Drew and Sharon's Travels

We did a fair bit of time on the coach today. Cosimo spent his day off yesterday cleaning the coach inside and out so it was sparkling this morning. (it is always clean anyway, he cleans it every time we get off for a comfort stop, it always smells nice when we get back on and he goes through and picks up any rubbish etc that someone may have dropped) We left Lucerne (Weggis)at 8am bound for Mainz, Germany. We made a stop at the beautiful Rhine Falls. They are very spectacular. From there we headed to the Black Forest. We went to a cuckoo clock presentation and had some lunch there. They had some lovely clocks but we didn’t buy one. Not really our thing. I did get some lovely earrings there though. From there we made our way to Mainz stopping for a comfort stop along the highway. Every country has a different system for the toilets but I think Germany wins the prize. You have to pay 70 cents at a machine to get through the turnstiles to the toilets, then you get a 50 cent voucher to spend in the shop. When you flush the toilet an arm comes out the back of the toilet and the seat spins around to get cleaned. I wish I had taken a video! There was a lot of traffic today, much to Cosimo’s annoyance. We finally got to the Hilton Mainz at 5.45pm. We all met for drinks at 7 where Nathalie presented a gift to everyone who has travelled with insight on a previous tour. They got a lovely travel wallet. We had a very nice buffet dinner and had a much needed early night.

Well, another fantastic day today. This tour has been truly amazing! We left the hotel at 8am and headed straight to Mt Pilatus. Cosimo didn’t drive us today as he had a mandatory day off so we had a local driver and coach. We really noticed the difference in the leg room on a normal coach compared to our Insight coach. We have so much more space, it’s great! We arrived at Mt Pilatus about 8.30 and went straight onto the cable car for the ride up the mountain. They are 4 person cable cars. We shared with Jack and Judi. Judi and Drew are both not keen on heights but they both coped really well and had a look around and took pictures on the way up. It took about 30 minutes for that part of the trip and it was so beautiful. We could hear the cowbells on the cows as we went up the mountain and the view was fantastic looking back over Lucerne. We went up into the clouds and came out above them. When we got off we had a few minutes for photos then got onto a bigger cable car to go right to the top of the mountain. This was a scarier ride as we had to stand up and the carriage held about 30 people. It was a bit bumpy here and there but luckily it only took a few minutes. Again the view was incredible. We could see the tops of the alps peeking out through the clouds below us. When we got off the cable car we had an hour to wander around and do a further climb on foot if we wanted to. Drew and I did a short climb which was really worth the effort. We were a bit breathless for a few minutes when we got up there because of the altitude but once we recovered from that we just stood there and took it all in. You really do feel like you are on top of the world. Mt Pilatus is 7000ft high. There was a little bit of snow around which was nice but it was not as cold up there as we expected. After we had a look around we bought a coffee and strudel and did a bit of shopping. Then it was time to leave. We went down the other side of the mountain on a cog wheel train. The steepest cog wheel train in the world. 48 degrees incline. Such a fantastic experience! I think I stood up nearly all of the way, taking pictures and sticking my hand out the window to feel the clouds as we came down through them 
We got back on the coach for a short drive to meet up with Hans, a local farmer who, along with 2 other farmers was waiting to take us on a horse drawn carriage ride through their town. It was so beautiful riding through the Swiss countryside looking at all the beautiful farmhouses with their flowerboxes in the windows and their beautiful gardens. We stopped at the church on the village and looked at all the hand carved wooden headstones in the graveyard. We went into the church and sat for a few minutes enjoying the peace and quiet. Then Hans took us to his farm where his wife was waiting to give us some lunch. We had home made bread and cheese and some beautiful pastries which were still warm, freshly squeezed apple juice from their orchard, home made schnapps and some delicious cake for dessert. Then we got back on the carriages and onto the coach to go and do some shopping in Lucerne. After our shopping time we met the group and hopped onto a boat for a cruise around the lake. It was a bit cold but we rugged up and sat outside admiring the beauty all around us.
When we got off the cruise we walked through Lucerne to the Sad Lion Monument. It is a huge lion carved out of sandstone as a tribute to the Swiss Guards who were killed during the French Revolution. The emotion on the lions face is so beautiful. Very moving.
Then it was time to go back to the hotel for dinner.We had a set menu which was very nice. Clear soup with pancake strips (served in a glass!), chicken and broccoli with risotto and berry strudel with ice cream.
Drinks in the bar again! We might get an early night tomorrow…. Maybe!

Well we had a day of contrasts today. We set out this morning and went to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp memorial. It was very sad and moving. We spent a couple of hours looking around and watched a movie about the place. We all came out very quiet and subdued.
This it was on the road to Switzerland. We left Germany, drove through Austria where we stopped at one of their beautiful rest stops for lunch. Then we went to Liechtenstein. We had a 40 minute stop to have a quick look around then hit the road again for Lucerne. We are actually staying in a little town called Weggis. The scenery on the drive was absolutely amazing! Truly spectacular. It looked just like a postcard. The snow capped alps, green fields, cows wearing cowbells, beautiful lakes, lovely houses with flowers in the window boxes. Then we arrived at our hotel. WOW!! Our rooms all overlook the lake directly across the road. (Lake Lucerne). It is so gorgeous. We can see the alps too. The hotel is very modern. I hope we get time to enjoy it. The weather is beautiful today. A bit cloudy but it fined up and warmed up. Fingers crossed it stays like this for tomorrow. We have a big day planned.
We went out for dinner tonight, We didn’t have dinner included so a few of us went for a walk around the town and ended up at a restaurant next door to our hotel. It was such a lovely night we sat outside and looked at the full moon on the water. We had a lovely dinner and a few drinks. I had a pie which was chicken and veggies, I think. Drew has been dying to try a bratwurst sausage so he ordered the sausages and got 2 frankfurts! Oh well, maybe tomorrow

We had an early start this morning, 7.15 we were on the coach and on our way. We left early to get on the road before the traffic for our 4 hour drive to Salzburg. The weather was overcast when we left Vienna but gradually got worse as we got closer to Salzburg. Nathalie rang our guide Gabby who said the Eagles nest was closed. No point going up there when you wouldn’t be able to see a thing anyway. By the time we got to Salzburg it was pouring rain and 5 degrees. We still wanted to see the town and since coaches can’t drive through we put on our coats and grabbed our umbrellas and off we went in the rain. Some people opted not to do the tour so they found a coffee shop and waited for us. It was pretty unpleasant walking around in the wind and rain but Salzburg is a very pretty place and we still managed to get a few photos. After about 45 minutes we finished our tour and took shelter in a pub where we had a nice hot lunch and a coffee. We did a very quick power shop (getting good at those) and back on the coach to Munich. The trip took about 2 hours, then we checked in at the Westin. A very nice hotel. Nathalie managed to find an alternative for us to make up for Eagles Nest so we all had about half an hour to get some dry clothes on and off we went to a beer hall. We all had a drink there and then went to a restaurant for a lovely dinner accompanied by some music, a bit of a singalong and quite a few laughs. A quick nightcap in the bar and off to bed.

We had an early start this morning. 7.4am on the coach to meet our local guide Ilsa. She was a great guide – very funny. She took us to the Schonbrunn Palace which was the summer palace of the Habsberg family who ruled Austria for almost 700 years. The palace has 1441 rooms. We were the very first people to arrive there this morning which was great as it was very busy when we came out. We walked through some of the beautifully decorated rooms and then went and had a look at the gardens. They were very pretty but it was raining and cold so we didn’t spend long there. We got back on the coach and did a driving tour around Vienna. It is a lovely city. Very clean with lots of parks and gardens and the Danube river running through it. We were supposed to go on a tour of the Opera House but being a Sunday it was closed. All of the shops were closed too. Instead of the Opera House we did a tour of the Habsburg family crypt. There are 150 people buried there. (well not really buried, their coffins are placed in sarcophagus’ and all decorated). We saw the coffins of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband. She ruled Austria for 40 years and had 16 children. After our tour we had time for a coffee and cake. I had apple strudel, Drew had fruit flan. They were both delicious. The food here is great. Then it was time for our horse drawn carriage ride. We shared a carriage with friends and even though it was raining we had a cover so we still had a lovely ride through the streets of Vienna.
We went back to the hotel about 2pm and had some free time till 5.15. I caught up on my diary and washing and skyped the family. Drew had a spa and sauna.Then we got ready to go out for dinner. We had been given a choice of 2 restaurants. It was a nice dinner. A pleat of cold meat with olives, feta cheese and tapenade with bread for our entrée, then sausage, chicken and pork with veggies for our main, crème brulee and tea or coffee for dessert. After dinner we went to a Viennese concert. They played music by Strauss and Mozart and they had dancers and singers. We had a lovely time.