Switzerland 14/10/12

The pace for wake up calls and breakfast was slightly slower today. The day was full of optional tours so if you decided to do your own thing, then you had the whole day in Switzerland to do just that. We chose to do both tours today, the first of which was an 8.45am departure, very civilised. Michael was very good this morning and set his alarm and went off for an hours walk. Even here in Europe he has been walking as much as possible, taking stairs instead of lifts and being reasonably strict with his diet. So much so that he cannot wear his pants without braces!!

We left the hotel and a very short stroll across to the wharf where we boarded a lake cruiser. We had an hour’s guided cruise on the most beautiful lake in Switzerland which gave us an introduction to this lovely city from a completely different aspect. There were many bays which offered superb panoramas of the surrounding landscape. The area is rich in historical associations – particularly the William Tell legend. It may have been a little chilly, but worth if for the wonderful views.

Once we docked back, we strolled back to the hotel and then met up with those who were heading off for the next tour. We boarded our coach for a drive to Alpine Engelberg where we were heading UP to Mt Titlis. We had to take 3 different vehicles to do this. The first – a gondola – took just 6 of us at a time through the first 2 stations where we disembarked.

Then onto the second – a cable car – where we jammed in like sardines (a total of 80 people can fit) and this took us to the 3^rd station.

Then the final stage was the Titlis Rotair – which is the world’s first revolving cable car – and this took us all the way to the summit of Mt Titlis which is 3048 metres (10,000 feet) where external snow resists even the summer sun. Breathtaking panoramic views exist up here! The whole journey up took about 40 minutes. We had a quick look in the Glacier Cave which was bathed in atmospheric light and sound. You really had to watch your footing in here – as you would expect the ice at the extreme of the matting was slippery and we did have one passenger land on his bum!

Lunch here was quite expensive (as you would expect) but the view we had whilst eating was so majestic, you could not put a price tag on it.

Once we had warmed up with soup, hot chocolate or cake, we ventured outside into the freezing cold (it was snowing) and we endeavored to capture some photos. 10-15 minutes was plenty long enough before escaping back into the warmth of the building.

A quick visit through the souvenir shop before we met up as a group to begin our journey back down the mountain. Quite a stunning experience – even for someone who is afraid of heights!

Once on board the coach we made our way back to Lucerne and for many of us it was another opportunity to catch a few winks! On our arrival back to the hotel, we decided to head back to Buckerer to catch up on some shopping then on the train station where there was a large supermarket where we were able to purchase supplies for our huge journey to Paris tomorrow.

We wandered back to the hotel where I napped for about an hour and Michael caught up on his emails. We had arranged to meet Sue, Claudia and Margaret at 7pm and we headed off across the road to ‘The Californian Burger’ for dinner. Burger and fries basically, however food was good, atmosphere was great and lots of chatter and laughs made for a great dinner.

Then it was back to the hotel to pack up our suitcases in readiness for an early start in the morning.