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Lucerne Travel Blogs

Background: The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. Switzerland's sovreignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and the country was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations, but retains a strong commitment to neutrality.

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By AmandaL
December 8th 2009

Day 12, Lucerne Switzerland Europe » Switzerland » North-West » Lucerne

Me! Lucerne! 'Nuff said.

Day 12: Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 Lucerne, Switzerland Morning has broken, like the first morning. From our hotel room window, we're able to see some of the mountains and already I'm in love. While our hotel is in Lucerne, we are a ways away from the hub of it so we get back on the bus and it takes us into town. This is something we will soon get use to because Contiki saves us money by booking hotels that aren't close to the action (with a few exceptions). Lucerne is adorable/gorgeous/many other words I feel like I've used too many [View Full Entry]

Standing outside city wall looking in (or over in this case).

By AmandaL
December 7th 2009

Day 11, Paris to Lucerne, Switzerland Europe » Switzerland » North-West » Lucerne

Countryside during the drive from Paris to Lucerne.

Day 11: Monday, December 7th, 2009 Paris, France to Lucerne, Switzerland Editors note: This has been a whirlwind tour so I am now writing the blogs from December 7th -17th today, December 18th, as we drive from Munich to Vienna. Needles to say, I'm sure there are many things I've forgotten. Oh well. This was a loooong driving day. The country side was pretty so that helped, but the only thing to note is that I had my first encounter with a french toilet. It's the moment you all have been waiting for. What will Amanda say about [View Full Entry]

Kent was totally thrilled by the scenery.

No toilet seats. No friggin' toilet seats. See blog.

By ShiraGreenbaum
October 19th 2009

Luzern Europe » Switzerland » North-West » Lucerne

Lucerne First of all, the train ride to Lucerne was the most beautiful ride on which I have ever been. Switzerland is SO SO beautiful! Everything was so green and the small towns in the hills are adorable. There was a gorgeous waterfall around each turn and the whole time we were riding towards the incredible snow-covered Swiss Alps. I could not wait to get off the train and take some pics! Cheese Festival After shopping for some warmer clothes to keep me more comfortable the rest of the trip (unfortunately, I think I had my last beach day in Cinque [View Full Entry]

By RPR
October 8th 2009

Lucerne Europe » Switzerland » North-West » Lucerne

Wow, the drive from Austria to Switzerland was amazing, through the Alps and amazing scenery, it was a long driving day which included the stop in Liechtenstein but it was worth it for the scenery alone. Switzerland was beautiful to say the least. We took in a local show for dinner which included yours truly playing the alpine horn (check out Facebook) but thanks to my Aboboriginal heritage it was just like playing a digeridoo! (Apologies as most of you will not understand that joke). Steins were flowing (again) though a few people were still feeling the effects of Oktoberfest. Day [View Full Entry]

By helenamiri
October 6th 2009

Oneway-ticket to freedom Europe » Switzerland » North-West » Lucerne

Primitive

Sonntag, den 4.Oktober war es endlich so weit. Mein Gap-Year hat offiziell begonnen! Nach einer langen laaangen Partynacht mit Jasi, Mia, Rono, etc. saß ich völlig erledigt um 9h40 im Zug in Richtung Schweiz. Die Zugfahrt in meine neuerrungene Freiheit. Traurigerweise hab ich auch in diesem Zug erfahren, dass ein Mensch der mir sehr wichtig ist, leider bei einem Unfall tödlich verunglückt ist. So schmerzhaft diese Nachricht auch war/ist, sie hat mich wieder daran erinnert, dass im Leben nichts geschenkt ist und dass ich jede einzelne Sekunde meiner Reise und generell meine [View Full Entry]

By mcd0205
September 24th 2009

Sittin on top of the world with our legs hangin free Europe » Switzerland » North-West » Lucerne

Neuschwanstein Castle

Church bells ring for 5 minutes straight at 7AM in Switzerland, apparently...hahah. We got up pretty early and had a great breakfast at the place where we are staying. It is a really cool old house and the woman who runs it, Evelyn, has been very helpful. The breakfast was good. Swiss cheese is better in Switzerland, I think; I hate it at home. We took a cable car up to Mt. Pilatus in the morning. You have to change cars near the top because it is so steep it takes a special one. At the station where you switch there [View Full Entry]

By mcd0205
September 23rd 2009

I'm alive, just got internet again Europe » Switzerland » North-West » Lucerne

Town hall in Kirchhiem unter Teck

Sorry I haven't been able to update this thing. The place that we stayed in Munich didn't have internet. On Sunday we went to Rothenburg, which was great. It is a medieval walled town that is one of the best preserved anywhere. It is only about an hour and a half drive from Veronika's hometown. We spent a lot of time on the Autobahn and here's what I have observed about German driving: (1)If people knew how to drive, speed limits would be unnecessary (2)Stop signs are a waste, Germans have yield signs 90% of the time and it works for [View Full Entry]

By Thirsty Hurst
September 20th 2009

Wow! Europe » Switzerland » North-West » Lucerne

Alpenhorns

Author's note: This one is still incomplete. I've now posted a few more pictures but I'm waiting for some pictures from David. When/if I get them I'll repost. I’ll just come right out and say it. I had a blast today. All the stars were aligned for a great day on the road - majestic scenery, interesting people, beautiful weather… The day started out at the low point with my training run. It’s an off weekend this week (so no 20+/- mile training runs) but I still had to put in seven miles. The run is over with; that’s the most [View Full Entry]

By Thirsty Hurst
September 19th 2009

Another travel day Europe » Switzerland » North-West » Lucerne

French Alps

Not much new today. It took 12 hours and four trains to get me to Lucerne but I made it tonight. Only one problem - I left my lightweight jacket on one of the trains. Not smart since I’m heading into much cooler weather. I finished The Lost Symbol on my last train. Good but not as good as the last two Dan Brown books. Tomorrow the weather better be nice. I have breathtaking views to take in. [View Full Entry]

By cemkess
September 1st 2009

The Hills Are Alive... Europe » Switzerland » North-West » Lucerne

Cow, with Bell

The gentle clang of cowbells reverberated across the mountain valley, echoing off the steep, rocky cliffs towering above us. I smiled and thought: Swiss cows really do wear bells around their necks. I spotted a few of these mellow creatures ambling along a grassy ridge above our trail, a few more down by the clear green lake below us. The morning sun, already warm, drenched the scene in vivid light. The sky was an unreal blue. I took a deep breath of the absolutely fresh air, and began the zigzag [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Europe » Switzerland » North-West » Lucerne