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Published: October 15th 2006
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Bonjour Switzerland,
Well the show moves on to Switzerland. The journey from Innsbruck to Zurich by train was an experience for us.
Named as one of the great train routes in Europe , it certainly lived up to its description.
We departed Innsbruck in a sudden weather change, fine and sunny last 3 days, now with low cloud on the deck and some drizzle.
Didnt see much scenery for 1st hour thensun broke thru and we were treated with spectacular mountain views and some fantastic feats of engineering. We marveled at the tunnels, viaducts, crossing road systems and bridges all constructed amongst the Alps between Austria and Switzerland.
As has been the case so far, we have been very lucky in our train travels to get great seats. We had bought a Eurail Pass which allows us to travel any where at any time in Europe within a certain number of days in a certain number of countries. Means you can jump on and off and have flexibility. The conductor just checks your pass each day. No fuss, no buying tickets etc.
On this leg we jagged a great compartment all to ourselves and spread out with a
nice lunch and a bottle of reasonable Australian red ( Yellow Tail shiraz, Bevis) which we got at the Innsbruck railway supermart. They dont mind you bringing food and booze aboard, everyone does it. For those who havent traveled in Europe, wine is considered just the drink to have with the meal. Very civilized. you can sit on the platform and have a coldie while waiting for the train!
Anyhow, we had a superb trip (we are going to pay for all this good luck sooner or later!) and arrived in Zurich via a quick rail shunt at Liechenstein.
First impressions Zurich main railway station........UGG! give it a BIG miss. Dirty, crowded, noisy and full of undesirable looking druggies etc. We were glad to make our way out into the street and after walking (huffing and puffing over tramlines and cobblestones) for about 10 mins, we were at our reserved hotel , the Martahous, which was very welcome. Basic and small but had its own bathroom which has become a bit of a minimum requirement for us.
After droping our bags and backpacks we still had enough time to walk back to the station, 5mins with no
bags, and jump on a train down to Lucerne (check your atlas) for the afternoon. In 50mins we were standing in the old Swiss town. Rail travel is so easy.
Forget Zurich, this is THE place to go. ( yes Bevis, the river really roars thru doesnt it. Snow melting on the peaks causes continuous runoffs and lovely clear fast flowing rivers.) At all the small towns we marvelled at the sight of the rapidly flowing rivers and streams, usually not very deep but over rocky shallow beds.
After all the lovely old towns of Prague, Vienna, Salzburg and Innsbruck we thought Lucerne would be more of the same.
Well, yes and no.
Yes, the cobblestone streets, narrow lanes and old buildings were there but Lucerne has a quaint, different appeal.
Too many things to list but the old wall murals and paintings, the lake, medieval signs and all surounded by lovely snow capped mountains make it one of the most beautiful small cities/towns in the region (pop. 58,000)
14th century architecture is still preserved and admired and the Kapellbrucke (famous bridge) is dated at 1333 and is adorned with numerous flowers hanging over its side. White
swans are plentiful on the Reuss River which flows into Lake Lucerne.
Another old attraction is the 17th century wooden bridge (the Spreuerbrucke) which has a macarbe array of goulish paintings in its archways depicting death scenes from thr Great Plague.
Lucerne is of course, full of tourists like us and if you think summer it is crowded, we have been told that in winter, the place is packed with ski and winter sports.
Wandering thru the old streets, beautiful little shops are jam packed with Swiss Army knives, watches, clocks,antiques,glass and chinaware, paintings, art, jewlery and did we mention the clothes!
Having used Danish Kroners, Czech Crowns, and just got used to our first go at Euros we had to change back to Swiss Francs. The Swiss are not yet in the EU, so we are all confused again! Bugger.
We made the mandatory couple of purchases then took a horse and carriage ride around town. Mary loved the 2 horse team as soon as she saw them and after talking to the horses and stroking their muzzles had to go for a ride.
The horselady was a lovely old character called Marie Therese who ownes the horse
and carriage business and used to sail around the world with her 'former boyfriend', a Kiwi sailor and even named the ship which we know! She knows Australia well and has been in Sydney and sailed the Whitsundays. Her 2 horses are a mother and daughter pair named Zilla and Loretta. They are lovely and stop at the town square for a short drink on the way. Therese gives a wonderful commentary on the very long tour around Lucerne and it was great value for money. We learnt so much in about 40 mins we could never have seen on foot.
After our ride we went back on foot and walked our legs off until it became dark and cooler when it became time to duck into a pub and we had a great hot curry cooked in front of us fresh and washed down with a few pints. Then caught the (almost) last train back to Zurich and crashed. It had been a LONG day.
Tomorrow we are looking foward to our trip down to Rome on the fast CISALPINE train.
Until then,
Bonne Nuit
Au revoir
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It's interesting to note this blog has only showed up here AFTER the infamous Italy train debarcle blog! Maybe a time lag somewhere?