LIECHTENSTEIN & SWITZERLAND

Monday, May 5th

On our 4-hour drive to Switzerland through Liechtenstein from Fussen, Germany I realized a few things: 

1. I have highly under appreciated GPS in the past. Using print out maps is not fun, but can be done. 

2. Highways aren't always what you think they'll be. Our "highway" turned into a two lane road in the countryside. It was beautiful! However... 

3. Bathrooms aren't always easy to find in little towns that you happen to be passing through on a "highway."

4. There's lots of coordinating that happens when you have 4 people with 4 iPhones and only one charging plug.

5. You MUST buy a vignette for your car window when driving through Switzerland. (We didn't realize this until after we got to our hotel in Switzerland.) DOH!

Somehow we managed to make it into Liechtenstein! There are literally ZERO signs that direct you there in Austria. One point for Google Maps directions!

Liechtenstein is not very big, so I tried to take as many photos as I could. This was our first spotting of a sign that said, "Liechtenstein."

We had to get out of the car and take a few photos despite a few protests from the man in purple.

We decided that if we spotted a good restaurant we would stop to eat.  It wasn't until we were almost into Switzerland that we found one in the little town of Schaan. 

I decided to order guacamole and chips to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. :) Man, I miss avocados and guacamole. 

This was the cute little chapel in the tiny town. 

We were relieved to have a little break, and get some sun in Liechtenstein.

We hit the rode again for another couple of hours. Somehow we missed signs that inform you to get a vignette for your car. Apparently, they're really big signs, but none of us saw them. Not even Rick Steves mentions buying a vignette in his books on Switzerland. 

When we asked about the vignettes later, most people were surprised that we were even driving in Switzerland. I didn't think it was that unusual, but I guess most people take the trains. 

We made it to the Hotel Flora mostly unscathed. Our hotel was pretty fancy. (It should have been for the price we paid. :/) We had complementary chocolate on our pillows and nespresso coffee. Yum. :)

Our view from our hotel room - you can see the top of the tower on Chapel Bridge in the background.

We were all practically sweating in Lucern, since we had just come from 35 degree weather. It was only 75 here. We immediately turned our AC on in our room. However, the power only works in the room with a hotel card, so we got an extra card so we could leave the AC on while we were gone. Switzerland tries to be 'green,' but we Americans can find ways around it. :P

We wanted to take advantage of the daylight hours, so we hit the pavement. First stop - Chapel Bridge. 

We had our first of many sightings of swans. They're everywhere here! They are practically the pigeons of Switzerland. 

Apparently, part of this bridge burned when a boat caught fire underneath it.

Many paintings were saved, but several of them burned. Boats are no longer allowed to go under this bridge as a result. You're also not allowed to smoke on the bridge. There were cameras everywhere to help enforce this law. I couldn't find any at first.

The Rick Steves' tour directed us down the river toward the Jesuit church.

"Have you seen my mother?"

"It's a bird, it's a plane"...it's my dad. "Spekenzy Swiss?"

Too many swans to count!

Lucern is responsible for controlling the flow of water out of the lake to prevent flooding in lower villages.

View from Spreuerbrucke looking at the Jesuit Church.

Nick was excited about all the little dams. This one helps generate power for 1000 homes.

We had to get a few tasty treats from the Hug Bakery in Muhlenplatz. We bought an almond brioche; it was so yummy!

Can you see what the letters on the shutters spell? No? Neither can I. :)

Most of the buildings in Lucern had frescoes and paintings on the sides. This one had rings all over it because a jeweler was the first to own it.

We walked to the top of a department store to find a somewhat inexpensive cafeteria. (for Swizerland.) They had a sweet little roof-top terrace with a fun view.

Nick with Mt. Pilatus in the background.

Around the corner from the cafeteria was a chocolate shop. We weren't that hungry yet after snacking, but we always have room for some swiss chocolate!

Swiss money looks fake!

Our tour took us back to the Chapel Bridge. There's a few funny faces staring out at me. :)

I finally found one of the cameras hidden on the bridge!

Next we took a trip over to the train station in Lucerne. I can't believe I actually got a photo without anyone else in it!

This fountain was just outside the concert hall. It goes off once every half hour. My thoughts when I saw it were, "Wow, I didn't even get wet and I'm standing right next to it." Then we walked around and noticed a group of tourists that were soaked. Apparently, we got lucky and were standing upwind when it went off.

Nick and I realized that we hadn't seen the Lion Monument yet. We decided to walk across town to see it. After about 15 minutes, we realized that Lucerne is a much bigger city than any of us had anticipated.

Like Father - like daughter. We're a hat-wearin' family!

The next day we'd be heading up to the top of Mt. Pilatus. I was so excited! 

The Lion Monument was much bigger and better than I had imagined. It's located in a quiet, little park above a pond. It was a sweet escape from the city.

It's amazing to me how many people bike in this city. There were almost more bicyclists than cars. 

On our way back to our hotel we rounded the corner I saw some construction workers with little mittens on. It made me chuckle, so I asked if I could take a photo with them. One man said, "no." I was almost shocked at first. Then I realized that he was actually on duty and doing his job. (That almost never happens in Italy!...people working.) Haha!

I think I must have taken about 100 photos of the Chapel Bridge. I couldn't resist snapping just one more each time we passed it. It really is beautiful!

For dinner, we went to Fritche Fondue. You have to have some fondue when you're in Switzerland!

 I had to get a picture of the franc coins before we ate. Their .50 cent piece is as big as a dime. It's so tiny, but worth so much! Also, most of their coins are silver instead of the copper or gold like the Euros.

We were almost overwhelmed by the amount of cheese we were given for dinner. They only brought out potatoes and bread to go with it. There weren't ANY vegetables. Needless to say, we didn't leave hungry.

Also, in the middle of dinner our fondue stove caught on fire. I wish I had taken a picture. We kept telling ourselves it was okay... for about 10 minutes. When I called the waitress over she screamed when she saw it! Haha! She removed the flaming burner, and brought back a new one with our old cheese pot. I was sort of hoping for a new one. Haha! (Not that I needed more cheese!)

We waddled out of the restaurant and back to our hotel. I thought surely I would never have to eat again after that meal. 

It was an event- filled day! Couldn't wait for Mt. Pilatus the tomorrow!

Tuesday, May 6th

The next morning we were heading out to embark on an adventure up a mountain. We walked straight to the Tourist Info booth at 8:30 to get our tickets. Our trip should have consisted of a boat ride to a cogwheel to get us to the top of Mt. Pilatus. On the ride back down we'd take a large gondola to a bus to get us back into Lucerne. Unfortunately, the gondola wasn't working, so we had to go up and back the same route. We were still excited though!

We were greeted by a swan when we got to the boat dock for our first leg of the trip. Who wouldn't want to start a morning off with feeding swans? Nick was the only one brave enough to get down at eye-level with these pretty, but mean birds.

Heehee:) I love their body language. 

Holy Moses - swans are giant! Sign that bird up for volleyball!

Mama feeding the ducks...because she's quakers! Haha!

The boat ride and views were pretty spectacular.

Heehee:) I love Nick's hair in this photo. :) It's the wind-blown look. :)

"ALMONNNNNNNND!"

Ladies and Gentlemen - The steepest cogwheel in the world.

Our seat mates were from Brazil and South Africa. What a combo! I love meeting world travelers  from different parts of the world.

Standing on Pilatus looking down at Lucerne. 

Some nice Americans took our photo for us. There were so many Americans up there!

It actually wasn't all that cold even though we were surrounded by snow. 

This was supposed to be a couples photo, but Nick ran off to play in the snow.

We did a few hikes to two different peaks. They were no more than 20 minutes up stairs.

Then we found some sweet tunnels to walk through. We had a little picnic at this spot with some sandwiches we'd bought down in Lucerne. 

We went back inside to get some warm drinks. I apparently don't know how to use automated drink dispensers because I spilled hot chocolate everywhere. A Swiss man must have thought I was helpless because he went and started to clean it up for me. Oy!

We hopped on the cogwheel back down the mountain. I love the red cogwheel train against the stark mountain.

When we got to the bottom of the mountain, we only had a few minutes before the train back into Lucerne left. We raced over to buy tickets. The train pulled into the station. We could only buy 3 at a time. Doh! Nick bought 3, then had some serious issues buying just one ticket for himself. My parents and I were standing on the train. The doors started to close, but my mom held them open. The doors started to close again...and Nick jumped onto the train. Phew!! The next train would have left more than an hour later. I'm glad we didn't have to wait. :) That was exciting!

Here's Nick's face after we all made it on the train. He wasn't happy because I was yelling at him to hurry to get on the train. Hahahahah! Awww...Nick's grumpy face. :) Teehee:)

When we returned to Lucerne, we took a different walking tour before dinner. We were trying to get some energy out before eating a huge meal like we had the night before. :)

My mom informed me that there were lots of men noticing me in Lucerne. This sounds strange, but I happened to notice a few as well, more so than in Italy. (which is strange because you'd think I'd stick out like a sore thumb in Italy) But I think I must look like a celebrity or maybe just a news anchor from Switzerland. They all seemed to look at me like they recognized me. If you find my Swiss doppleganger, please let me know! Haha!

So many bikes! There are a ton of students in Lucerne as well which might explain the bikes. 

We walked along the waters edge through some parks filled with young lovers. We came across some docks with boats that aren't used as regularly. 

We also went and bought our Swiss vignette at the post office on the way to dinner. Didn't want to get back on the road without one again! This was the view from the street next to the PO. Holy buses, Batman!

We asked several people how much we'd be charged for driving without a vignette. We had many different answers: 

1. Only 40 Francs 

2. 200 Francs

3. If the cops didn't catch you, you won't be fined.

...I guess we'll see. 

That night we decided to have some Indian food, since we can't get much of it in Italy. (And we were also hoping to save a few bucks.)The food was delicious, but it was still about $150 for all 4 of us. And that was a deal! In the States, it would cost at the most $75. It's a little ridiculous how expensive Switzerland is...seriously.

I keep saying that if I want Italy to feel inexpensive, just drive to Switzerland.

Of course, I had to take one more photo of the bridge and Mt. Pilatus on our way back from dinner. 

One thing we all noticed was that there was no graffiti in Lucerne....anywhere!

I had been trying to pet some cows or sheep the entire time we were in Bavaria. I saw them from a distance, but could never get close to them....until our last night! Haha! I saw a statue with sheep...it counts, right?

Wednesday, May 7th

We had a long haul ahead of us from Switzerland, so we took a little pit stop at Lake Como on our way back home.

Silly people trying to throw each other in the lake...

Silly people trying to act like normal people. :P

We had such a fun adventure traveling around with my parents! It's so much fun making these kind of memories. ..just maybe with a better GPS next time we're traveling outside of Italy. :P

We were all looking forward to being back in Sacile and doing some day trips...