Day 14 - Lucerne and Brienz

Sorry we were not able to post from Switzerland last night since I couldn't connect to a WiFi line at the hotel. The WiFi seems to work in the morning but not late at night and most days it is quite late at night before I get to our blog. So we are now back in Paris and I didn't bother to post this morning before we left since our train was at 7 am and Tom and I had to take the daily rental back and then hump it to the train station etc, etc. So I waited until we arrived back at our apartment in Paris. Our train ride back went well without incidence and since we were all very tired I think most of us slept most of the day.

Drove to Lucern yesterday for a relaxing walk through the old city which is a bit touristy but none the less is worth the visit. The drive itself is worth the price of admission since you drive over a mountain to get there and the roads are hung on the side of the mountain and it is a bit of a thrill. I think Bun closed her eyes through most of the drive since she was on the cliff side of the car on the way there and could see straight down the side of the mountain. We had the good sense NOT to ask Tom to stop at any of the tiny little spots where you can get out and take pictures. These are about 10 metres long and there just didn't seem to be enough road for us to get out of the car and look around, it was scary enough already and it would be difficult for Tom to get the car going again, especially since he isn't as comfortable with a stick shift as our fellow Europeans and the road is quite steep. Even with this some crazy local was passing cars all the way back to Brienz. A dead wish I guess.

Luzern has a lovely old city centre to stroll around in and its main feature is a very old covered bridge which crosses the river at its mouth as you can see in the pictures.  Most of this bridge actually burned down in the summer of 1973 just a week after Lucy and I visited on one our earliest trips to Europe. I remember reading about the fire while sitting in Paris. They have completed restored it and now keep it in much better condition ( and installed a fire system). We haven't really bought much during our first two weeks in Europe but Bun and Janice found a nice shop and picked up a few little goodies for friends back home and I bought Laura a very special present which I will try to mail this week so that she gets it before we get home.

We did get a little mixed up on the way out. Bun and Tom seem to always be behind us in our walking and so Lucy, Janice and I were waiting for them in the main square and getting quite worried about their whereabouts ... we thought we had lost them. It turns out they were in front of us for a change and waiting for us at the car. A small screw up but what's an hour amongst friends when you are on vacation.

We drove back over the mountain to Brienz which is the wood carving capital of Switzerland although there aren't that many shops that actually sell the wood carvings. Before buying a carving one has to take out a mortgage on their house since they are mucho expensive. About $300 to $500 for a small figure so we didn't really buy anything. I picked up a small bird which I liked which was relative simple in design and therefore not very expensive.  Brienz is a walkers paradise (as is all of Switzerland I guess) but they have a walkway the entire length of the city all along the water front and some of us did the full length so we are getting our exercise. Brienz is at the opposite end of Lake Brienzersee which is the lake our hotel is on just outside of Interlaken.

For dinner we decided just to pick up something simple at the local Coop in Interlaken but when we got there it was closed so I ran in and picked up some take out Thai food. We are eating well but also walking a lot so I think our weight is holding steady and maybe even losing a pound or two. Will know on our return.  We also did a dry run to the daily rental so that Tom and I would have a better than average chance of finding it in  the morning. The plan was to drop the girls and all the luggage off at the train station and for Tom and I to drive and drop off the car which was a good half hour walk back to the train station. Timing was going to be tight so we didn't want to take any chances at getting lost and missing our train. As it turned out it started to rain last night and was pouring rain in the morning so Tom and I got a cab to meet us at the daily rental to take us back to the train station. Just as well since it was very wet and we would have been soaked.

As mentioned in earlier blogs the weather has been very co-operative with great sunny days when we need them like the trip up the mountain or out to Giverny and when it has rained we were traveling or planning a down day so everything has worked out. We put sister Mary Lou in charge of the weather and she has come through in spades.

Till tomorrow.