Day 6- Heidelberg to Lucerne, Switzerland

 

Another early start as we leave the hotel at 7.15 am and drive through the very beautiful Black forest  to the Swiss border. We first stop late morning at the Rhinefalls – the start of the Rhine River in the foothills of the Swiss alps.

We have ice cream and French fries as a snack then back to the coach (not nutritious but yummy and the most kiddy appealing on the fairly limited menu- Mummy opts for a nice cappuccino instead). We drive to the picturesque alpine city of Lucerne and firstly take a cable car/funicular combo up to the top of Mt Stanserhorn. On the way up we see a young deer on the slope beside the cable car. The “typical” swiss scenery is breathtaking.  At the peak there is a man who is visiting with his 4 month old wolf cub. The boys are intrigued and love to pat the animal. Apparently no license is required to keep this wolf as a domesticated pet, unlike dingoes in Australia.  There are a few piles of reasonably soft and clean snow- it is a clear blue skied day and the views are incredible. The kids have a fantastic time throwing snowballs at each other and just frolicking in the snow.  Maddie decides to make a snow owl (instead of a snow man) From this one vantage point it is possible to see not only the Swiss Alps but also the Italian Alps and the Austrian Alps.  After an hour or so we take the cable car back down and late afternoon arrive in Lucerne. We have a brief stop at the Lion Monument in honour of the Swiss guard who were killed in the French Revolution and then have a few hours of free time. We shop for watches at Bucherer ,and Riley gets a personalized Swiss army knife.  (it is now safely stowed in our safe until he is of a reasonable age to be able to handle it safely- that was the bargain when he desperately wanted to buy it and he has been a trooper in upholding it and not whinging). And honestly, what better souvenir in Switzerland than a swiss army knife for a little boy………….

After this we wander the Chapel Bridge and look at the very beautiful Lucerne lakeside , in the late afternoon light.  We do some last minute chocolate buying immediately before we get back on the bus to round out our “typical” Swiss souvenir must buys…LOL

Dinner is at the hotel this evening. The boys have a short 15 min play on the play equipment at the truck stop in front of the hotel before dinner.

We continue our evening ritual of preparing clothes, battery recharging and photo downloading.

Off to Italy tomorrow…………