Sunday, October 15

We've been up since 4:00 Lucerne time for our trip home!

Vern and I left the hotel by 6 to go to the airport and Dawn and Al by 7:00. 

We had a direct flight and arrived in Newark at 12:43 and home a few hours later. 

Dawn and Al flew from Zurich to Paris to Atlanta. They are on their way home from the Atlanta airport as I write this. 

It was an awesome trip with wonderful friends!  

We hope you've enjoyed this blog as much as I've enjoyed writing it. 

Thank you for being part of our memorable journey!  Until next time.....

Saturday, October 14

Today was another very busy day!  We were on a tour from 9 this morning until 9 tonight!  It was a wonderful experience that started with a scenic boat ride on Lake Lucerne.   The boat took us to get on board the world's steepest cogwheel railway to the spectacular Mt. Pilatus.  Some of the mountains that look like they are snow covered are actually glaciers. 

After an hour of taking picture after picture of the breathtaking views of the Alps, we descended the mountain by gondola and cable car.

We went by bus to the sprawling Einsiedeln Benedictine Abbey.   It was extremely ornate with a boarding school attached that boards between 400-500 children. 

We continued to a local dairy farm where we got up close and personal to cows. It was very interesting. 

From there, we went to a cheese producer and helped to make cheese. Then we enjoyed a cheese fondue dinner. 

Friday, October 13

 We left by bus from Basel this morning.  Basel is on the corner of Germany, Switzerland, and France.  I had one foot in front of the other and my hand was touching the window of the bus. Does that mean I had a body part in each country?  

We drove through mountain tunnels, industrial areas, government subsidized farms, rolling landscapes, and orchards and 1-1/2 hours later were in Lucerne. 

Some things we learned from our bus and walking tour guides today--

--Every resident of Switzerland must have a fall-out shelter. 

--Fruit does not get exported. It goes into making schnapps. 

--7 presidents in Switzerland from different areas and they all must agree

--Lucerne is the Heart of the alps

--Swiss people are very reserved and think Americans are loud and overly friendly!  We tried to behave ourselves!We see snow capped alps from our beautiful 5 star hotel!  It is amazing!

Hotel

Vern walking up steps instead of taking the elevator!

Night view from hotel. 

Thursday, October 12

We spent some of the morning getting our things organized for our ship departure tomorrow morning. 

We also walked around the town of Breisach. It was a quaint area with macadam streets, but cobblestone walkways and parking areas.  Homes come right up to the walkways. 

It is so surprising to us that so many people in Europe still smoke. There was even a cigarette vending machine!

After a delicious lunch, we got on a bus to go to the Black Forest. It was 1-1/2 hours each way and many hairpin turns!! We were all disappointed that we only had an hour at the destination. However, the ride there was filled with information by our guide. We passed wine-producing villages with the vineyards growing in terraces on the mountainside. Once we arrived, we watched a demonstration of cuckoo clocks and had a lesson on making a Black Forrest cake. No samples!!  The clocks were beautiful!!

Dinner was extra special tonight. We sat there for 2-1/2 hours. 

We've met new friends from Tampa and have really enjoyed their company. We'll be sad to say good-bye to them tomorrow. They are on a different trip extension than we are. 

Wednesday, October 11

More about yesterday.....

After our tour and exploring in Strasbourg, we came back to the ship in Kehl. 

We had a cooking demonstration by our Chef Peter. He made Flammkuchen and, of course, a sample for everyone!  It's similar to pizza. I have the recipe and it seems very easy. I hope to try it!!

And, because we don't stop eating on this cruise, we had a German buffet dinner!

All types of sausages (Vern was in his glory), red cabbage, snitzel (veal and chicken), spaetzel, bread filling balls, potato salad, and of course sauerkraut were all part of the menu!

The waiters and waitresses were dressed in local garb. 

Local beer was overflowing!

After lingering over dinner, Dawn and I wrapped ourselves in blankets to go out on the deck as the ship went through a lock. It was interesting to watch!  It was so different from going through the lock in the Panama Canal!

And, a picture going through.....

And, now we're ready to continue.....

Wednesday, October 11

I had a very difficult time posting last night and finally it went through today. 

So, I decided to start a little earlier today. I'm thinking too many pictures hold it up!

We are in Kehl, Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The right bank is France. 

We left the ship and went by bus for a walking city tour of Strasbourg with its cobblestone street, wooden houses, and picturesque canals. 

In Cathedral Square, we saw the magnificently restored Strasbourg Cathedral towering above merchant houses.  One of the finest of Europe's great Gothic cathedrals, it's 465 foot tall spires make it the tallest medieval building in Europe. We admired the Gothic rosette window, beautiful red sandstone portal, and the remarkable astronomical clock!

It has been an awesome day so far and the first day without rain!  Yippee!

Tuesday, October 10

First of all, what a great time last night!  Great dinner, wine, and dancing!  Al even got up and was doing a jig!

We arrived in Mannheim this morning, journeyed to Heidelberg by bus, went on a guided tour of Heidelberg Castle, walking tour through town, and some free time to shop. 

We also enjoyed some yummy pretzels while in the town. 

We were then bused to Speyer where the ship was waiting. 

We had a great time after dinner at the music quiz in the lounge!

Another busy day!

"Chow for now" as our Program Director on ship would say!