Sept. 25; Indoor Museums Day
Today started rainy and was rainy all day. Our tour guides took us to indoor venues to experience more Swiss culture. Our first stop was the Glass Factory in Hergiswil on the way to Lucerne (Luzern in German). The museum was a fascinating tour, like a labyrinth of scenes illuminated to guide you through the 190 years of glassmaking at the factory. The exit from the museum is above the factory floor where you can watch the craftsmen blow, shape and form the glass.
A line of glass threads mark the path of the molten glass from the furnace to the work station.
Our next stop was The Transportation Museum in Lucerne. The Museum exhibits and interprets all forms of transportation throughout Switzerland; planes, trains, automobiles, but also, cable cars, all form of boats and even space travel!
A vast array of electric trains through history are on display.
An "interactive theater" of fullsize autos, bikes, and other road transport vehicles cover one huge wall. Visitors can select the vehicle they want to see, and the robotized system conveys the choice onto a turntable for closer inspection.
The exhibits of navigation include a collection of excellent ship models.
The Aviation hall included a model of the Wright brothers plane and the Spirit of St. Louis.
We finished the day at a restaurant close to our Bed & Breakfast near the little town of Auw.
Sept. 24; Brienz-Rothorn Train
We spent the day taking the scenic train from Brienz up to the top of the mountain Rothorn-Kulm, taking in the views and riding and hiking back down.
The steam engine.
Passing the houses of Brienz.
A glimpse of Brienz Lake and the town through a gap in the rocks.
A cottage on the slopes above Planalp, the halfway point.
Above treeline, cowherd homes. The cows have been moved down to the valleys already.
Looking down towards Lake Brienz.
What a ride!
Panoramic view from the top, restaurant and hotel in the center.
No I won't take another step back for the picture!
The clouds started rolling in, time to head down.
We passed the train coming up the mountain.
A waterfall at Planalp, the tiny village at the halfway stop where the engine takes on water for the boiler.
We disembarked from the train at Planalp and looked for the restaurant. The Berghaus and Bergrestaurant is a hotel that has been catering to tourists since the late 1800’s. The food was excellent, the fire in the woodstove was warm and we had wonderful views down the slopes.
Pumpkin soup.
Cheese, meat and fruit plate.
After lunch we decided to hike down the rest of the way to Brienz and admire the fall colors.
The road followed the train tracks and soon a train was chugging out of the tunnel.
Some sections were steep trails.
We got down into Brienz as a light rain started to fall. I saw this sculpture in a doorway. Brienz is known for its woodworking artisans.
A delicious fish dinner was served at the B&B.
The dining room was decorated with horsey paraphernalia and these cow bells which decorate many of the houses in the area.
Sept. 23; Swiss Tour – Bern to Brienz
Michel & Raymonde wanted to take us on a tour of ‘suisse typique’ or typical swiss landscape and culture. We headed out on the Autostrade towards the German language area of central Switzerland towards Bern, the capital of the country. The highways here have regularly spaced automatic radar stations and everyone knows where they are, so the traffic slows predictably and flows smoothly even though the European drivers are crazy!
An exhibit of decorated cows near the town of Gruyere.
The Rathaus (city hall) of Bern.
This is where Einstein lived in Bern from 1903 to 1905 and developed his Special Theory of Relativity.
Statuary, fountains and the famous clock decorate The Kramgasse ("Grocers Alley"), one of the principal streets in the Old City of Bern, the medieval city center of Bern.
A detail on the clock tower.
The parliament building in Bern, capital of Switzerland.
A vegetable and flower market was in progress in the streets.
Bern has an annual Onion Market on the 4th Monday in November that has become a crazy fun party where everything is onions!
We continued on to Thun at the west end of Thunersee (Lake Thun) and took a stroll to the local castle.
Thun Castle.
The Lord & Lady of the castle!
Continuing on past Interlaken (the town between the lakes) along Brienzersee (Lake Brienz) and past the town of Brienz (with a short stop there) we found our Bed & Breakfast near Brienzwiler, BnB Bifing. It is a working riding stable with eclectic accomodations and a restaurant overlooking the indoor and outdoor arenas.
A panorama of the rural landscape around the B&B. You can almost hear the cowbells clanging in the distance!
The restaurant served delicious food.
Sept. 22; Jet d’Eau & Mt. Saleve
Today we did more sightseeing around Geneva and from different perspectives. Michel got us out early and took us down to the banks of Lake Geneva.
Swans, ducks and pigeons.
The famous iconic image of Geneva -the Jet d’Eau– starts up exactly at 10 am and we were there for the official start, a young visitor was recruited to push the button.
We were getting a little wet from the spray!
The Niton rocks, dating from the last ice age, protrude from the lake and are the reference point for all surveying in Switzerland.
In the afternoon we took a ride into France and up onto Mt. Saleve, a prominent point overlooking Geneva.
Panorama from Mt. Saleve.
Looking down on Geneva from the top of Mt. Saleve. You can see the Jet d'Eau in the center.
Robert & I took the ‘Telepherique’ or cable car down to the base of the mountain, while Michel & Raymonde drove down. They made it down before us! They then took us on a driving tour around the canton of Geneva.
Looking back at Mt. Saleve from our tour of the canton.
A gnome on Raymonde's patio.
Another delicious meal, pork chops, potatoes, wax beans with mustard vinaigrette and homemade bread!
Sept. 21; Verona to Geneva via Milano
A travel day today. We took a morning walk to the Piazza Bra’ after our breakfast.
Morning light in Piazza Bra'.
We caught the train, a Eurostar City, to Milan. The countryside zooming by merits a good look sometime, it's the foothills of the Dolomite mountains.
The facade of the enormous Milan train station. We had some time so we enjoyed watching the hustle and bustle of the big city in front of the station.
Detail of the fountain on the far right of the station entrance.
Detail of fresco or tile work over an archway in the main hall of the station.
Our train to Geneva, not a bullet train, but fast!
Trees whizzing by, but you can make out the island in this southern part of Lake Maggiore.
Ten years ago we traveled around Switzerland for a week. We stayed in Locarno, a town on the north end of Lake Maggiore which is in Switzerland, and visited Isole di Brissago, an island with a fantastic botanical garden and villa.
The last stop in Italy, Domodossola. (I just like the way that sounds rolling off the tongue!)
The cultivated hills of southern Switzerland.
A glimpse of the Alps.
Back at 'home' in Raymonde's rose garden!
