What a start to my New Adventure. I flew from Louisville to Chicago to London to Zurich. I had to wait two hours in line at the immigration checkpoint. Whatever happened to the famous efficiency of the Swiss? The train station is in the airport complex and fairly easy to find. Got my tickets but I had to take the train to the main station to catch the train to Luzern. I then got on the wrong train and was headed back to the airport. Oh, Mon Dieu! Got off it and and almost left my tote bag which contained my medications and vitamins, and all of my instructions and maps for the trip. Although this isn't a traditional Camino, I met my first Camino Angel of the trip. This nice lady practically chased me down to give it back. And she told me when to get off the wrong train and how to return to the main station. At the main station, after asking many questions, I got on the correct train to Luzerne.
Lucern lies at the outflow of the Reuss River. Just for Dennis - the population is just shy of 82,000 people.
Lucerne, also known as Luzern, is a stunning town. I wish I had another day or two to explore it.
So many of the buildings have beautiful scenes painted on them.
The clock tower was an element of Lucerne's fortification. The town wall and its nine towers, built between the 14th and 16th centuries symbolized the City's and Republic's ever-growing power.
Altstadt Hotel Krone Luzerne - my excellently placed hotel.
What a beautiful setting for a church. This is the Lucerne Jesuit Church. According to Wikipedia it "is a Catholic church in Lucerne, Switzerland. It is the first large Baroque church built in Switzerland north of the Alps. The Jesuit order, founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1534, were active participants in the Counter-Reformation, the Catholic fight against the birth of Protestantism"
This was my first stop in Lucerne to say my prayers for my friends and relatives. I also asked for help on my up-coming journey.
I sat outside to feel the glorious 70-degree weather and have dinner at the elegant Brasserie Brodu. It was a great choice.
I started with a crisp Sancerre wine, which is made entirely from Sauvignon Blanc grapes. I looked up the difference between Sancerre and Sauvignon Blanc. All white Sansceres are Sauvignon Blancs, but not all Sauvignon Blancs are Sanscerres. Sauvignon Blanc is a white wine grape, and Sancerre is the name of a region in the Loire Valley in France. YUMMY! I was given a little bowl of olives to accompany my wine.
For dinner, I chose a fabulous spicy bean cassoulet with herbs and roasted garlic bread. This was different from the French cassoulet because it was tomato based. There was enough garlic on that glorious bread that I could chase Dracula back to Transylvania with one breath.
Dessert was a scrumptious lemon tart with fresh berries and rich whipped cream. I could eat one of these every day and grow old and fat and very happy.
As I was waiting on my dessert, I heard a drum and fife sounding parade coming my way.
My server said that it was the 100 year anniversary of a peace treaty.
Right next door to my hotel. Thank goodness it was closed because my suitcase is cram-packed and I was so tempted to go in and bring home presents for our four-legged babies.
I used a company called "Get Transfer" to get to the start of my hike. I had a Sri-Lakan driver who played peppy Indian music all the way to my destination. Without a driver, I was looking at a 2 hour train ride with a change of trains in the middle plus a 45 minute bus ride. In researching the Hotel/Chalet Schwarzwaldalp I came across this little story from Alpine Hikers - my tour company in an interview of the owner, "So one day the mountain boy and the city girl met – and fell in love. On one of our first hikes together we visited Schwarzwaldalp, Johann talking about his dream to become independent as a host and chef. Johann already knew Schwarzwaldalp, but for me it was the first visit – and I also fell in love with the place! Right that day we dreamed about being the hosts of the place. Only 2 weeks later we read an ad in the local newspaper that Schwarzwald is searching for a new lessee! That was in May 2010. That summer I quit my job in Zurich, packed all my belongings and Johann and I moved to Schwarzwaldalp – opening “our” hotel in December 2010. It was the best decision ever! We love this place.”
My teenie-tiny little room. I was treated to the sound of a babbling brook right outside my window and the smell of good clean air. I feel healthier already.
The view from my window.
This salad was amazing - straight from the garden with little bits of lettuce, chopped cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, squash, almonds, hazelnuts and Feta cheese. It also had very thin slices of a pepperoni type of sausage. I practically licked the plate.
The main course was good hearty hiker food - Swiss sausage with lots of cooked vegetables over rice. It had a red wine au jus that sent it right into gourmet heaven.
My heavenly dessert was the perfect tiramasu with it's light coffee flavoring topped with fresh fruit and a very thin cookie. OMG! I waddled off to bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in my head.
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Until tomorrow!
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