You have to watch out for the electric trams in Munich as for much of the time you will be driving over their tracks in the street. Pedestrians are no problem as they wait at the lights for the green walking man to light up before crossing. Taxis are no problem either as they use taxi ranks rather than drive aimlessly around looking for someone to jump out in front of them, waving frantically as happens in the USA. Taxi drivers drive like the professionals they are in Germany too and usually drive Mercedes, BMW and Audi cars in pristine condition.
Once your wheels hit the Autobahn you can relax and enjoy a nice brisk drive through beautiful countryside. The miles (kilometers) get eaten up quickly.
We stop when we see a scenic rest stop. Bathrooms are always clean. If it is a tankstelle stop you can get gas (Benzine) and have a delicious meal or do some shopping. If you see a stop that has the word AXXE showing, then hit the brakes and pull over for they are the ultimate motorway restaurant.
(for American readers-highway food in Germany is restaurant quality and NOT what you are used to in the USA. Europeans take traveling seriously and in the USA we are forced to settle for less)
Typical AXXE presentation (not my photograph)
We passed the scenic town of Lindau, on a huge lake called the Bodensee, and the scene of another one of our German vacations back in 2005. Ferries leave from here for Austria and Switzerland and it's one of the prettiest towns you could ever hope to see.
We had left the Bavarian Alps behind within a couple of hours and the mountains we were seeing before us from here on in belonged to Switzerland.
We had to stop at the border to buy a sticker for the car window (road tax) for E20 (I think) and were now on smooth Swiss roads which had a speed limit of 80mph which was 50 mph slower than we had been driving in Germany. Oh well, it was a beautiful drive even though it began to rain a soft drizzle.
We stopped for espresso on the highway. As expected-great coffee and clean bathrooms.
The scenery, out in the country by Lake Zurich was pleasant but not dazzling: we would have to wait for Lucerne for that!
By 4 pm that afternoon we left the highway and were in the streets of Lucerne (Luzern as it is rightfully known) and thankful for the GPS. I love driving in Europe but only because the GPS knows where we are going. Goodbye road maps!
It found our hotel. Hotel Schweizerhof.
A warm welcome at the check in desk where the young lady spoke excellent English. She then had a colleague lead us up to our room. The elevator was very small-one of those with the folding metal gate you have to close behind you. It also had a bench seat in case you got tired on the ride up to the 5 th floor.
Once in our room we found a welcome cake and bottle of champagne waiting for us. Nice touch!
Our room had two Juliet balconies. Here are some photos taken from the room....
Looking left
Looking right
and straight ahead
The ship you can see (bottom left) is a restaurant
In the distance is Mt Pilatus. 7,000 ft to the summit.
With the balcony doors open we were breathing the freshest Swiss air and loving our new room in this elegant hotel.
Once we unpacked it was time to step out and see our surroundings.
It was rush-hour in Lucerne and the streets were busy but by the waters of Lake Luzern all was calm.
I thought Lucerne was beautiful when I saw it on TV courtesy of Rick Steves but it looks even better in person and still stands, 6 years later, as the most beautiful city I have visited.
The most instantly recognizable sight in Lucerne is the ancient covered bridge that spans the Reuss River...
When we checked into the hotel the receptionist invited us to have a complimentary dinner in the hotel restaurant that evening. How could we refuse?
We dined at sunset.
In 2009 I didn't take photos of every meal that came my way. This has since changed. I wish I had taken photos of the food that was presented to us that evening as it was one of the five best restaurant meals we have ever eaten together. Prior to this our best meal in Europe was at the Glass House restaurant in the Hyatt Hotel in Cologne where the chef was Swiss. Tonight the chef was also Swiss.
In the USA our best meal was in New York at a restaurant called 11 Madison. Swiss chef again.
So there must be some great culinary training schools in Switzerland !
If I had taken photos I could show you exactly what we enjoyed and it's been so long since that meal that I can't recall exactly what was served, but we enthused about it with every delicious bite.
The bill for the meal was E170 but was complimentary.
It was dark by the time we finished so we went for a walk, even though it was raining softly. The hotel provided us with a big umbrella. There were not many people in the streets but the bars and cafes along the Reuss River were doing good business. We had the dark streets to ourselves and saw places we wanted to return to in the daylight.
Back to the hotel for some cake and champagne and a deep sleep.....
With the balcony doors open we were breathing the freshest Swiss air and loving our new room in this elegant hotel.
Once we unpacked it was time to step out and see our surroundings.
It was rush-hour in Lucerne and the streets were busy but by the waters of Lake Luzern all was calm.
I thought Lucerne was beautiful when I saw it on TV courtesy of Rick Steves but it looks even better in person and still stands, 6 years later, as the most beautiful city I have visited.
The most instantly recognizable sight in Lucerne is the ancient covered bridge that spans the Reuss River...
When we checked into the hotel the receptionist invited us to have a complimentary dinner in the hotel restaurant that evening. How could we refuse?
We dined at sunset.
In 2009 I didn't take photos of every meal that came my way. This has since changed. I wish I had taken photos of the food that was presented to us that evening as it was one of the five best restaurant meals we have ever eaten together. Prior to this our best meal in Europe was at the Glass House restaurant in the Hyatt Hotel in Cologne where the chef was Swiss. Tonight the chef was also Swiss.
In the USA our best meal was in New York at a restaurant called 11 Madison. Swiss chef again.
So there must be some great culinary training schools in Switzerland !
If I had taken photos I could show you exactly what we enjoyed and it's been so long since that meal that I can't recall exactly what was served, but we enthused about it with every delicious bite.
The bill for the meal was E170 but was complimentary.
It was dark by the time we finished so we went for a walk, even though it was raining softly. The hotel provided us with a big umbrella. There were not many people in the streets but the bars and cafes along the Reuss River were doing good business. We had the dark streets to ourselves and saw places we wanted to return to in the daylight.
Back to the hotel for some cake and champagne and a deep sleep.....
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