Rhein River Experience

  What a difference a day makes.   Woke up early and decided to take a walk along Lake Lucerne.   The clouds were almost covering the mountains, but you could see them trying to peek through.   The ducks and swans were still sleeping on the water.   Our Hotel - Grand Hotel Europe sleeping swans View of Lucerne M Mute Swans Today was the day we were going to Mt Pilatus.   We boarded a bus to take us to the small village of Kriens.   There we got in a small gondola that held four people.   We took a 30 minute trip up the mountain.   The mountain is referred to as Dragon Mountain - many myths abound about Dragons that once flew around the mountain small four person gondola route we would take up the mountain At one point we could hear small bells and realized it was coming from the goats grazing in the pasture below us.   Then we heard louder bells that were attached to cows grazing below us.   The houses looked like typical Swis...

  Today was a bittersweet day.   It was time to leave the ship.   We docked at Basel, Switzerland and boarded buses to head to Lucerne, Switzerland. The ship we had spent the last nine days on was the Emerald Dawn.   Our group was a part of the Mayflower Cruises and Tour and there was another Mayflower group on the ship. However, the majority of the people on the ship had just booked the Emerald Dawn cruise and their trip was either over, or they were departing to travel to other parts of Europe.   Our Mayflower Group boarded a bus heading to Lucerne, Switzerland for two days. Once again it was a rainy day as we drove on the interstate (or whatever you call it in Europe).   It was interesting to see how many tunnels we went through.   Rather than building the road to go over the mountain, they built an auto tunnel through the mountain. Once we arrived in Lucerne, we started our tour of the city by visiting the Lion Statue.   The was carved...

  Hills of Black Forest Today we docked in Breisach, Germany and took a bus ride to the small town o Freiburg, Germany.   Once again we walked to the main square in town where there was a large cathedral.   There was a Farmer’s Market all around the square with vendors selling bread, cheese, meats, baked goods, flowers and vegetables.   Our guide went to one the vendors and retrieved a large tray of assorted hams and sausages for us to taste.  Some of the ham was salty and others had a more smokey flavor.  All tasted really good. We walked around the square and looked at the architecture on the church.   Once again it was raining.   The guide pointed out the rain spouts, some were shaped as animals and dragons.   One in particular showed the humor of the architect.   It was the rear-end of a man.   Dragon Rain Spout Horse Rain Spout Man's Butt Rain Spout We walked through the narrow streets of town.   She po...