklings - i.e. swan chicks on the edge of the lake.







A fantastic wedding cake in a shop window.  I sent a copy of it to my Peruvian student who is getting married in September.







TUESDAY 29 JULY, 2014.  OUR LAST DAY IN EUROPE.

Woke to more rain.  Had breakfast at the Hotel.  Packed up and took the bags down for storage.  Then donned our raincoats and headed out to the old town once more. 

Decided that rather than spend the whole day walking around the city, we would go to the movies to see "Boyhood".  Glad we did.  It is a long movie, over 2 hours, but very interesting.  Enjoyable, and sad, but entertaining too.

Before going there, decided that we should spend the last of our Swiss francs so headed for the chocolate section of the COOP so that we could bring home some of the famous Swiss chocolate to all our chocaholics in Oz.  Going there was a good move because we got more for our money than we would have done at the airport.

Returned to the hotel to collect the bags around 5.30, and caught a tram to the airport.  The journey took about half an hour.  When we arrived, we walked straight from the tram stop into the departures section of the airport. All the procedures were quick and easy so we were soon sitting down having a drink and some snacks.  Brian bought a pair of shoes which he managed to pack into his backpack and then it was time to board the plane for the 10 hour flight to Seoul. 

When we arrived, we searched for the lounge that Brian had discovered on the internet.  Unfortunately, it was closed.  But there were facilities in that area of the airport which were much more comfortable than the departure lounge. We found some comfortable full length lounge type chairs and spent the three hour wait relaxing as much as one can in an airport.  

Boarded the flight for yet another 10.5 hour journey on the plane, plus a 3.5 hour journey on the bus to Canberra.  We were pleasantly surprised when we found out seats.  We had two aisle seats, but they were two together in the middle of the plane.  The arrangement throughout economy was 2 x 4 x 2 across the body of the plane, but at the back the 4 seats were reduced to two so that the trolleys etc that came from the galley could be manipulated. There were about six rows with this combination and it was really comfortable because we had more leg room, and unlike the first leg we were served first, so the food was hot.  

Arrived in Sydney around 6.30 with about 20 other international flights, or so it seemed to Brian, because there were sooo many people there.  Fortunately though the new e/passport control meant that we were through without any delays and were able to have a coffee at Rydges Hotel before getting on the 8.15 am bus to Canberra.

Therese picked us up in the Subaru, drove us home to some nice soup she had made and left us to recover.  By this time it was lunch time Thursday afternoon.  So we hadn't been to bed since getting up at around 7.00 am on Tuesday morning.  Don't think I want to do that kind of trip again, although I didn't feel too bad when we finally got home.  

So this is the last post to the 2014 blog.  It has been a wonderful trip. Brian's organisation skills really came to the fore and everything went so smoothly it was almost too easy. I really enjoyed spending the time that we did with the English family, and also the different areas we visited.  Switzerland was wonderful so I'm really glad that after all these years, we finally got to see it. Must admit though that we were not particularly impressed by the Swiss cuisine.  We ate out a few times and the best meal we had was at an Italian restaurant.  

We hope you have enjoyed reading the blog - I keep telling everyone it means that you don't have to sit through the slideshow at the end and we don't have to try to remember what we did when and where so it represents a "my trip" log.

All the best

Mary and Brian. 

When I went to make a cup of tea after typing the above, this is what I saw through the kitchen window!  It is great to go travelling, but it is also good to come home.

Zurich

WILDERSWILL TO ZURICH 26 JULY 2014

Packed up after breakfast.  Said goodbye to the lovely and talented Gabi, and Fritz drove us to the Station at Interlaken.  Caught the train that was going through Bern to Berlin.  Had 10 minutes there to change trains for one to Zurich.  Took some time to find the platform but got there just in time to board the dining room car.  This was a small section of the lower part of a two storey carriage.  It had a couple of chairs and a serving station, which meant that Brian had to take our cases upstairs and then down again when we got to Zurich.  He says he is definitely going to get a much smaller case for any future travelling.  I guess that means that he won't be bringing the lap top next time, and that we will have to be travelling to somewhere where only light weight clothing is required.

It rained the whole day, and when we got to Zurich, we started looking for the Hotel in the rain.  Brian eventually  left me looking after the cases in a street which we later discovered is in the red light area and went to see if he could find it.  But he got lost and had difficulty in eventually finding me.  I couldn't believe that after about 45 minutes he still had not found the hotel.  He had asked several people, but none of them knew where it was.  I sent him into a hotel opposite where I had been waiting with the bags, and would you believe, it was next door!  It is on at the point of a triangle where two streets running in the same direction meet, and the name of the hotel is covered by a tree.

After checking in, we donned rain coats and walked for about three hours.  We went back to the station to check out about checking the cases in for the flight home on Tuesday night, only to find that we can't do it in advance.  However, we can leave the cases at the hotel, which is good because the flight doesn't leave until 9.30 pm.

Zurich is a very nice city.  The old town is a network of narrow streets and lane ways where you come upon lots of bars, cafés etc.  The shops are interesting, and the shoe shops of which there appear to be hundreds are to die for. 

  I told Brian I was going to buy these for Diane, but he said that they would cost more than the limit on our credit cards!

 Took photos of the Churches.  It seems as though all of them have a clock on their towers.  As Brian keeps telling me what else could you expect from the people who invented time pieces.

 

We walked down both sides of the river and had coffee at the Rathaus Coffee Bar. 

Back to the Hotel for a rest and then out to a Spanish Restaurant for tapas for dinner.

ANOTHER WET DAY IN ZURICH - SUNDAY 27 JULY

Had breakfast at the hotel.  Went for a walk in the opposite direction to yesterday, then got back into the old town where I took the photos of the shoes.  Found ourselves in another red light area - I told Brian that he seems to have a penchant for these areas.  After getting back to the old town we went into the Fraumunster Church and the Grossemunster Cathedral as well.   Both have some very impressive stained glass windows and impressive organ pipes.  The music they produce must be pretty impressive as well because both churches have summer programs of organ music, thankfully for Brian not until August.

We are staying in the  Hotel du Theatre which was originally known as the Theater am Central.  According to the booklet in our room it was the dream of the current owners' father an architect named Giovanni Zamboni. 

"His idea was to build a hotel which integrated art  in its very construction, with sculptures at the entrance and on the facade - a hotel with tales in its own theatre.  In 1951 he built the Hotel with a theatre hall...In the late 1950s cinema became more and more successful and threatened the existence of many a small theatre.  A  screen was erected in the theatre hall of the Theater am Central in 1959, giving birth to the cinema alba, today the art house alba where tales have continued to be spun in the form of serious studio films."

The plays that were performed included works by French, German, and English authors.  the English authors I recognised are two by Noel Coward, Private Lives and Quadrille,  Candida by George Bernard Shaw, A woman of no Importance by Oscar Wilde, Victoria by Somerset Maugham.

The building was thoroughly renovated around 2009 and the aim was to "reanimate with tales to be heard and pictures to be seen".  According to the current owner, Livia Brotschi-Zamboni, the result is a modern hotel in a building steeped in history.  A video artist, Ruth Baettig used props and pictures from the theatre archives and the ones in our room 403, are all from Coward's play, Quadrille.  I don't know that play but am very familiar with Private Lives, so if you ever come to Zurich Robert, you will have to reserve one of the rooms ending in 10.  I.e. 110, 210, 310, or 410.

Had dinner late this afternoon in a very nice Italian Restaurant.  The weather has improved over the day, it is still grey, but has not rained since about lunch time.  We are planning to go to Lucern tomorrow so hope it continues to improve.  Everyone says Lucern is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

Trip to the "Top of Europe"

25 July 2014

Well today turned out the best for the past few days so we headed off up the Alps by train.

First I must add a pic of Mary's that I forgot to add yesterday. Close where we are staying is a small herd of dairy cows - all wearing the necessary bells around their necks. Mary managed to get a pic of them early in the morning whilst still in their byre.

A further correction is due for Wednesday night when we went to a free concert in the village where the performers were the South Tyne Wind Band from Newcastle in the UK.

But today was hectic with crowds of tourists and heaps of groups all dutifully following their leaders. Orderly queueing - that great British tradition - has no place in the German and Chinese cultures. The one with sharpest and most powerful elbows gets the seat on the train. Here are a small selection of pics from the Jungfrau at some 4000 metres -