Lucerne - Switzerland Day 2-3

Saturday 30th - Sunday 31st March 2013

We enjoyed the return train journey from Engelberg to Lucerne as much as the original one yesterday.  Was it only yesterday?  It seems as if we've done so much in so little time.

Trip Advisor is a wonderful place to research holidays and to get tips from locals so when we arrived at the station I remembered that we only had to go up some stairs from the station and our hotel should be right there waiting for us.  The directions were to take the escalator to Hotel Metropol then Hotel Alpina is round the corner to left then right.  Trouble is that there were several exits so it took a couple of tries before we found the right one.  Modern day phones are amazing tools with inbuilt cameras so I took a photo of the correct exit for future travelers to save them the same hassle.

Hotel Alpina was as advertised and the sister hotel where we check in was just across the road from the top of these steps.  It's wet and cold and just on 5pm so lots of people about.  Welcome to Lucerne!

We drag our suitcases and weary bodies over the road and check in.  We then follow my directions and walk around the street to find our hotel.  Initial impression - smoky foyer!  Curtain over the doorway.  What sort of hotel is this?  We're in Room 46.  We try to get into the tiniest lift I've ever seen.  This tip was also on Trip Advisor - no large suitcases.  And it was correct.  There is no-one around.  We get off into an equally narrow corrider.  I have visions of my hotel disaster in Rome and think I'm about to get a repeat.  But on the positive side there is no smoke smell up here.

Open the door to find a spacious, newly furbished room & a half.  3 beds, writing desk, 3 comfy chairs, 2 handbasins, heaters and so quiet.  Heaven.

Showered, rested and well wrapped up against the rain we wander off to the 'Old Town' crossing the historic wooden bridge.  Or try to!  It's jammed packed with thousands of tourists, mostly Chinese.

I easily locate the Restaurant Fritschi with its gargoyled mural (another online recommendation).  The decor inside is equally impessive or frightening.

I've heard the fondue here is worth the visit.  One cheese and white wine fondue later we nearly roll ourselves out.  I think the fondue was probably meant for 6 or 10 people - not 2!

Intense concentration is required.

Perhaps I need my glasses to see the bread.

Finally mastered!

Our visit caused amusement to staff and fellow diners.  We didn't have a reservation (I'd heard about it from an online review).  We didn't order any drinks.  We didn't order a main or desert.  We didn't order coffee.  We just had our much anticipated cheese fondue then left.  The waitress tried to tempt us with a chocolate fondue but there was no room left.  Fondue 25.90 CHF.

It's cold and wet outside as we recross the old bridge, pausing to admire the artworks painted under the roof. We see the blackened beams, the result of a bad fire a few years back.

It's too cold to be pleasant for sightseeing so we wander back to our hotel looking in shop windows as we go.  Same, same but different high end expensive tourist shops.  We head around to the sister hotel and find a McDonalds where I order a Moroccan Mint Tea 3.80 CHF.  For some reason our hotel doesn't have tea & coffee making facilities, something I always check on as this is another of my hotel 'must haves'.

During the night I hear a phone ringing and immediately know it's bad news.  Sister has been robbed back in NZ!  What can you do when you are so far away?  Just be thankful that no-one was injured as it appears they may have disturbed the burglers who left in a hurry, leaving a bag of booze inside.  All the good stuff is gone, laptops, cameras, jewellery etc.  She is gutted!   It is a wakeup call to back up your important computer files and keep your external  harddrive somewhere else.  And the worst part is it's not just the material possessions, it's the external damage to her house which will result in lots of windows and doors having to be replaced.  Facebook is rampant with what whanau would like to do to these thugs if they are found.

The morning finds a subdued pair.  We find a quicker route to the sister hotel for our breakfast which saves us walking around the streets to enjoy the breakfast at Hotel Monopol.  The food is less lavish than Engelberg but sufficient.  Lots of bread is a recurring feature in these breakfasts but a steaming bowl of porridge is called for today.  A couple of pots of tea later and I feel ready to face the next challenge.

As we walk back to the hotel we are delighted by two things: it begins to snow and the sound of church bells pealing nearby.  We follow the sound and find a beautiful Reformist church.  Of course, it's Easter Sunday so we head in to join the 10am service.  Which is all conducted in Swiss so after the first hymn we try to discretely sneak out. Not an easy feat.

Daylight saving begins today which seems so out of tune with the weather.  Due to the intense cold we are keen to leave Lucerne and catch an earlier train to Basel so we have some time to view the town before embarking on the next exciting stage of our journey - Rhine River Cruise.

Read my sister's guest entry: http://ramblingsfromgb.blogspot.ae/2013/07/sista-bonding-part-2-abu-dhabi-to.html