The Best of Europe Day 5
The Best of Europe
Day 5 Wednesday September 10, 2003 - Engelberg
With the wake up phone call coming in at 6:30, we were up and at it. The clothes were drying so we chose not to go and dry with the hotel dryer. We were surprised as it had rained most of the night and the temperature was certainly on the cool side.
As soon as I had showered and dressed, I went down to resend the emails. I was able to send everything except the Day 1-2 pictures, so those will, hopefully, go out with this set. We were one of the last at breakfast but it worked well. With coffee, juice, rolls, cheese, eggs and bacon, we were fine.
As we went out to get on the bus, it was still very foggy and cool. The sunlight was so dim that the high valley we are in was quite dark. We are at 3100 feet of altitude.
We got on the bus and began to wind our way down the mountain. Otmar reminded us that just a few years ago, one could only get here with horse drawn carriages and sleighs could make this trip. Now a train comes up every hour and the windy road is excellent.
As we approached Luzerne, we were told that this city was one of the early seats of government when the Swiss, on August 1, 1291, the locals decided to organize for self protection.
The Swiss today spend more money per capita on their military than any country in the world. They could be ready to fight in less than an hour. Every Swiss resident has a weapon available for use in case of an invasion.
We arrived in Luzerne and were given a brief orientation tour of the city and then the old town and we were let out in the city center. Otmar took us to the Lion on the Mountain Monument, a memorial dedicated to the Swiss guards who died when the French monarchy fell in the late 1700's.
It is carved out of solid granite and depicts the trials faced by the soldiers. We took some pictures and then wandered around the old section for a time.
Today we were given our first optional tour, so at 10:15 we went to the shores of Lake Luzerne and got on a ship of the Charles Buchener Excursions for a cruise on the lake widely considered to be the most lovely of the mountain lakes, much of the shoreline of Lake Lucerne can only be fully appreciated from the water.
We were given a running narrative of the history, homes, and politics of the lake. We were able to admire the spectacular homes of the fortunate few, privileged to live on its scenic shores, as we cruise gently by. From castles to large simple homes, all of these retail for over 1 millions dollars. We went from area to area, seeing the sights.
At the village of Stans we met the bus and were driven to our next destination, the terminal of one of Switzerland's oldest mountain railways. Our whole group commandeered one of the cars, both inside and out and were off on this funicular railway that was constructed in 1893.
At about one third of the way up we got off and transferred to a modern cable car to reach 6,300 feet top of Stanserhorn Peak an excellent vantage from which to view the breathtaking scenery of Alpine Switzerland.
Unfortunately, the fog was very thick and we cold not see 20 yards in front of us. As we had 90 minutes at the top, we decided to take a walk to the top of the peak.
On the way there we could hear the cows bells from below, telling everyone where the Swiss dairy cattle were on the hill side. As we reached the peak there was an opening in the fog and we could see Lake Luzern below us and much of the valley floor.
Within 5 minutes it closed again, so we were at the right place at the right time. We walked down Stanserhorn Revolving Restaurant and had lunch. Soup, fries and the famous veal sausage.
At 1:45 we began our decent, repeating our trip up. At 2:30 we were back at the city center and had until 5 PM to see the sights on our own.
We walked across the wooden bridges, wandered around looking at shops and then climbed to visit the defensive wall and watch towers that sit so prominently on the north edge of old city.
It is interesting to see the Swiss and their society. There are no old cars. There is no litter. They recycle religiously. Their median income is $39,000. There does not seem to be any poverty, begging or homeless people. The only negative is that so many smoke, all over the place.
At 5 PM we got on the bus and returned to Engelberg where we arrived at 5:45. We took showers, edited pictures and went to dinner at 7 PM.
We sat with Cindie Cropsey and a Chinese family of 3, mother, father and 23 year old daughter who had organized this trip for their family. At 8:30 we returned to our room to do the journal.
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