From the Burning Embers to the Pearly Gates

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Day three was all-in-all a marvelous treat; probably my favorite day yet. Don't get too excited for me though, one shall not forget the expression, in order to appreciate sunshine, you must also experience the rain.
I began the day with a jog along side Mrs. Bradley. I just love to hear her stories. We followed up our jog with breakfast, got ready, and then the group met downstairs for our trip to Seelisburg to visit a family owned and operated organic cheese-making facility. It is a fourth generation factory and employs 16 local farmers, 14 of which are cousins to the Aschwanden family (the founding and still operating family.) For reasons such as to keep employment rates up, business in dairy is vital to the Swiss culture. Without these facilities, there would be many farmers, with a lot of milk, and no where to sell it. There are a lot of cows here in Switzerland, happy cows might I add, but they must be put to good use! That destiny is able to be fulfilled in large part to people like Mr. Hans Aschwanden. He first gave us a tour of his facilty, then later allowed us to try three of his organic cheeses. One was 6 weeks old, which was very mild, then we had a 3 month old cheese(my personal favorite), and then an 11 month old cheese. It was strong but the taste grew on me. I have never tastes such a pure and flavorful cheese as this. I was tempted to purchase an entire block, however, I learned that customs would just take it from me at the airport, so I decided to save the Franks and just resist. Elz and I got a picture with Hans, pretending like we worked there. We also got some group pictures, the view was stunning! On that note, please do not forget about the rain!! Ohhhh the rain. (nearly literally). Some people (of age clearly!) went down to the village pub called the Yuki (you-key) the previous night. Some made their way in at 11p.m. (23.00) while others came in at 2:00 and a couple more at 4:00 a.m. We were all on time this morning making it to the buses, ready to go! Our ignorance to the day, however, did not lead us to much bliss. We were given a baby van this morning (which is not usual), with little a/c. About an hour into the trip a monotony of windy roads was the composition of our driving course. Elz and I sat in the second row, mostly consumed in a conversation of love lives (duh), when we suddenly realized the geography. We miraculously had yet to feel car sick. It wasn't until a moment after we finished that snippet of a conversation that we got felt the rain! What had sounded equal to a very big sneeze was very rapidly revealed to be something much more appalling than that of the noses' line of defense.... must I say more?! After it took the bloody (haha! some london vocab for ya!) bus driver a good minute to pull over, it was all over the poor guy, the window, and my lovely roommate and long-lived college friend, Elz. She responded very civilized. I, on the other hand, was ready to run out of the bus and burn my clothing at the mere thought! Moments later another one nearly went down with him, but she pulled it together. After a while the bus settled down, but don't let those rain clouds fool you. Although they may have parted temporarily, that doesn't mean they did not form another conglomerate. On the way back, [i[another[/i[ one bit the dust. The battle was much more tame this time, no mess involved (again I will leave the details only to those that witnessed it). That was the last straw. I turned to Jamie and said, "This is hell on earth for me."
About five minutes later we reached the Autobahn (the name alone put me in a better mood! I love it!). We were on the road more-so traveled and headed for Lucerne! Although I had heard good things about Lucerne, I didn't have any idea that I was about to fall in love!! We reached the city limits and about 5 minutes in my heart was stolen. I don't know what it was, but between the Alps, the lake, the boats, (motor, sail, & wheel), or Chapel Bridge I was sold. And this was before I saw all of the shops and little town houses! Doris, the lady that we met to be our tour guide, was a fascinating story teller. While giving the tour, she shared some incredible history and stories about Lucerne, it was captivating! About a quarter of the way onto Chapel Bridge I thought to myself, wow, this may be my favorite place on Earth. It wasn't until we got half-way to the other side that I knew it was. Right there, smack in the middle, was a shop named Joe's Souvenirs. 😊
Through the discovering of Lucerne I think that yes it is accessible for tourists. With that being stated, I would argue that it may be more attractive for the more active or outdoor tourists. They have a plethora of hotels and restaurants to chose from, activities inside and out, along with entertainment places like the casino or the white pillar mime. It is even very dog friendly! Not to mention, it is very good for those that like history, for there is much to tell and much more to learn! I loved Lucerne so much that I felt like I was in heaven. Everything that I live for was there in one destination; A protestant church, many hospitality opportunities, the lake, and a fun loving, active atmosphere. The streets in the town center were paved in stone (which I adore), and the town houses had me from hello! And please, do not even get me started on the shopping. 😉

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