Switzerland

We left Paris at 8am and headed to Lucerne, Switzerland. This was a rather long drive because the coach driver has mandatory stops and there was also traffic so we didn't roll into Switzerland until 7pm! 

Our hotel was neat because it was a jail originally that was converted to a hotel. They kept the bars on the windows. the room was very bare, however so far my best sleep! We kept the windows opened all night and hearing the bells ring throughout the night was peaceful.

We went on an hour river cruise which included a glass of wine! It appears that a glass of wine is included in most of the events.

The tour guide who spoke over the loudspeaker sounded exactly like Arnold Schwarzenegger... Everyone was thinking it because when I said it out loud everyone laughed. This is where Chris met his best friend, Ivan. They keep on exchanging Simpsons and Arnold quotes.

Another thing that is famous in Lucerne is this sad Lion rock that was close to the cruise. 25 of us went to go see it. since it was about 9:30 we couldn't really get any good photos and it was quite dark ... Randomly I said, "well since we can't see the lion we could make the best of this space and hold hands to have a saiance." After a long pause and some glares i followed my statement and said "clearly nobody knows my humor here because I'm totally joking". I got a lot of replies that said "oh thank god" "I was trying to walk away slowly and not offend you". I found this all entertaining.

Then onto dinner. Chris, Gabriela (the youngest passenger on the tour from Toronto, Canada), and I went to a nice place off the river. We got sausage and sauerkraut. I asked the waitress for the America menu (first ditzy thing I said... Not too bad!).

Back to the hotel for sleep and up  at 8am for shopping. I can't say what I bought because it could be someone's Christmas present!

Lucerne - my take home knowledge 

Lucerne and Switzerland is a very expensive place to live

The Swiss are very well educated and can speak English quite well

Famous for their watches, knives, Red Cross 

They speak Swiss-German

Have their own currency called Swiss Francs 

After the light shopping we headed to Mount Stanserhorn. We went to the top by taking the World's first cable car. Once we were on the top there was about 20 minutes of a hike to get to the very top. Chris did his random yoga poses. I tried to teach him the eagle. 

Back to the coach bus around 11 am and headed to Lichtenstein. Liechtenstein is the smallest country in Europe. It is surrounded by Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. Had a chicken Schnitzel sandwich for lunch.

Currently we are back on the coach headed to Munich, Germany. 

Stay tuned!