We got to the border and didn't have a permit to drive there. We also didn't have any Swiss francs to purchase a permit with. Conveniently for us, the Swiss, in their ever efficient ways, had spots set up at the border crossings, where for a mere 50 Euros (plus exchange) can purchase a 40 franc driving permit. What could we do. It was our first clue that Switzerland is not cheap.
Our first stop was in Lucerne. We arrived around lunch time, and knowing how expensive it is, we decided to have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...in the car...in the parking garage. The kids were not thrilled. We have been eating pb&j, fruit, and pretzels for lunch since we got here. It really cuts down on food costs, but it gets old. Especially when you are eating in a parking garage in Switzerland!
After lunch, we struck out on foot to see the city. We walked down the street towards Lake Lucerne and stopped in the cathedral there. Some Asian couple were having what appeared to be wedding photos made, although the woman's dress was several shades of pastel colors, so it might not have been wedding, but it was fun to watch them.
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| Cathedral of St. Leodegar |
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| Notice the carving in the pew. |
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| Emily and Claire taking in the view from the church steps. |
Along the lake, vendors had set up booths with tchotchkes for sale...sunglasses, scarves, jewelry, leather goods, etc. The kids were looking for interesting souvenirs, so we browsed. Claire bought some things, as did Kyle. It was all from Africa and the Middle East, which I found amusing, considering we were in Switzerland!
We went to the kapellbrücke, or covered bridge, that was originally built in 1333. 1333! Can you imagine? It was lovely, exploding with flowers the length of it. We took some wonderful shots and got some great views of the old city.
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| That is not a backdrop! |
We walked back across a different bridge and strolled through old town Lucerne. It is the epitome of a European city.
Back in the car, we headed to our hotel in Leysin. We had planned to go to Lucerne one day, the Alps another day, and my ancestors' village on the last day. I wanted to stay in Lucerne or Interlaken, but the hotels that could host 5 people were running $350-500 euros a night, and I just wasn't paying that. I found a resort in Leysin, which was a couple of hours from all of the places we wanted to see for just $148 euros a night, which I thought was a great deal for Switzerland. We needed a place to park for a couple of days to catch our breath, and this place was a resort, complete with indoor pool, sauna, hot tub, and views of the Alps from every balcony. It got great reviews on booking.com from most everyone who had stayed there. So that's where we planned to stay.
Had I known it was at the top of a mountain in the alps and the only way to get to it was on a very narrow road of switchbacks and log and wire guardrails, we may not have rented a room there. As it was, I didn't know, and we did rent a room, and the drive to the top of the mountain was one of the scariest things I've ever done in my entire life.
The road hugs the side of the mountain, cut into the granite just wide enough for two cars. The drop offs are steep, straight down. At some points along the road, it looked like one of the ribbon candies you get at Christmas. The guardrails were either non-existent or made out of logs and cables, clinging precariously to the sides of the cliffs. There are no shoulders for any margin of error. At one point, the road was covered with a roof to prevent falling rocks from crashing onto your car. At another point, the guardrails were just gone. Drivers were flying up and down the hill, and I made Kirk go so slowly that we had to pull over onto the scenic view pull offs to let lines of cars pass by. Motorcyclists and bicyclists trekked up and down the mountain like it was the freeway.
I could hardly breathe. I had a death grip on the car door and was leaning away from the cliff's edge as if the shift in my weight would make a difference if we got too close and started to slide off. Next to snakes, heights are my biggest fear, and this drive was torture. I found myself clenching my stomach like I do when I ride a roller coaster. I had to close my eyes at some points.
Well, we made it, obviously, and the hotel is fantastic. It is a little dated, but it reminds me of a Great Wolf Lodge or something similar. It sits above the town of Leysin. The workers speak French, German, and English, and probably many more languages. It is full of people from all over the world. There are a ton of teenagers here on school trips, I guess.
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| Our room. Kyle has a roll-away bed. |
We had dinner at the restaurant. I was not going back down the hill, and the kids wanted something besides pb&j! It was a buffet and so, so good. There was a salad bar with all kinds of Swiss-type salads (like beet salad, some kind of cucumber salad, etc.). The hot vegetable bar had au gratin potatoes, zucchini tart, a leek dish that tasted like hot artichoke dip, grilled veggies, and green beans. There was meat as well, but I don't know what the guys got. For dessert, there was mousse, pound cake, pear tart, apricot tart, a flan-type dish, and a meringue dish. Our waiter was a guy from France who had lived in Great Britain for so long that he spoke English with a French-Cockney accent. He was very funny.
After dinner, we washed out our clothes and laid them on the balcony to dry. Kirk purchased little Tide soap papers for doing laundry. I laughed at them, but they are really handy!
The towns below are lit up, and from our balcony, it is quite beautiful.
Tomorrow we head to Jungfrauhoch to ride the train to the highest train station in Europe and go into an ice museum carved into a glacier.
All this is well and good, except that it means that I have to go down and up the hill again! OY!
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