Neuschwanstein and Oberammergau

This morning we were greeted by Rudy, our driver from Autobus Oberbayern who would take us by deluxe Mercedes motor coach to see Neuschwanstein Castle and then to the quaint village of Oberammergau. We would be gone pretty much all day and then return to the hotel, freshen up and head out for dinner at the famous Hofbrauhaus.
The motor coach was beautiful, only six months old and smelled like a new car. The technology in these things is amazing. The driver's station looks like the cockpit of an airplane. GPS information is displayed to the driver but also to the passengers on the overhead LCD screens, just like on overseas flights. There are warning systems which alert the driver if he is too close to the preceding vehicle or approaching it too quickly. And if he gets too close to the center line of the road or drifts too close to the solid line to the right an alarm sounds and a red visual signal lights up. The seats in the coach are very comfortable with good leg room. There is a flush toilet on board and a coffee service with an espresso machine and a refrigerator with cold drinks!

Mercedes Benz Bus

It was about a two hour ride. Some of that was due to the Oktoberfest traffic in Munich but then we broke out into the beautiful Bavarian countryside. Arriving at the base of the castle we had about an hour and a half until our scheduled tour time. But that was OK because I had to pick up our tickets a minimum of an hour in advance or we would have lost our reservation. So we had a few minutes for a nature break and to possibly get a bite to each before going on the tour. There were three ways to get from "base camp" up to the entrance of the castle. You could walk the steep inclined road, take a horse drawn carriage up or a special bus that would take you up to the "marriage bridge" above the castle entry and walk down. Some of our group tried each of these methods. Taking the bus to the bridge was nice because it allowed you to get a really nice picture of the castle. The bridge was constructed of steel with heavy wooden planks making up the floor. We walked out and some joker started to jump up and down trying to see how much the floor would flex! So we took our pictures and quickly made our way to the entry.

View from the bridge

Every one , no matter which method of ascent they chose had made it on time! Our English speaking tour guide started out by telling us a bit about the history of the castle, "Mad" King Ludwig and his mysterious death. There is much speculation about how he and his psychiatrist ended up dead in a lake. The most popular theory is that because Ludwig was bankrupting the county building these elaborate, expensive castles all about, he was murdered to put an end to it.

Hohenschwangau Castle where Ludwig's parents lived

We toured the approximately one third of the castle's rooms that were completed before Ludwig's death. The opulence and extravagance of the rooms and their furnishings is something unimaginable to anyone not having the wealth of an entire nation at their disposal. The shear grandeur and number of man years of artisan's work is mind boggling. Most of the rooms reflected Ludwig's infatuation with the operas of his "friend" Richard Wagner. The most intriguing room was one in which an artificial cave had been created. Unfortunately we were not allowed to photograph inside the castle so my pictures are entirely of the outside.

Evelyn finally meets some Bernese Mountain Dogs - in Oberammergau!

After the tour we made our way back down to the base, where Rudy had thoughtfully re-positioned the motor coach at the hotel so we did not have to walk out to the bus parking lot. We then proceeded to Oberammergau. This town is famous for its Passion Play, a reenactment of the Crucifixion that is put on by the townspeople every 10 years. Nearly everyone in town has a part in the play. This tradition dates back to the time of the plague when the townsfolks put on the play for the first time and promised God to reenact it forever if He would spare their town from the plague. He did and they do. The villagers are also know for their talents as wood carvers and the town abounds with shops displaying their wares, which Rudy referred to as "all the stuff you will never need"! His tip for us was to enjoy the ice cream stands. After an hour or so of wandering about this cute little town we headed back to Munich and our hotel.
After freshening up we again took the S-Bahn into the center of town and dinner at the Hofbrauhaus.
It was traditional German beer garden fare, pea soup, Alpine Ox goulash served with a soft pretzel instead of bread and Bavarian cream with a fruit topping. Of course there was also beer! It's amazing how many of those heavy liter glass mugs full of beer this waitress can carry at one time.

I don't know where some of the guys put 2 liters of this stuff

Some fellow Americans we met. The young lady on the right
is a former USAF C-130 pilot, we found out later.

Bike Tour and Oktoberfest

This morning we took the S2 S-Bahn (surface rail) into the city center, Marienplatz. A short walk got us to the old city gate tower where we met our tour guide, Tony, from Mike's Bike Tours. Every tour guide I've ever had fro Mike's has been great and Tony was no exception. He was so "up" and enthused about showing us "his" city that I wondered what was in his coffee cup!

Our tour guide - in a good mood!

First we marched down to the bike shop and took care of "business" ( water in and water out). Their shop is right behind the Hofbrauhaus so we had easy access to rest rooms. Then we were outfitted with bikes. For some of us it had been many years since we had been on one, but Tony assured us that if we had done it in the past it was, well, " just like riding a bike!" Bob was designated as tail end Charlie, or in Mike's Bike Tour parlance, "ass man". He was to make sure no one fell behind and if there was a problem to stay with the individual until Tony returned.
Our first stop on the tour was not what you might expect. Tony showed us one his favorite Bavarian delicacies, roasted pork shoulders, which were displayed on a rotisserie in a shop window. His description sounded so good that several folks had them when we stopped for lunch later in the tour. From there we visited several important historical sites from Bavaria's past. But the best part was his version of the historical facts which he embellished and put into modern day vernacular so we better "get it". Man, there were a lot of cool dudes back then!

Roasted Pork Shoulders

The high light of the tour was biking through the English Garden. After a brief history of this huge park, Tony warned us about the "Nudist Meadow", some of the exhibitionists that lurked there just waiting to shock unsuspecting tourists who dare to look their way! Being it was probably to be one of the last really nice days this fall the meadow, which we had to ride by, had several people lounging about "au natural". Sorry no pictures! Believe me, nothing you really wanted to see!
Near the center of the garden is a Biergarten where we had lunch. The food was good and the beer cold. Enjoying both in the warmth of the sun made one not want to leave.
One last potty stop and we were on the bikes again headed towards the final stop on the tour. A small stream meanders through the garden, but at one particular location a short segment of it is constricted to form a rapids with a standing wave upon which people surf. It's amazing to see them surf and perform tricks in such a small confined space. Back at the bike shop we thanked Tony and Bob was awarded his "Ass Man" medal in the form of a frisbee.

At this point we headed over to the large park where Oktoberfest was being held. We expected to see a lot of beer tents but all the amusement rides were a surprise. The place was mobbed with people coming and leaving continuously but there did not seem to be any roudiness. Folks were pretty friendly and just having a good time. There are always some who drink more than they should but they only caused problems for themselves. By the way we learned during our bike ride that you can be ticketed for DUI on a bike and the police can take your driver's license as a result.
We had heard that it was difficult to get a table in a beer tent if you did not either arrive very early or made a reservation, which could be very expensive. In at least a couple of the places some of us were seated at reserved tables as long as we promised to vacate them before the time they were reserved for.
We all met outside the entrance to the fest area at 4:30 to decide what to do. A few stayed but most of us went back to Marienplatz to shop and find a place to eat or proceeded back to the hotel.

Luzern to Munich

Sadly it was time to depart the Seeburg and leave our lovely view of Lake Luzern. But happily we are off on a new adventure! Our first stop was to be the Benedictine Monastery in the village of Einsiedeln to see the famous Black Madonna. After about an hour's drive we arrived in the village and found that an"Iron Bike" race was in progress. While this presented a challenge finding a parking location for the bus it made an interesting backdrop to the visit.

Mass was being held inside the basilica when we entered. Good timing! We arrive right when they were taking the collection and the ushers weren't bashful. Hope that means we got credit for attending church! It was Sunday. The Madonna is contained in its own separate little chapel area and while the mass was being said in the main area of the church, there were some worshipers saying prayers in front of the Madonna. Unfortunately we could not photograph inside the basilica, but it was quite a thing to see.

Leaving the church, I watched the race for a bit and then took off trying to find the "World's Largest Nativity Scene". It was in a museum that hadn't opened for the day yet. A little further down the road was the Panorama, a 360 degree painting depicting Jerusalem during the crucifixion. A very nice lady working there let me go in to see if it was something the group would be interested in. Better yet, she offered parking space for our motor coach! So I departed looking for the group to tell them what I had found. As it turned out, most of them were coming down the road toward me. I then went up to find where the bus was parked and bring it down to where I had found these two sites.

The Panorama was less spectacular but the intricacy and detail of the Nativity scene was really amazing. It may not be the biggest interms of physical size but mostly has the largest number of individual piece, with hundreds of individually carved characters with moveable limbs and dressed in real cloth garments.
Departing Einsiedeln,we drove through the remnants of the beautiful eastern mountains of Switzerland and into Germany, where the land slowly flattened out. Munich took a long time to traverse en route to our hotel due partly to the Oktoberfest crowds. People seemed to be stumbling about all over the place and Marina had to take care not to hit any of them.

The Hotel Prinzregent is located about 9 kilometers outside the center of town in a somewhat residential area. Although it has a really homey, comfortable feel, all the while everything is done in a top notch way. The rooms are immaculate and spacious, by European standards, the bathroom floor is heated which is really nice stepping out of the shower. There is a friendly bar, an outdoor eating area and a nice private dining area for our group. The maître'd met me before dinner to suggest a couple of wines to accompany our dinner menu. I tasted the wines suggested and found them to be
excellent.

Prinzregent Bar

Our private dinner room

Before dinner we enjoyed some conversation and beverages in the bar. We had a wonderful meal, one of the very best I've had touring with a group. We had Marina join us one last time before he was to return to Switzerland early the next morning.
It had been a rather long day and those comfortable beds with their fluffy duvets were calling!

Mount Pilatus

This morning it was off to explore another dragon's lair, Mount Pilatus. Our journey started with a short ride to the Luzern train station via bus number 24 from in front of our hotel. Adjacent to the train station is the dock where we boarded our cruise ship for the approximately one hour ride to Alpnachstad.

Boat to Alpnachstad

There we had just a very short time to catch our scheduled ascent aboard the world's steepest cog wheel railroad. The folks at the ticket exchange booth were very helpful in quickly exchanging our boat vouchers for the cog wheel train tickets and ensuring we made it onto the proper train. It really paid to have made an advance reservation as it was a beautiful day and the line to go up the mountain was filled with those who had not.

On the half hour journey up we passed cows peacefully munching away on the steep slopes and the occasional hearty soul making his or her way up on foot. Apparently someone in good shape can do it in about four hours! Not my choice of recreation. The scenery from the train was just spectacular!
Reaching the top I immediately confirmed our reservation for the descent three and a half hours later. After a quick orientation the group split up and everyone went off in various directions.

Everywhere you looked there was some amazing scene; shear rock cliffs, tree lined slopes, lakes and clouds below, tiny ant-like people making their way up the mountain, people far below on a toboggan run, others soaring about as the mountain's up draft carried their hang gliders entry upward. Numerous hiking paths and tunnels into the mountain provided access to a variety of observation points.

Later we just enjoyed basking in the sun under the clearest of blue skies and having lunch and a beer! Off in the distance one could hear the muted melody of the flugel horns.

 Eventually it was time to start back down the mountain. Standing in line for our train, the window looking out over the cliff and distant valley filled with the brilliant orange color of a hang glider as an instructor filled the delicate looking fabric with air and jumped off the cliff with his student. They sank out of sight momentarily and then rose slowly at first and then more rapidly as the airfoil increased in efficiency and the updraft took the kite like object higher into the sky. I want to do that!



After reaching the bottom we took the regular train back to Luzern arriving around 4:15 PM. The rest of the day was on our own. The ladies were disappointed to find that the stores closed early due to it being Saturday, but the guys found an English pub and were happy as larks. We decided to eat at the pub as it was most convenient and then caught the bus back to the hotel.

Interlaken to Luzern

The plan today is to leave Interlaken for Luzern and to stop to see where Brother Klaus lived en route. As I was unable to secure an English speaking guide I knew I would have to kind of "wing it" as the tour guide. Hoped Marina could help but en route he told me he had never been there and actually asked me what we expected to see there. Given it is touted as being such an important pilgrimage site in Switzerland I was surprised he was not familiar with it. I told him it was an important religious site but that did not seem to register.
This destination took us off the beaten path and Marina glanced at me several times with a kind of "you gotta be shiting me" look. After a little time on some back country roads through some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable we arrived at Flueli-Ranft, where the hermit and saint lived. At the beginning of his life as Nicholas Flue, Brother Klaus, was a very successful and wealthy farmer, father of 10 children, soldier and political advisor. He is even credited with being largely responsible for averting a civil war in Switzerland. Later in life he felt the call of God and after much deliberation and discussion with his wife he set off to come closer to Him through the life of a hermit.

Scenic view en route

Arriving in Flueli-Ranft I found a brochure and map in English and a nice gift shop vendor who spoke a little English. Together that provided enough information that we were able to piece together a tour of the hermit's birthplace and the house he built for his family. He was definitely an important, influential character in Swiss history but what struck me most was the absolute beauty of the place. We all enjoyed some additional hiking and exploring of the immediate area.
Departing Flueli-Ranft, it was about an hour on the coach to Luzern. As this was going to have us arriving at the hotel well before check in time I asked Marina to stop in Luzern for about 90 minutes to allow us to get lunch before proceeding to the hotel. He took us to a central location where the bus could park and there were several paces to eat. Had a nice bowl of pumpkin soup sitting outdoors and enjoying he beautiful day. Later went into Coop, which looks a bit like the Swiss version of Walmart. Picked up a nice bottle of inexpensive (read cheap) red wine that we had in our room.

View from our room of Lake Luzern

The Hotel Seeburg is really nice. The group rooming list was all ready for me in our own format. Most of our rooms were facing Lake Luzern which was just across the street. And we were conveniently located on the bus route with a stop right outside the hotel. Saying goodbye to Marina we checked into the hotel, got settled and then met in the lobby to depart for town. Getting everyone bus passes we then proceeded by public bus to the center of town (about a 10 minute ride) to meet our tour guide.

Bridgette met us at the arch monument infront of the Bahnhof, the train station. Since it was so nearby she took us first to one of the most modern sites of the city, KKL Luzern, the Cultural and Convention Center. With its 1800 seats and superb acoustics it is one of the finest concert halls in the world. It also contains the fourth largest Art Museum in Switzerland.

Chapel Bridge

One of the most iconic sites of Luzern of course is the Chapel Bridge, originally constructed at the beginning of the 14th century as part of the city's fortification and named for the nearby St. Peter's Chapel. Being made of wood, this is not, of course the original bridge. It is beautifully decorated with flowers all along its length. Other sites included the Jesuit Church which contain some of the original vestments of Brother Klaus! Brigitte was surprised to find we had visited Flueli-Ranft and were familiar with the story of Brother Klaus. The water spike was an interesting means of controlling the level of Lake Luzern by manually raising or lowering individual stakes comprising a weir across the connected river.

Following the tour we all had some free time to wander about and make our way back to the hotel in time for a delightful dinner.

A Spectacular Day Around Interlaken

This morning we departed by motor coach to Saint Beatus' Cave located on the north shore of Lake Thun. The entrance to the. Cave seemed like it was half way up the mountain. It was a long arduous climb but we all made it. That being said, the scenic view as we climbed up was spectacular. Just below the cave entrance an underground stream emerges and creates a beautiful waterfalls which we crossed on short bridges as we made our way up to the entrance. Once at the entrance we had a wonderful view of the lake and distant mountains.

A long but beautiful walk up

Inside St Beatus' Cave

Our tour guide informed us of the significance of the caves. According to legend Saint Beatus and few other Irish monks came in the first century to convert the indigenous people to Christianity. The locals being fearful of a terrible dragon living inside the mountain led Beatus to take up residence in the cave and drive out the dragon. With such a impressive display of God's power the locals were easily converted. Inside the cave we found the subterrainian stream that feed the waterfalls, numerous interesting rock formations but fortunately no dragons!
Making our way back down to the bus we were then off to see the Castle Thun. Marina handled the coach really well on the windy road which seemed more appropriate for a sports car. Arriving in the town of Thun we circled about trying to get close to the castle but found that the surrounding medieval villages prevents one from getting too close. Finally finding an access street we again climbed cobble stone streets to get where we wanted to be. The castle was constructed in the late 12th century by the Duke of Zahringen. What we learned from visiting these towns and castles was that they were frequently established by design by some Germanic noble who wanted to establish waypoints on the trade routes connecting Germany to northern Italy.

View of Thun from the castle

The castle is beautifully maintained and presented opportunities for superb photos of the town and lake below. However it didn't have the menacing feel about it that Chillon did. Perhaps that is because no long ago it had been used as a granary. Following our visit we stopped in the town for a quick lunch before heading off to our next destination.

After more winding roads through the beautiful countryside we arrived at Trummelbach Falls in Lauterbrunnen. First of all, the valley we were in was absolutely beautiful with shear vertical mountains springing up on both sides. It very much reminded me of Yosemite. As we made the easy walk to the entrance we were pleased to find that there was an elevator to take us up at least half way to the top. These falls are very different from what one pictures when one thinks of a waterfalls. The powerful stream has carved a twisted gorge down through the mountain which constrains the water in something like a half pipe forcing the water to shoot downward at great velocity. It gives a very dramatic indication of the power of water to, with time, wear away solid rock!

Returning to the valley presented us with the most spectacular views of the valley, the adjacent mountains and the distant snow covered alps! The scene was enhanced by the silent intrusion of several hang gliders which traced back and forth across the sky like giant colorful leaves.

Dinner tonight was on our own so after retuning to the hotel we headed downtown looking for a place to eat while enjoying the spectacle of the hang gliders coming in and landing in the park at city center.

Bern and Interlaken

Breakfast at the hotel was mostly light fare, breads, cheeses, yoghurt, cereals, juice and a wonderful espresso machine. Loading the motor coach at 9:00, we are off to Interlaken by way of Switzerland's capital, Bern. With only about an hour en route we arrived at the Barengraben, bear pits located where the river Aar makes its hairpin turn forming the picturesque peninsula the makes Bern so recognizable. We were a bit early meeting our guide so took a few minutes to enjoy watching the bears, three huge, cute creatures emblematic of the city. We found out they were momma, papa and baby. While I dislike seeing wild animals in captivity I have to say these bears have it pretty good they have a large expansive area in which to wander and forage and access to a moat which is fed by the adjacent cold and rushing river.

Meeting our tour guide, Denise, we reboarded the coach for a short ride to the rose garden where we started our tour. From here you got a really nice overview of the old city, originally established in 1191 by the Duke of Zahringen the protect the river Aare. While Denise explained the history of the city we also took in the beauty of the rose garden which helped the city win this year's award for most beautiful city in Switzerland .

Note the John Deere tractor!

Group shot with our tour guide

After an informative city tour we all headed out to lunch in the old town. Found a sunny outdoor spot at a small restaurant which we took over. Of course we had to try the local beer as we enjoyed lunch and waited to see the mechanical man atop the clock tower strike the hour on a huge bell with his sledge hammer. Unfortunately the tour had ended a little past noon so the whole performance was a little anti climactic.

Part of the crew enjoying lunch and a beer in Bern

Back on the coach we headed off to Interlaken, the city between two lakes, Thun and Brienzer. It is more of a small town than a city but has a lot of activity going on. Arriving at the Hotel Carlton Europe we were greet with a welcome drink of sweet tea as the hotel manager, Pascal introduced us to the hotel and its amenities. It's basically two hotels side by side and some of us were assigned rooms in each of the buildings. Again, being a boutique hotel all the rooms were a bit different from one another but everyone seemed happy with their rooms and the hotel staff could not have been nicer.

Nice room but Evelyn was upset at the "cow rugs"

Room was spacious with jacuzzi

 Across from the hotel a short distance was the Harterbahn, a long funicular which took us up one of the adjacent mountains to an observation deck and restaurant about 3000 feet above the town where we had a spectacular view of the two lakes and the town nestled between them. A light rain had started as we arrived at the top but we still had a few minutes out on the observation deck to enjoy the view before retiring to the restaurant for a little refreshment.

View from Harter Kulm observation deck

Looking the other direction toward Lake Thun

With this crew someone is always "horsing around", er, with a cow?

It's five o'clock somewhere!

After returning to the hotel we had some much needed down time before dinner, which was served in a private room at the hotel. Salad, potato leek soup, a delicious pork dish with Roesti (Swiss potato specialty), Ratatouille and for dessert Apple cream with a sweet cookie. Later most of us congregated near reception for a night cap and just enjoyed each other's company.

On our way

We all met in a light drizzle at Utica College at 8:30 this morning, loaded our luggage onto the waiting Birnie Bus and prepared to start off on our European adventure! The weather promised to be better in Boston and much better in Switzerland. The rain stopped well before Albany and then the skies became only partly cloudy.

We pick up a couple of hitch hikers in Hudson 

Boston was beautiful for our departure. After a couple of sightseeing loops around Logan we found our way to terminal E departures, unloaded bags and got in line for our Lufthansa flight. The self check in kiosks were a bit of a challenge to say the least! Most of the group just bypassed them and got their boarding passes at the baggage drop counter. I finally determined the kiosks were just there to frustrate you or give you something to do while waiting in line.

We sooth our frustrations with a beer at Durgin Park in the airport

 Our flight aboard the Boeing 747 was packed as is the case today. Didn't see any empty seats in our section. It was fairly comfortable for "economy" and the free flowing beer and wine made it more so. Food was decent. We hit some turbulence en route. Probably off the jet stream. I have to say our landing a Frankfurt was a "grease job". The pilot put her down as slick as can be. Surprisingly cool as we stepped on to the gangway. Outside air temp was around 43.
Frankfurt is a sprawling airport and we walked quite a distance to get to the gate for the flight to Geneva. But we made it ok and the flight was a little late departing anyway. The Airbus 319 was full too. A short flight of about an hour but they gave us a nice little snack en route. Temp was warmer in Geneva and when we exited the "secure" area of the terminal our driver , Marina was waiting with a sign reading "Apex Tours". Everyone seemed impressed with the motor coach. The European coaches, this one was built by Volvo, always seem a step up from the ones we get at home.

 Loading the bags we are off to our first stop, Chillon Castle.

Chillon means rock and this castle was built right on top of a rock out cropping at the edge of Lake Geneva some 800 years ago by the Count of Savoy. Our tour guide, Mirjam, started the tour in the dungeon where the Count imprisoned people awaiting either release or execution! What a cheery place. As we made our way higher in the castle to the Count's sleeping quarters we learned that the Savoys only used the castle a few weeks of the year, in the summer. The rest of the time they lived in one or another of their many other castles throughout Switzerland and northern Italy. The beds were tiny by modern standards, not so much because of the diminutive stature of the people but because they slept sitting up! This was due to their superstious belief that if they fell asleep on their backs and their mouth fell open their soul would escape and they would die. The toilet was quite interesting, looking like the indoor version of an outhouse or portapotty, only what was input fell like 40 feet down a stone shaft to the lake. I guess if you were rich and important you could crap from high places and pollute the lake.

Royal Bedroom

Leaving the castle we boarded the coach for a short ride to Maison du Gruyere, to tour the cheese factory where the famous Gruyere cheese is produced. This was essentially an audio tour, obviously created for children to educate them on the processes involved in the cheese production beginning with the grasses the cows eat through the mechanical processing of the milk. All in all it was cute and educational. The best part being the samples of Gruyere at various stages of aging.

Milk into cheese

Aging the cheese

We found the medieval town of Gruyere to be absolutely beautiful set in the surrounding verdant mountains. We found lunch in a variety of places. It's touristy no doubt and a bit pricy but the food was good. Brett and Bonnie ate at the Giger Museum grill amongst the wierd artwork of the artist responsible for the monsters of the "Alien" films.

Is there beer in Gruyere?

Some of ladies strutting their stuff in Gruyere

Our last tour today was at Maison Callier, where the famous Callier chocolates are produced. As we proceeded through a series of automated displays we learned about the history of chocolate from its ceremonial use by the Aztecs to present day. Finally we arrived at the tasting room! They were more than generous with the samples of the many varieties of confections produced. I never thought I'd say "enough"! to chocolate but I just couldn't try all of the different samples.
Finally arriving in Montreux, we check into the Hotel Rouvenaz, a small boutique hotel, of which we probably occupied about 50%. Everyone's room was totally different from everyone else's. There was the "penthouse suite" which encompassed the entire fifth floor, The second floor suite with three bedrooms and a fireplace, and our's which was nice enough but just what you would expect of a standard double room. Check in was fun because the hotel has the typical European tiny elevator, which meant it would fit one couple and their luggage at a time. It's all part of the experience. Dinner was in the adjacent restaurant in a private room. A nice salad followed by a choice of ravioli or fusilli with chicken and then the surprise! I knew we were having ice cream for dessert, but didn't expect the range of flavor choice or that it was to be served as cones! Everyone was delighted as we turned into kids.
Finally time to turn in as we are off to Bern at 9 tomorrow.