FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE - SWITZERLAND

I was for a week in Switzerland at the Lake Lucerne. It's the German speaking part of Switzerland. The trip was organized by a Waterloo travel agency, which I have often used for a daily excursion. But from time to time they also do a short week travel. 

So my week had plenty of interesting things to see and each day had a full program !

Lake Lucerne, Vierwaldstaetter See in German, is Switzerland’s fourth-largest lake, located in the center of the country. The lake is unusual because it has a very irregular shape, with many bends and turns and four arms. The shores of Lake Lucerne are partly formed by steep mountains like the Rigi and Pilatus, bordered by fabulous towns like Lucerne and Weggis, and are the site of Switzerland’s oldest history read more here

According to the photos the landscape must have been wonderful, but we were not so lucky to see the high mountains. All we saw were the houses of the cities or villages but no background, which was hidden behind thick mist ! Only one day we saw them for half an hour and a little sunshine came out. All the other 5 days we saw no mountains at all. In a way we were lucky, at this time of the year, it didn't rain at all, so that we could visit all the cities, towns, or villages, on which I put a red cross on the map. 

This was our hotel which was really beautiful from outside and inside and where we had breakfast and supper every day. Lunch we took in several restaurants, each day another one, just where we were, the food was so good that everybody complained that it was too much. After a 3 course lunch visiting a village or something else was a bit hard and some of us slept in the coach instead of admiring the landscape, but that wasn't bad, as we couldn't see the mountains anyway.

 

Several times we had to take the cable car which connected the towns in the invisible mountains

 We also took twice the ship which in summer is like a bus and brings you to the villages or towns around the lake. In winter the schedule is less and you have to take a bus.

 

The first day we started by visiting the town Altdorf,  where the story of Wilhelm Tell took place, who shot an apple off his son's head with an arrow. 

The little town was very beautiful and nicely decorated for Christmas. Then we had to take a smaller bus because the streets leading up to the next village Isenthal were so narrow that only a small bus could drive through and had to horn loudly at each curve to warn an eventual down coming car that there was no space and the vehicle had to wait until we drove through.  

On the top left our coach with which we travelled from Waterloo to Switzerland.

We arrived in the little village Isenthal where we stopped for our 3 course lunch ! 

 

and while we ate the local accordion player played local music and narrowed the story of his village.

After lunch we walked around the village and looked at this nice graveyard. All graves were carved in wood with different motifs. They were all people from the village and almost all had the same name! I thought that a bit of fresh blood is needed.

Tired and the stomach full we took the little bus down invisible mountains and returned to our hotel.

I think I stop here my weekly report, because all this happened the first day ! And I even forgot the story of this little village Isenthal, which the very kind accordion player told me, only too happy that he could speak German because he didn't understand a word of our French speaking group.

He told me that children had seen the devil in the mountains so all men took their arms and went to look after the devil. What they found was a bear ! They killed it and cut off his paws, which were hung up at the roof of the bear killer's house.

Then the house was sold and the new owner didn't want to keep the paws and now they are exposed in a little museum in the village. Apparently it had been the last bear ever seen in Switzerland.

I will continue my travel report the next days, otherwise it will be too long there are still 4 days to go !

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.