Day 10: Rolling through Paris

We had a noon flight from Geneva to Paris. We picked up breakfast near our hotel in Lausanne, and made the ½ hour drive. Got gas near the airport. I think we spent a little over $100 on gas to drive 881km. Parking turned out to be the major expense of having the car. But it was worth it to have the freedom to move about on our own schedule.

I needed to find the VAT refund desk. It seems it was purposefully put in a place almost impossible to find. We asked 4 different people and got 4 different answers. It required going to the international terminal, which of course was separate from the terminal we needed, which was just for flights to France. I was determined not to sacrifice the refund, and eventually found it. The official behind the desk didn't speak English, took my forms, grunted and stamped them. I had thought that Ellen's Thomas Sabo purchase was also large enough to qualify for a VAT refund, but it turns out we weren't provided with the right forms by Sabo. Oh well.

The flight to Paris was fine. We got our luggage and got on a airport subway to the hotel area. No signs were visible for Hilton, so it took us awhile to figure out where it was, but once we did, we were able to walk our luggage over there, check-in and drop our stuff off. Next, Paris!

Finish line for Tour de France

We took an express train from right near the hotel into the city. We had debated going to the left bank or Champs de Elysee. The Champs won, but boy were we in for a surprise when we came out of the Metro. We were coming up about 1 hour before the cyclists arrived for the finish of the Tour de France. There was a huge crowd, police everywhere, big screen tvs showing the cyclists. Just the mess we weren't looking for. So we walked away from the crowds, came across a nice view of the Eifell Tower, and hopped on a bus to the Left Bank.  Careful readers might remember an accidental run-in with the Tour during our vacation last year.

Ellen is at home on the Left Bank, having lived there with her parents. We walked along the Seine, enjoying the views. We stopped at a cafe for coffee for Ellen and a beer for me. Having had Swiss and French beers throughout, I decided to drink my favorite Pilsner Urquell since the cafe had it. They also offered free WiFi, so we used our iPod Touches to catch up on email.

Notre Dame

We then went into Notre Dame, just as the 6:30 service was starting. We got to see the procession, the incense being spread and the monseigneur smiling at the children. It is such an impressive building, it was extraordinary to see a service in progress. The pews were filled, and flat panel screens mounted throughout allowed all to see the service.

We had trouble deciding about dinner. We looked for a few restaurants that Ellen had researched, finding one, but it was closed on Sunday. We finally decided on a French restaurant in a touristy area. We both had forgettable meals, but struck up a conversation with a woman dining alone next to us. She was a education professor from Western Illinois University, in Paris for a conference. The conversation improved the overall experience of the meal.

We walked along Rue St Michele as the sun started to set. We then took the 35 minute train ride back to our airport hotel.

All that's left to do is find some breakfast out by the airport and take our 1:30pm flight back to Dulles.

Day 9: It is the Matterhorn....trust me!

Day dawned clear this morning, or at least much clearer than yesterday. I opened the door to our balcony and could see the tops of the mountains!

We ate a little for breakfast, but had gotten up at 6:20 so we weren't that hungry. We walked down to the Gornergrat cog railroad station and bought our tickets to the top. We were on the 8:00am train, which left right on time (it is Switzerland). At the first stop, some adorable friends joined us!

The Matterhorn.  Or some of it.

Only trouble was, when we got to Rotenboden, the next to the last stop, they announced it was the end of the line, everyone off.  Seems there were electrical problems further up.  Only problem was, there is NOTHING at the Rotenboden station.  No indoor building except the bathroom.  There was a view of the mountains, including most of the Matterhorn.  But there was not another train coming by to go down for more than 1/2 an hour.  So we took pictures, watched the hikers march off across the mountains, and shivered.  It was 28 degrees and snow flurrying!  I know that must sound good to those in the DC heatwave, but for us it was cold.  Eventually, the station manager felt sorry for Ellen, me and 4 Japanese tourists and allowed us to go into his office.

We got on the return train and rode back down to Zermatt.  It dawned on us that we had paid to go to the top but hadn't, and there is a 10 Swiss franc difference per ticket.  We went back to the window, and got our 20 franc refund!

We went back to the hotel, packed up and got a cab back down to our car.  Back on the road again, this time to Lausanne.

We got to our hotel, the Hotel Angeleterre and checked in.  A nice 4 star hotel, but we had been spoiled.

Lausanne city hall

Our hotel is in Ouchy and the whole Lausanne/Ouchy area is one big hill up from Lake Geneva.  So we asked about public transport, and found that our hotel is right next to a metro stop, and easily navigated up about 5 stops to begin the walking tour.  Saw the normal churches, squares and a nice town hall.

We stopped at a cafe recommended by Rick Steves and had a delicious hot chocolate.  We then took the subway back to the Ouchy.  While the Olympic Museum was closed fothe day, our hotel was only 200 meters away, so we decided to walk down there.  I'm glad we did.

There are lots of sculptures on the grounds, and they had the Olympic record high jump and pole vault heights displayed.  Pretty amazing to stand next to them.  They also had shot puts out.  I could barely lift the men's one.  Randy Barnes must have been some beast (and undoubtedly hopped up on steroids).

We had tired a bit of Swiss style food, and luckily found a Japanese restaurant, Ichiban just a block from our hotel.  We shared teriyaki chicken and beef, sat outside as it got cool, and enjoyed our last evening in Switzerland.

Day 8: Raclette for 1 at a table for 2

Not sure many will get the Trick Pony lyric reference, but since many have been piling on via Facebook about cheese, you can rest assured that Ellen got her raclette.

The one danger of vising a one-trick pony (ha, I tied in the previous reference!) town is if the pony is sick...or in this case, rained in. Today was a chilly, rainy, low cloud kind of day.

That meant going up to the mountains to see the Matterhorn was a waste of time.  And you knew that in advance because the train and cable car carriers provide live webcams of the view from their destinations.

So we checked back from time to time, because at one point in the afternoon a small patch of blue and the sun popped out.  But it was short lived.

So what did we do?  The only real options were to walk up and down the main thoroughfare and to shop.  So we did.  Except for chocolate, we are done with our souvenir shopping.  So if my kids are reading this, rest assured that you are taken care of.

One other option is the Matterhorn museum.  So in the afternoon, we did that too.  They tell the story of the first 7 climbers who reached the summit.  Unfortunately, 4 slid to their deaths an hour or so later.  And they have the broken rope in the museum to prove it.  I liked a letter from Teddy Roosevelt that described his climbing the mountain.

After the museum, we took advantage of the facilities the hotel had to offer.  They had steam rooms, relaxing rooms, and hot and cold showers.  Ellen dared me to take the cold shower, where ice fell from the ceiling near by.  The water started at jets by your legs.  I screamed when it added jets at the midsection (but only because I wasn't expecting it).  A few seconds with all the jets was plenty for me.  It was invigorating though!

Dinner tonight was perhaps the best of the trip.  We ate at the Stockhorn Grill.  At least this time Ellen got the main course she ordered.  Which is not to say tonight's dinner didn't also have its own element of uncertainty and danger.  Ellen did have raclette, which they serve for one.  They brought out a plate of already melted cheese, so she didn't get the full experience of the cheese melter thingy, but she had bread and potatoes to dip into it.  She tried to tell the waiter how excited she was, but he didn't speak much English.

The danger came in with the main course.  Ellen ordered the rack of lamb for the two of us.  It was 77 Swiss francs.  When the main course was delivered to the table, the owner mentioned something about a second plate of meat.  I heard it, Ellen didn't quite catch it and wasn't sure I heard right.  But after we finished our main dishes which were small but adequate in sight, they cleared them.  We were then brought full plates again, including the sides.  Ellen started to worry that she had ordered 2 orders, meant to serve 2 people each, and that we'd be staring at a bill for 144 francs.  We both agreed that we would laugh hysterically if that were the case.  Ellen felt a little better when the couple at the table next to us go their second plates of chateaubriand.  It was just unusual for us to have the food cooked separately and include a second set of side dishes.  Alas, we were billed only for the 1 order, and Ellen will be allowed to speak to waiters still.

We are going to take a look at the weather in the morning and see if a trip up the cog railroad to Gornegrat would be worthwhile.  We are on the road again tomorrow to Lausanne.  The attraction at risk is the Olympic Park and Museum, but that pales next to actually seeing the Matterhorn.

Day 7: There's a hole in my glass

Today was an incredible drive from Lazerne to Zermatt. We knew we were driving south and it was mostly not autobahn driving, but not sure I was prepared for mountain driving the way we experienced it. And I'm also not sure that the way we drove would be the how we would have gone utilizing a map, but we relied on the GPS which gave us a tremendous experience.

I know for certain I have never taken as many hairpin turns as we did today. To climb the mountains took a lot of downshifting and the downhills were sometimes harrowing. Only one near-death experience where we rounded a turn and a truck was half in our lane. There was a solid wall of rock mountain to our right, so no escape. Hoping I closed my eyes, I do know that we avoided disaster.

We stopped a few times to take in the views. Once we walked along the top of a dam, nearly at the top of a mountain. The water again was green, showing minerals from glaciers. Just beautiful.

The drive took about 4 hours.  Zermatt is a car-free town, so to get to our hotel required us to park in Tasch.  We took a cab from there into Zermatt, and then were met by a horse-drawn carriage to get to our hotel, the Mont Cervin Palace.  It is the only 5 star hotel on our itinerary, and the splurge is the result of a very nice bonus that Washington Post Digital provided.  

Zermatt is a touristy town, with hotels, shops and restaurants...and that's pretty much it.  We here to see the Matterhorn, but that is now looking a bit iffy as the weather was not clear today, and is not supposed to be clear tomorrow.  In fact, I'm writing this to the sound of steady rain outside.  We walked a bit up and down, scouting out restaurants for while we are here.  Most interesting site was the local cemetary, which was unusal in its colors and adornments. 

Dinner tonight was at Julien, a restaurant in a nearby hotel.  Ellen had a veal dish, and I had lamb.  What became hysterical is that only when the diners at the table next to us got their food, Ellen remembered that she had ordered a lamb dish, not veal.  She told our waiter, who laughed with us and apologized.  Ellen had especially wanted the palenta that came with it, so the waiter brought her some palenta.  To further apologize, he brought us a local after dinner drink, something clear and strong with a pear in it.  The waiter also gave the title of the blog.  As he refilled our wine bottle, he told us the locals would comment to a slow to act bartender that there was a whole in the glass, obviously the cause of a drink that needed refilling.

Thanks to all of those who let me know they have been reading the blog.  It is helpful to know who is reading and heck, that ANYONE is reading.  I recently emailed my son how he was enjoying the blog entries, and he responded "there's a blog?"  And we are Facebook friends, so I'm guessing he's deleted me out of his news feed.

Day 6: Luzern

We got started today with a walking tour of Luzern. Like so many European cities, it is divided by water, with many bridges. Two of the bridges here are wooden, dating back to the 1300's. One unfortunately caught fire in the 90's and has been rebuilt. They both feature paintings mounted above the walkways. One bridge told the history of the city. The other had skeletons in each painting reminding you that we are all going to die. Cheery!

Ellen lunched at a department store eatery, where we could sit on the roof. It was another hot day, temperatures around 90. We then decided that a pedal boat ride might be fun and rented one on Lake Luzern for ½ an hour. It was tremendous fun, nice views of the city and other boats, with wind coming off the water.

In the afternoon we went to the Rosengart Museum, which has a large permanent exhibit of Picasso paintings and sketches. It also featured some impressionist works, and we both enjoyed it.

It rained before dinner, so we ate our first meal inside a restaurant since we got here. We ate at the Fondue House, with Ellen having cheese and potatoes fondue, and I being a non-cheese lover, had soup and salad.

The rain cooled things off for a bit, so we walked along the water after dinner, but the heat and humidity soon came back.

Tomorrow we are off to Zermatt where the high is only to be in the 50's. The weather might be iffy, but we are determined to see the Matterhorn, or as much of it as the weather will allow.

Day 5: Zurich

First a couple things I forgot to write about yesterday. Ellen found herself a great gift at Thomas Sabo in Bern. She got a charm bracelet watch, with 4 charms (I remember 3 of them: an E, a boy & girl and an airplane). It looks great, and Ellen likes bracelets with “stuff.” Second little purchase we made was an 1/8” mini-plug to RCA adapter. It might not sound like much, but it allows us to use the mini-plug cord I brought and attach the adapter to fit the red/white plugs in the car. All that is a long way of saying, we can now listen to the iPod in the car. Having driven in Europe before, desperately searching for English language music, it is hugely important.

We checked out of our Bern hotel this morning and made the drive to Zurich. It was about an hour's drive, made a little longer by one rest stop. While we are used to seeing little stores, markets and restaurants at the stops along the interbahn, this was the first one we had seen that had a sex shop. Right immediately upon entering. Not sure how or why the Swiss choose to make those purchases while on the road, but more power to 'em.

We arrived in Zurich, and just had to park. I had been frustrated in Bern by seeing parking signs with a name I presumed was of a garage and a number of spaces available. You'd pass such a sign, then not see another directing you. Only after being fooled several times did I realize it was telling you how many street spaces were available in a parking district. Eventually we found a garage, carefully recording it's location, as we had some difficulty in Interlachen finding the garage we had parked at.

We did a combination of the Rick Steves and Frommers walking tours. Zurich is the most urban city we had been in so far. You could see the banking influence, and felt the residents were not quite as warm as we had found in other towns. The train station was a colossal building, quite impressive and unlike almost anything in the USA.

The highlight of the tour was probably the Fraumunster church, which houses several Chagall windows he designed late in life. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed, but here is what they look like.

Maybe the highlight really was the Sprungli Cafe. They feature “Luxembergerli” macaroons fashioned to look like hamburgers. They sell them in many flavors, we tried citron and chocolate. Yum!

One of the treats of Zurich is water fountains throughout the city. These are pretty, artistic ones, but featuring drinkable water that sometimes required some agility, but nevertheless refreshed you for free.

Late in the afternoon, we made the 45 minute drive from Zurich down to our next hotel in Luzern. We are staying in a quaint hotel named the Hotel Romantik. We walked across to the other side of the river for dinner at the Rathaus Brauerei, a brewery-restaurant. I had a pilsner beer and salmon, Ellen had a glass of wine and a salad. We then split a small chocolate gelato, walked around a bit, then headed back to the hotel.

Day 4: Rivers and Lakes

Interlachen means “between lakes.” It is the land between the Lake Thun and Lake Brienz in central Switzerland. We made a day trip out of a drive first to Thun, then to Interlaken.

Breakfast was in the hotel this morning, a rather standard European breakfast of cereals, croissants, bread, fruit, eggs, cheese and juice. It was served nicely on the 1^st floor of the hotel.

I had noticed the green water of the Aare River in Bern yesterday, and immediately recalled one other vacation where we saw green water. It was our trip to Alberta, and the reason for the green water was rock sediment scraped by glaciers. That was my first thought yesterday, and Ellen's research today confirmed the source of the Aare is glacier water. We saw the pretty green water all day in the lakes and rivers near Thun.

We enjoyed having the car today, as we headed towards Interlachen, but then decided to take in the quaint town of Thun along the way. After a brief stop there, we drove just along the southern edge of the lake, which gave great views of mountains and cottages built into the hills.

Interlachen is mainly a touristy town. We walked the main street, picking up a gift for Andrea (who probably isn't reading this, so the gift was a &*())^&%$*^%^). We saw dozens of paragliders in the air at one time, then walked to the park where they all landed (is that what you did, Tulasi?). There were great views of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfaujoch mountains, with Jungfaujoch still snow covered. Lunch was from a grocery store in Interlachen.

We arrived back in Bern around 5pm. Dinner tonight was at the Rathskeller Restaurant, where Ellen had a peppercorn steak and I had perch on a bed of spinach. Both were delicious. We walked down to explore the train station because, well, Ellen likes train stations.

Tomorrow we are off to Zurich for the day, then to our next hotel in Lucerne.