Us!
This is Neuschwanstein, not Cinderalla's Castle at Disney World. Duh! It doesn't snow in Orlando!
Shooooooooooooweeeeeeeeeeeeee!
This is Hohenschwangau Castle where King Ludwig II spent his childhood. It was built by his father, Maximilian.
Our hotel room in Luzern, Switzerland.
Our bathroom.
Outside view of the hotel.
View from the room.
The Dying Lion of Luzern is actually a very famous monument. It was carved out of the rock in memory of the heroic Swiss soldiers killed at Tuileries in 1792.
We ate dinner at the Old Swiss House.
March 15, 2009 (p.m.)
We are now in Luzern, Switzerland. From what I’ve seen so far, this is probably the most expensive city I’ve ever stayed in. Well I guess I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll get back to that later.
Today started with the biggest and best breakfast spread I’ve seen since we were at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, China. Too bad I couldn’t eat much of it. I ate my instant oatmeal and enjoyed watching others pig out (not Sonya, of course). Don’t feel sorry for me though. These severe food allergies help me keep my girlish figure.
After we checked out of the hotel, we headed just down the road and bought our tickets for an English tour of Neuschwanstein Castle. No cars are allowed to travel up the mountain to the castle. We had a choice, either walk up the steep grade (40 minutes) or ride in a horse-and-buggy for 6 euros ($8) each. It was an easy choice – we rode up the mountain with another American couple who are currently stationed in Heidelberg with the U.S. Army and a family from China who seemed to enjoy hearing our story of adopting Katie Lin.
The castle was amazing. It was built in the late 19th century which means it’s very new for most Castles in Europe. The tour was only about 45 minutes long, but very informative. We learned that, sadly, King Ludwig II died at the young age of forty-years-old before his magnificent home was ever finished. We were only able to tour the finished portion of the castle (the 2nd, 4th and 5th floors), but it was enough to blow our minds. Talk about living like a king – literally! For example, the artwork (wall paintings) in one hallway alone took ten painters, seven years to complete. The wood carvings rivaled what we saw at St. Jakob’s Church in Rothenburg and the floor in his chapel contained over 2 million tiny pieces of tile. Besides all that, the view was breathtaking.
It took about three-and-a-half hours to get to Luzern, but the drive was very pleasant. I especially enjoyed several detours along the way as we traveled some of the smaller back roads of Bavaria, Austria and Switzerland. Most of our trip was on four-lane highways, but even then the traffic was fairly light and the mountains that towered each side of us kept our attention much of the time.
We finally arrived at our hotel, the Grand Hotel National, in Luzern at 5:00 p.m. This is definitely the finest hotel we’ve stayed in on our trip. As a matter of fact, it’s one of the best we’ve ever stayed in. Sonya was thrilled when I asked the receptionist to upgrade our room to a Lake View from a City View which I had previously reserved. She gave us a great rate for the upgrade and even put us in a Deluxe room since they’re not very busy this time of year.
We took a short walk around town, mainly looking for a place to eat dinner. After reading several menus posted at the doors of each restaurant we passed, it didn’t take us long to figure out that we were in a city with a very high cost of living. Most of the main dishes, whether fish, pork, chicken, pasta, steak or vegetables, started at $40 each! I kept walking, hoping to find a Burger King or McDonald’s, but I finally gave up and we ate at a local restaurant called, The Old Swiss House. I have to admit the food and atmosphere were fantastic, but not as great as the company ;-)
Tomorrow we’ll head for the mountains. We will probably take the train up to a ski resort called Engleberg/Titlis about an hour away. Pray that we don’t kill ourselves on the slopes. Good night.
We are now in Luzern, Switzerland. From what I’ve seen so far, this is probably the most expensive city I’ve ever stayed in. Well I guess I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll get back to that later.
Today started with the biggest and best breakfast spread I’ve seen since we were at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, China. Too bad I couldn’t eat much of it. I ate my instant oatmeal and enjoyed watching others pig out (not Sonya, of course). Don’t feel sorry for me though. These severe food allergies help me keep my girlish figure.
After we checked out of the hotel, we headed just down the road and bought our tickets for an English tour of Neuschwanstein Castle. No cars are allowed to travel up the mountain to the castle. We had a choice, either walk up the steep grade (40 minutes) or ride in a horse-and-buggy for 6 euros ($8) each. It was an easy choice – we rode up the mountain with another American couple who are currently stationed in Heidelberg with the U.S. Army and a family from China who seemed to enjoy hearing our story of adopting Katie Lin.
The castle was amazing. It was built in the late 19th century which means it’s very new for most Castles in Europe. The tour was only about 45 minutes long, but very informative. We learned that, sadly, King Ludwig II died at the young age of forty-years-old before his magnificent home was ever finished. We were only able to tour the finished portion of the castle (the 2nd, 4th and 5th floors), but it was enough to blow our minds. Talk about living like a king – literally! For example, the artwork (wall paintings) in one hallway alone took ten painters, seven years to complete. The wood carvings rivaled what we saw at St. Jakob’s Church in Rothenburg and the floor in his chapel contained over 2 million tiny pieces of tile. Besides all that, the view was breathtaking.
It took about three-and-a-half hours to get to Luzern, but the drive was very pleasant. I especially enjoyed several detours along the way as we traveled some of the smaller back roads of Bavaria, Austria and Switzerland. Most of our trip was on four-lane highways, but even then the traffic was fairly light and the mountains that towered each side of us kept our attention much of the time.
We finally arrived at our hotel, the Grand Hotel National, in Luzern at 5:00 p.m. This is definitely the finest hotel we’ve stayed in on our trip. As a matter of fact, it’s one of the best we’ve ever stayed in. Sonya was thrilled when I asked the receptionist to upgrade our room to a Lake View from a City View which I had previously reserved. She gave us a great rate for the upgrade and even put us in a Deluxe room since they’re not very busy this time of year.
We took a short walk around town, mainly looking for a place to eat dinner. After reading several menus posted at the doors of each restaurant we passed, it didn’t take us long to figure out that we were in a city with a very high cost of living. Most of the main dishes, whether fish, pork, chicken, pasta, steak or vegetables, started at $40 each! I kept walking, hoping to find a Burger King or McDonald’s, but I finally gave up and we ate at a local restaurant called, The Old Swiss House. I have to admit the food and atmosphere were fantastic, but not as great as the company ;-)
Tomorrow we’ll head for the mountains. We will probably take the train up to a ski resort called Engleberg/Titlis about an hour away. Pray that we don’t kill ourselves on the slopes. Good night.
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