Europe 2005-Zurich & Lucerne

Carl & Sandy were doing their last minute packing when United Airlines called to say their 3 PM flight to Dulles was running late. “Could we make a flight at 2:17 to avoid the risk of missing the flight to Zurich?” “You bet!” They rescheduled the pickup and were waiting in the lobby at 12:15. The flight to Dulles and connection to the Zurich flight were uneventful. Shortly after takeoff, Carl moved his watch ahead six hours to Zurich time and it was Wednesday.

The pilot announced that we had a strong tailwind, at times over 100 MPH, and we were expected to arrive in Zurich at least an hour early. She was right and we landed at 7:05, 70 minutes early. We collected our luggage with no problem, got some Swiss Francs from the ATM and called to get our car. We were picked up within 10 minutes and got our new Peugeot 807 van. The lady who picked us up told us about the three days of very heavy rain that had caused severe flooding in much of central Europe including our next two destinations, Lucerne and Grindelwald. We shall see. We drove back to the airport to get Roberta and Elliot who were due in at 11:15 on a flight from Paris. They were over an hour late due to equipment problems but arrived safely. After some lunch at a traditional Swiss restaurant, Bill Bailey’s Pub, we loaded up the car and headed for Lucerne. Along the way we stopped at Zug, a delightful small town with a core of medieval architecture. On to Lucerne where we found the exit we were supposed to take was closed due to flooding. After fifteen minutes of masterful navigation by Sandy, we got to the hotel. Many streets along the river were closed due to flooding. After we got settled in we walked downtown and watched along with thousands of locals as the Reuse River roared through town, over its banks on both sides. Still, we enjoyed the beauty of the city and were amused watching the kids (and some adults) playing in the flooded streets near the river.

Up at seven to get an early start. (Not early by birding standards but none of us had slept much in the last 24 hours). After breakfast we headed for the Tourist Information office. Where we learned that the walking tour of the city was canceled due to high water and many of the museums were closed. However, she suggested an alternate route up Mount Pilatus and a couple of nice small towns to visit. We spent the rest of the morning walking around the old part of Lucerne, on several occasions walking along makeshift wooden boardwalks over a foot of water. We visited the famous Lion Monument and walked along the top of the wall around the old city for some great views and great exercise. We bought sandwiches and salads near the train station and ate lunch sitting alongside the lake. We then drove to Kreins for a steep cable car ride up to the peak of Mount Pilatus at 7,000 feet. At the top we hiked around, up to the very top and through some tunnels with windows looking out on the valley below. There were intermittent clouds but we had “peek a boo” views of magnificent Swiss mountain scenes. Once back down the mountain, we drove to the little town of Sempach about 15 miles away. Old buildings, historical landmarks and a few interesting ducks in the lake made it a worthwhile stop. A few miles up the road was the town of Sursee. However, due to flooding, we drove 30 miles around the lake instead of the flooded five mile route. There we found another fascinating, picturesque town where we had dinner. We drove back to Lucerne in the dark and Carl found the hotel easily, though he did have to drive down a narrow alley restricted to pedestrians. Home at last, we found our reserved parking space taken. We drove around until we found a public parking lot, walked back to the hotel and rested up for another busy day.

Up at 6:45 to allow time to call Grindelwald and get to the dock in time for the 9:25 trip. We had heard that the road to our next destination was closed due to flooding. We called the lady in Grindelwald and learned that we would have to take a circuitous route and that parts of the damaged road were one way for alternate 30 minute periods. Not great news but at least we would be able to get there. We walked to the lakeside dock and boarded the 9:25 boat to the town of Vitznau where we took the cog railway to the Rigi Peak at 6,000 feet. More peek-a-boo views through the clouds but a very pretty spot. In some ways the views from the train surpassed those from the peak. After lunch at the top we reboarded the train but got off at a station at 4800 feet. After wandering around among the shops and village, we boarded a cable car for the short steep trip back down to the level of the lake. This was the steepest cable car we had ever been on. At the bottom, we were in Weggis where we took in more local scenery, got some delicious ice cream and listened to part of a free concert on the waterfront, much more “waterfront” than last week. A one hour boat ride brought us back to Lucerne at 5:30 after a wonderful eight hour excursion. We stopped in the market and bought wine, bread, cheese and fruit for supper in our room while we talked about plans for tomorrow. The small braided rolls looked like challot for hamotze and the French Cabernet was perfect for Kiddush.