The Lion Monument

Views during the Happy Hour cruise of
Lake Lucerne

Mount Pilatus (where we would be going up the next morning)

The Chapel Bridge

The view across the canal from the Chapel Bridge

After an early wake-up call and breakfast, we loaded up the motorcoach and were off to Lucerne, Switzerland. It would be one of our longest drives of the trip. After we made our first morning stop, Andee had each of us come up to the front of the coach, take command of the microphone, and introduce ourselves. We were all asked to talk about our interests, likes and dislikes, and share our fantasy with the whole group. Since I was at the back of the bus, I was the last to go. We didn't get into Switzerland until early afternoon. The scenery along the drive to Lucerne was absolutely breathtaking. Huge mountains constantly dwarfed us as we weaved through the hills and valleys. Often we were driving on the edge of huge gorges overlooking rushing rivers below.

Lucerne was a huge contrast to Paris. Small and peaceful, it was situated by a lakeshore and surrounded by mountains. We checked into the Hotel Kolping, where unusually, guests leave their hotel room keys in a display cabinet at the front desk, in full view and accessible to anyone. I suppose that's just a testament to the reputation of Switzerland being one of the safest places to live, with one of the lowest crime rates in the world.

We then walked to the lakeshore for an optional "Happy Hour" cruise of Lake Lucerne. With complete commentary and free drinks and snacks, the boat ride was extremely relaxing, with some truly amazing views of the lake, the town and all the surrounding mountains.

After some short time wandering around the town, we went back to our hotel for our included dinner. With nothing planned for the evening, we had the rest of the night to ourselves. With new found friends, Melissa (from Australia), Steve and Helen (a couple, also from Toronto), much wandering around the small town was done. Lucerne is a shopper's paradise, with plenty of stores to cater to any traveler looking for good deals on unique souvenirs and crafts. I didn't pick up anything; most of the shops were closing up, but we did take mental notes of which stores we were going back to when we had more time tomorrow. Later in the evening, we met up with more people from our tour group and sat at an outside café for coffee, relaxing and getting to know one another.

It was however, the next morning that would be one of the main highlights of the whole 12 days.