Sonya's ski companions race up the conveyor.Be sure and watch the GREAT video at the bottom of this post! Just know it's not real clear because Jeff used his camera since we left the real video camera at home.
Lunch with a view!
Gotta sport that AU gear where every you are.
Awwwwwwww, what a cute couple. If I had noticed the RED rental pants before we left the shop, I would have put a STOP to it!!! I must say that Jeff was easy to spot all day long!!!
If you can't ski, at least look the part.
Love that color coordination!
Cable car to the top of the mountain
A common site in Europe. You even see dogs in restaurants.
Love the traditional Swiss architecture.
Mooooooooo!
Notice the Heineken icon in the drink menu.
The Kapellbrucke (City Landmark)
Swans are everywhere on the lake.
Ancient paintings line the roof of the Kapellbrucke.
View from our room at sunset. WOW!!!March 16, 2009 (p.m.)
Today was a blast! It was nice to just go out and have some fun without worrying about sightseeing. We woke up early and hopped on a train to Engelberg, Switzerland, about an hour away. The train ride itself was special since it allowed us to soak in the beauty of the Swiss mountains and lakes without having to follow a GPS and negotiate tight corners in our little Opal hatchback. There was a ski rental place right across the street from the train station, so as soon as we arrived we grabbed our gear and rode a bus to Brunni – a ski resort just a few miles from Engelberg.
We chose Brunni over its much bigger and more crowded neighbor, Titlis Rotair, since the slopes were more tailored to beginners and novices. I tried to change Sonya’s mind about our destination, but by the end of the day I was glad decided to take it easy. At almost 42 years old, it didn’t take me long to realize how out of “ski” shape I am. While Sonya refused to leave her pre-school ski companions, I spent most of my time on a longer, slightly steeper slope. It didn’t take long to get my confidence up after not skiing in about 15 years, but with each run my legs got weaker and weaker. I’m sure none of you can relate ;-)
We rode the cable car up to a higher point of the mountain where most of the intermediate runs were and decided to stop for lunch before hitting the slopes again. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and most of the skiers were eating on the patio enjoying the weather and the breathtaking views, so we decided to join them (see pics). As we finished our meal, I was wrestling back and forth with the idea of tackling one of the more difficult slopes while Sonya relaxed at the restaurant. What the heck! How often am I going to have the opportunity to ski in Switzerland, right?
I rode with a bunch of kids up the mountain and thought if all else failed I could follow them down. What I didn’t know is that they were sledding down on a long, winding easy path made for sledders only. O’ well, surely I could handle one of the intermediates. What I didn’t think about was the warm sun turning a lot of the powdery snow to slush in some spots. The first time I hit a slushy spot I had a “yard sale” wipe out. I think it was very entertaining to the skiers and kids on the lift above me, but not so funny to me since I still had about a mile of down-hill to go. I promised myself if I made it down in one piece I’d happily return to the green slopes for the rest of the day. I could not afford an injury today, especially since Sonya can’t drive a car with a manual transmission. No worries though, I made it down in one piece – out of breath and tired, but in one piece. We finished up our day with a few more runs on the easy slopes and headed back to Engelberg to return our skis, do a little souvenir shopping and catch the train back to Luzern.
Do you remember my description yesterday of Luzern being an expensive city? We decided we could save a little money tonight by eating at Burger King. Here are some examples of the prices we saw there (in appx. U.S. Dollars):
· Combo 1 (Whopper/Fries/Drink): $10
· Combo 2 (Double Whopper/Fries/Drink): $12
· Ketchup, Mayo or Misc. Sauce: $.25 each
· Onion Rings (Exactly Eight in a Serving): $4
· Heineken (Yep, that’s right!): $5
We had two combos and it was $25!
Here are some misc. notes for the day…
· I should’ve worn sunscreen today.
· The water of Lake Luzern is much clearer that I expected – crystal clear, as a matter of fact – which is very unusual for European bodies of water. It must be due to the lake being fed by natural springs and melting snow from the mountains. It’s also a tribute to this beautiful city for successfully controlling pollution.
· The landmark of Luzern, its pedestrian covered bridge – Kapellbrucke – was built in 1365 as the city’s fortification. It is the second largest covered wooden bridge in the world. A lot of it was destroyed by fire in 1993, but rebuilt shortly after.
· The Wasserturm, the octagonal tower in the middle of the bridge, was first mentioned in 1367. It was built as a complement to the city walls. It has been used as a prison, torture chamber, treasury and archive.
So far this has been a dream vacation. As we sat on the balcony of our room, staring at beautiful Lake Luzern as the sunlight bounced off the mountain peaks in the distance, we reflected about how truly blessed we are to be able to do this and we are so grateful for our family and friends who have taken care of our children while we’ve been gone. Tomorrow we leave for our last stop – Paris. We will drive to Zurich, drop of the rental car and catch a train to our final destination. There probably won’t be a lot to post about tomorrow evening, but you never know…
Today was a blast! It was nice to just go out and have some fun without worrying about sightseeing. We woke up early and hopped on a train to Engelberg, Switzerland, about an hour away. The train ride itself was special since it allowed us to soak in the beauty of the Swiss mountains and lakes without having to follow a GPS and negotiate tight corners in our little Opal hatchback. There was a ski rental place right across the street from the train station, so as soon as we arrived we grabbed our gear and rode a bus to Brunni – a ski resort just a few miles from Engelberg.
We chose Brunni over its much bigger and more crowded neighbor, Titlis Rotair, since the slopes were more tailored to beginners and novices. I tried to change Sonya’s mind about our destination, but by the end of the day I was glad decided to take it easy. At almost 42 years old, it didn’t take me long to realize how out of “ski” shape I am. While Sonya refused to leave her pre-school ski companions, I spent most of my time on a longer, slightly steeper slope. It didn’t take long to get my confidence up after not skiing in about 15 years, but with each run my legs got weaker and weaker. I’m sure none of you can relate ;-)
We rode the cable car up to a higher point of the mountain where most of the intermediate runs were and decided to stop for lunch before hitting the slopes again. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and most of the skiers were eating on the patio enjoying the weather and the breathtaking views, so we decided to join them (see pics). As we finished our meal, I was wrestling back and forth with the idea of tackling one of the more difficult slopes while Sonya relaxed at the restaurant. What the heck! How often am I going to have the opportunity to ski in Switzerland, right?
I rode with a bunch of kids up the mountain and thought if all else failed I could follow them down. What I didn’t know is that they were sledding down on a long, winding easy path made for sledders only. O’ well, surely I could handle one of the intermediates. What I didn’t think about was the warm sun turning a lot of the powdery snow to slush in some spots. The first time I hit a slushy spot I had a “yard sale” wipe out. I think it was very entertaining to the skiers and kids on the lift above me, but not so funny to me since I still had about a mile of down-hill to go. I promised myself if I made it down in one piece I’d happily return to the green slopes for the rest of the day. I could not afford an injury today, especially since Sonya can’t drive a car with a manual transmission. No worries though, I made it down in one piece – out of breath and tired, but in one piece. We finished up our day with a few more runs on the easy slopes and headed back to Engelberg to return our skis, do a little souvenir shopping and catch the train back to Luzern.
Do you remember my description yesterday of Luzern being an expensive city? We decided we could save a little money tonight by eating at Burger King. Here are some examples of the prices we saw there (in appx. U.S. Dollars):
· Combo 1 (Whopper/Fries/Drink): $10
· Combo 2 (Double Whopper/Fries/Drink): $12
· Ketchup, Mayo or Misc. Sauce: $.25 each
· Onion Rings (Exactly Eight in a Serving): $4
· Heineken (Yep, that’s right!): $5
We had two combos and it was $25!
Here are some misc. notes for the day…
· I should’ve worn sunscreen today.
· The water of Lake Luzern is much clearer that I expected – crystal clear, as a matter of fact – which is very unusual for European bodies of water. It must be due to the lake being fed by natural springs and melting snow from the mountains. It’s also a tribute to this beautiful city for successfully controlling pollution.
· The landmark of Luzern, its pedestrian covered bridge – Kapellbrucke – was built in 1365 as the city’s fortification. It is the second largest covered wooden bridge in the world. A lot of it was destroyed by fire in 1993, but rebuilt shortly after.
· The Wasserturm, the octagonal tower in the middle of the bridge, was first mentioned in 1367. It was built as a complement to the city walls. It has been used as a prison, torture chamber, treasury and archive.
So far this has been a dream vacation. As we sat on the balcony of our room, staring at beautiful Lake Luzern as the sunlight bounced off the mountain peaks in the distance, we reflected about how truly blessed we are to be able to do this and we are so grateful for our family and friends who have taken care of our children while we’ve been gone. Tomorrow we leave for our last stop – Paris. We will drive to Zurich, drop of the rental car and catch a train to our final destination. There probably won’t be a lot to post about tomorrow evening, but you never know…
BE SURE THAT YOU HAVE YOUR SOUND ON FOR THE VIDEO!!! haha!
2 comments:
Wow! You guys are having a great time - I'm so jealous!!!!! Wish we were there! Miss you! Alicia
I just now found your blog link to your vacation site - whooo for going to Switzerland!! I grew up in the greater area between Luzern and Zuerich. It's pretty, isn't it!
What the heck am I doing out in the middle of Wyoming???
With a friendly
"Gruezi"
Barb
Post a Comment