Day 6- Mount Titlis & Dinner in Lucerne (Part II)

The drive getting to Mount Titlis was beautiful. The landscape from the lake in Lucerne quickly changed to mountainous and VERY green. The farther we drove, the more snow-caps we began to see!

We arrived at the base of Mount Titlis and all took in the fresh, crisp air. As we waited for Bogi to bring our lift tickets, our friend Neil started yelling that he saw a monkey! Of course, none of us believed him... a monkey in the Alps!?! But he insisted it was a "monkey-like" creature and took off running to find it. He is six foot something, so he was able to scale a bridge and wall in seconds. Regardless, he was never able to produce the monkey and therefore we harassed him about it for the rest of the day!

After we got our tickets, we started the journey up the mountain. It took about 20 minutes and we used one cable car and 3 different types of gondolas.

That's the top and where we were headed!

The town of Engelberg.

The last gondola was unique to Titlis and called the "Rotair" because the entire thing slowly rotated as it climbed. It provided us with some amazing views.

Also as we made our way up, we saw some critters running around on the mountain! We had found Neil's monkeys!!! Then we were told that they were Alpine Marmots. So, while Neil finally felt vindicated, we found out that are kin to the squirrel- not the monkey. :o) 

In my early 20's, I went to Ruidosa, New Mexico with friends. It was the one and only time I have gone skiing. The main reason I have never gone again is because I can't ski... I tried and failed miserably. However, as we got higher and higher in the Alps, I was reminded of another reason I didn't enjoy the mountains of New Mexico... I got Altitude Sickness. Ugh. And as we reached the top of Mount Titlis at 10,000 feet, I didn't feel so great but I carried on as best as I could. (Later in Capri, Italy, I would WISH for the mild symptoms of this "sickness"... but more of that to come.)

Once we got off the Rotair, we headed outside to see the spectacular view of The Alps. Seriously, words can't explain, so I will let the pictures...

We were at the same level as the clouds!!

There is "eternal snow" there, so we took the opportunity to walk around a bit. The lack of snow boots made that very challenging! 

Then it was off to explore more...

Then it was lunch time. We went to the restaurant and had an unusual combination... cheese soup and pizza. It was very good and how can you beat that view!?!?!

 

Eventually our time was up and we began to make the journey back down. Three gondolas and a cable car later, we were back in the bus and headed back to Lucerne. 

After a little free time for shopping (and buying Swiss chocolate!) we made a quick change at the hotel and we were off for our last outing... a "traditional" Swiss dinner and show. Overall the entertainment was great and the food was too!! If I were to compare it to something, it would be the Swiss version of Medieval Times. So, it was borderline cheesy but as tourists, we ate it up!!!

On our way to dinner.

The restaurant.

Our group!

And speaking of cheese, part of the meal was a Swiss original... fondue! Yuuuuummmm!!!

Even our ice cream had a Swiss twist!

The show entertained us with different types of musical instruments, flag throwing and songs, including LOT of yodeling! Then we found out that apparently Bogi had talked to the performers... the announced we were honeymooning and sang to us! Not only that, but they called us up on stage and we had to dance! It was a Swiss dance but one I can compare it to is the Cotton Eye Joe!

 

The biggest negative about the night was that the restaurant didn't have any air conditioning. With a few hundred patrons inside, it was miserably hot. When I asked one of the servers about it, she tried to tell me that it was because of the fondue pots. Uh huh... sure... I must have had Stupid American Tourist written on my forehead. 

So, we enjoyed a nice walk back to the hotel... it was fresh air! Tomorrow... ITALY!!!!

Goodbye Switzerland!!!

Day 6- Lake Lucerne & The Alps! (Part I)

These next couple of posts will be very picture-heavy... we saw some amazing things. Just my words cannot explain their beauty! Also, I will split this day into two blogs because there was so much to cover!

We had another busy day ahead with 3 outings back-to-back! The town we were staying in was Lucerne, Switzerland and the main part of town was around Lake Lucerne. So, what better way to see the beauty around us? A cruise of the lake! It was a cool morning with clear skies, so we had great views of the Alps that surrounded us.

(I had lost my sunglasses... )

The water comes down from melted snow in the mountains and it was SO clear. Pictures just don't do it justice... but to give you an idea of just how clear and clean it is, the water is considered to be "drinking quality" straight from the lake!!

After the cruise, we joined Bogi and walked to the Lion Monument. When she first told us about it, I wasn't all THAT excited about it... a lion sculpted into the side of a large rock. Yay. But when you get there, it really is quite amazing. There is a hush that falls over a crowd when you arrive. It is a dying lion and it is so moving and sad. It is meant to memorialize all of the Swiss Guards and Officers that died during the French Revolution, trying to protect King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

The Swiss saying on the monument translates to "To The Loyalty and Bravery of the Swiss". Below the lion are the Greek numbers DCCLX and CCCL which indicate that 760 soldiers died and 350 that survived.

After ducking into a souvenir shop to buy some sunglasses, we all loaded up on the bus to head into the mountains. When we were first deciding on our honeymoon, this next outing was one of the things that sold us on our tour. We were heading into the Swiss Alps and to Mount Titlis and going to the top!!