January 7 - A night in Luzern

We were up early to pack. Ron and I walked to La Rinascente (the big department store), and went up to the 7th floor for breakfast. We had delicious cheese omelets, bacon, rolls, coffee and "real" loose-leaf tea. Everything was great. And about 10 EU instead of the 50 EU our hotel would charge.

Walking back we stopped into Pat and Mike's hotel, and Pat was at the computer in the lobby. Mike had already gone with the luggage to the Hyatt. (We couldn't face another challenge with the van of avoiding the restricted traffic areas.) The three of us walked to the Hyatt, finished loading the luggage, and set off for Switzerland. We drove through many tunnels, including the St. Gottard, 17-km long.

As we came into Switzerland, we all agreed it felt good to be back in a "Teutonic", German-speaking area. Italy is beautiful and it was fun to see some new sights, but we seem to prefer the more orderly routines of Switzerland and Germany. Mike commented that even the lady on the GPS sounded in a more cheerful mood.

Our Hotel Swiss Chalet was in Merliscachsen, a few miles outside Luzern. It grew from a 17th century farm house, and is owned by Prince Josef Seeholzer. When we arrived we went to their restaurant for lunch. I heard an exclamation from Mike when he opened the menu, and I said, "You know you're in Switzerland now." Prices are about double or more what they are in Italy or Germany. The restaurant was very old-style - wood walls, many photos and paintings of wedding scenes, plows, baskets, etc. We met the host/owner, Prince Josef.

I had chicken curry, Mike and Ron had sausage with fries, and Pat had tomato soup. 

Restaurant at Hotel Swiss Chalet

Ron and Mike had sausage and pommes frittes

Our room

The desk clerk said they had upgraded us to a room in the main building instead of the annex for the same price (it would normally have been an additional $90). They offered the option for a room with a lake view, but that would be an additional $140 - so we both declined. It would not have been worth it for one night - especially since it was so foggy you couldn't see the mountains behind the lake. We were happy enough with the room for the original price of 139 Swiss Francs - but would have thought 228 Swiss Francs for it to be exorbitant. Don't think we'd have been very happy in the original annex room!

I had wanted to go into Luzern for lunch and sightseeing, but we had arrived in Luzern a tad later than planned. After lunch, Ron went into Kussnacht to the Coop to buy necessary supplies - wine, Prosecco, and Scotch. 

Luzern is the capital of the canton of Luzern, and is in the German-speaking area of Switzerland. It is a popular tourist spot due to the beauty of the lake and mountains, and the famous wooden bridges.

We went over to the "piano bar", but instead of piano music, there was a music video of Tina Turner. Turns out the piano player wouldn't start until 9 PM. Ron arrived, and we all agreed we would rather go into Luzern earlier than planned.

We took a hotel taxi into Lucerne, and wandered past Bucherer, and along the River Reuss to see the famous Chapel Bridge.

Chapel Bridge was world's oldes dating to 1332 - burned in 1993 and reconstructed

Along the River Reuss

We then walked to the Hotel Astoria where we had reservations at the Thai Garden. Ron and I had been there on our last trip and loved it. It is a beautiful restaurant, but on this visit the food was not up to the excellence of the past - and there were several mistakes with service. Like all of Switzerland, the menu prices are gasp-inducing. It was disappointing to Ron and me, as we had been looking forward to sharing a special occasion with Pat and Mike.  The worst thing is that the restaurant added approximately $40 tip to our bill. We had tipped very little because of the poor service, and Ron just happened to check his Amex bill on-line and discovered this, which we have already disputed.

Thai Garden

We returned to our hotel, and met in the mezzanine lounge for a game of Hearts before retiring to our rooms with chilly lake breezes through our open windows.