Lavaux Vineyard Terrace 世界遗产葡萄园

May 29, 2022

Montreux has held the famous annual Jazz Festival for the last 50 years. About 250,000 people attend the Festival in early July each year. Along the bank of Lake Geneva are many music-related art creations, famous musician sculptures, and even flower bed fences made with music notes. We missed this year’s Jazz Festival by over a month. If we thought yesterday’s Montreux was crowded due to weekend tourists, imagine what the streets would look like during the Jazz Festival. We got up early and went out to the lakeside before breakfast. Too early for most of the tourists; the street was tranquil. With the blue sky, beautiful lake, colorful flowers, and all the sculptures, it was so lovely to stroll around the promenade in the early morning. We had a few pictures to share here.

The weather continued to be in our favor, sunshine but not hot. We didn’t get the chance to see the inside of the Chillon Castle yesterday, so this morning after breakfast, the first thing to do was to take a short train ride from the hotel to the castle. The Chillon Castle is the most visited historical monument in Switzerland and is on an island on Lake Geneva. The oldest part of the castle was built more than 1000 years ago. The development of the current castle spans three periods: the Savoy Period, the Bernese Period, and the Vaudois Period, whose history we were not familiar with at all. Over the years, the castle was used as a summer house, prison, or munitions and weapons depot. Touring the castle, we learned a little bit history of Switzerland. We also learned from the Audio guide that the stone walls were not the original form. When they renovated the castle, they made the walls look old without being plastered. The original wall should be the stone walls with a plastered coating, like one of the white painted walls in the castle.

The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, stretching for miles along the northern shores of Lake Gevena, is a UNESCO site not too far away from Montreux. After visiting the castle, we jumped on a local train to Chexbres-Village train station for a short ride with a change at Vevey. As soon as we stepped out of the station, we were stunned by the panoramic view of the massive vineyard covering the lower slopes of the mountainside between the villages and the lake. Overlooking Lake Geneva, Chexbres is a wine-growing village offering many walks, blue, red, and green trails as illustrated on the tourist map. We let the trails take us running through the vineyard and down to the lake. Some of the vine terraces can be traced back 1000 years ago. We had never heard of Swiss wine in the states. We were told that the Swiss drank all the wine they produced, no export, as they joked about it. The walk through UNESCO’s wine yard was fantastic, but it was lunchtime, and we were hungry and looking for a place to eat. Unfortunately, most wine cellars and restaurants were closed on Sunday. Finally, we found Lavaux Vinorama near the lake was open for business. We ordered a wine taste set, beef tartars, cheese, and sausage. With the fantastic scenery of Lake Geneva and beautiful mountains in the back, we sipped wine and enjoyed swiss food. It was a delightful lunch break and just couldn’t get any better.

After lunch, we walked a short distance from the restaurant and boarded the train at Rivaz station to Lausanne. A hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, Lausanne is the home to the International Olympic Committee headquarters and the Olympic Museum and lakeshore Olympic Park. We first visited Olympic Museum and park and then headed to the old town to see the majestic Lausanne Cathedral. A walk around the hilly city felt like a workout. We walked through narrow alleys and stairs to Place De La Palud, the town square. Almost all shops were closed today, and there were few people in the area. Standing by the Fountain of Justice, we tried to figure out what to eat for dinner. After a few minutes of googling, we picked L’Eveche nearby. We ordered a salad, chicken, and pasta. The food was good, and it was time to return to Montreux.

On the way back to Montreux, we got off at Vevey to see the fork in the lake, a memorial sculpture for Charlie Chaplin.

 第九天：先去有千年历史的Chillon 古城堡里转了一大圈，然后去附近世界遗产名录的葡萄园，在那里品尝当地的白葡萄酒，生牛肉馅饼，香肠和奶酪。下午去了洛桑,参观奥运会博物馆和老街。在日内瓦湖上, 巧见一只大白＂俄＂追打＂乌＂鸭一幕，原本一群小鸭在湖上自由自在玩耍，突然间一只大天鹅🦢开始追赶其中一小鸭，真有点莫名其妙，就想起当今的俄乌之战，动物也和人一样。

GoldenPass Line 金色山口快车

May 28, 2022

This morning we packed our belongings and said goodbye to Lucerne. It was convenient to have a flat in Lucerne as our base for the last seven days, and we didn't have to pack and unpack each day when we headed out for sightseeing. Today, we were moving to our next base, Montreux, a beautiful resort town on the bank of Lake Geneva.

Interlaken Express and GoldenPass Line are part of the classic Grand Train Tour of Switzerland, which also includes Montreux-Zermatt with the Matterhorn, Glacier Express, Bernina Express, and Gotthard Panorama Express. Today, we started with Interlaken Express running from Lucerne to Interlaken, then switched to the GoldenPass line connecting Interlaken to Montreux with changes at Spiez and Zweisimmen. It is recommended to have a seat reservation for the Panoramic train. With the Swiss Travel Pass, the GoldenPass route was free, but we had to pay a small fee to reserve a seat. Since we had to do a few transfers today and did not want to miss our last segment of the train ride, we boarded our first train from Lucerne to Interlaken Ost early in the morning. After less than two hours of a train ride, we arrived at Interlaken Ost, and then we hopped on another train to Spiez, a very short ride of fewer than 30 minutes. Once in Spiez, we did not go for the next train immediately. Instead, we did a brief tour of the area nearby. Spiez is a small charming town on the shores of Lake Thun. The view over the lake from outside the train station was fantastic. It had the perfect angle for the postcard-like view of a beautiful village and lake.

Our third train of the day from Spiez to Zweisimmen was not very long either, about 45 minutes. We arrived in Zweisimmen earlier before our boarding time for our fourth train, the GoldenPass Panoramic train. The train station was surprisingly small, with no luggage storage facility. Luckily, there was a café near the train station, so we dragged our suitcases to the café and had lunch there. We also took a turn walking around the small village while one of us watched the luggage. The town was tranquil. A few minutes from the train station, a lovely creek ran through the village. We strolled through the town, allowing us to see what a typical Swiss village looks like.

Our GoldenPass Panoramic train finally arrived at the station. We boarded the train and headed to Montreux. The Panoramic cars were comfortable with large windows better suited for sightseeing, and the ride was a little over two hours long. The entire GoldenPass route was very scenic. Endless mountain passes, green valleys, Alpine peaks, and lakes were along the way.

Almost seven hours after leaving Lucerne, we finally arrived in Montreux. Our hotel was just a few minutes walking distances from the train station. The hotel was next to the lake; our room had an incredible view over Lake Geneva. After we settled at the hotel, we headed out to see the place.

Weekend tourists and street vendors crowded the walkway along the lake. Along the lakefront promenade were many beautiful flowers and sculptures. The blue Lake Geneva and the picturesque mountains made our walk so enjoyable. We walked to Chillon Castle, the most famous landmark in Montreux, which was about 2 miles away from our hotel. When we arrived at Chillon Castle, it was closed for the day. We walked around the castle and took so many beautiful pictures of the castle at sunset. 

 第八天：来Lucerne已住了七天，今天一早离开去下一站。坐金色山口快车去Montreux. 夕阳下的Chillon 古城堡非常漂亮。

Mt. Pilatus 皮拉图斯山

May 27, 2022

Today was sunshine and blue sky, perfect summer weather in Switzerland. We were going to do the popular Golden round tour that takes us to see Mt. Pilatus by boat, cogwheel railway, aerial cableway, and Panorama Gondolas. But since it’s a very popular place, we wanted to get there early and beat the crowd. We modified the itinerary to take a morning train to Aplnachstad first, and it was a short 15 mins train ride. At Aplnachstad, we boarded the Mt. Pilatus Cogwheel Railway, the world’s steepest railway (48% slope) up to the summit. It was a fun ride with beautiful views on the way up. At the top were a large observation deck and a couple of cafes/restaurants. From the observation deck, we walked to the Oberhauptand viewpoint with a stunning panoramic view of the snow-covered rolling Alps.

Directly above the Pilatus observation deck was the Esel viewpoint that could be reached via the zig-zag wooden stairs. The Esel summit was higher than Oberhaptand, and both outlooks offered a similar breathtaking view of the central Alps region. After immersing in the beautiful Alps, we glided down to Kriens on the Dragon ride and the Panorama gondolas. Initially, we planned to board a ferry back to Lucerne, but we had something else in mind.

Today is our last day in Lucerne, and there is a highly rated Chinese restaurant, Yun Nan Tea House in Lucerne, that we had tried to eat there several times since arriving in Lucerne, but either it had been closed for the holiday and Sunday, or not open for dinner. The restaurant was open today but would close at 4 pm. We wanted to try it so bad, so we decided to go back to the town to have lunch and come back to finish our Golden round trip. Yun Nan Tea House, well known for its Yun Nan Mi Xian (云南米线), was located in the town center and was small but nicely decorated. It was popular, so we had to wait fifteen mins to have the seats. We ordered the beef Mi Xian (米线), steamed chicken, and some side dishes. Although Mi Xian was not the same as we had before, all dishes were delicious. It was worth the extra effort. After lunch, we embarked on a ferry back to Aplnachstad to complete our version of the Golden round trip.

Later in the afternoon, after back to the center, we toured the Mussegg Wall, built at the end of the 14 century, that defended the old town. The four towers were open to the public, and the oldest clock in the city was on display. A segment of the Mussegg Wall is available for the public to walk through, with the river view on one side.

We also swept several other tourist attractions in the city. Since we had late lunch, we decided to have a simple dinner in the flat. Prepared by our friends, the main dish was just the egg drop soup of tomato and mushroom, which was delicious. After dinner, we went to the Lion Monument again and took some excellent photos in the daylight. We heard the music nearby and went to check it out, and it was the city concert on the river bank. As the sun was setting, the church towers were glowing golden by reflecting the golden sunlight, and it was a fantastic sunset.

第七天：今天阳光明媚，我们去了Mt．Pilatus, 先坐火车到山脚下，然后乘坐世界最陡的火车（48度斜坡）上山，再坐缆车下山。原本计划坐船回城，后改成先坐火车回城去云南米线吃中午饭，要了个汽锅鸡和牛肉米线，味道不错。饭后又坐船去了山脚下，也算是完成了原订的Pilatus环游。下午把Lucerne 的城墙玩了一圈，傍晚在Lucerne湖边欣赏着日落西山的美景。

Bern, Switzerland 波恩

May 26, 2022

Back to our flat in Lucerne last night, we all had rested well and were ready for another day trip. We took the train to Bern, the capital city of Switzerland. This charming city is the home to the medieval clocktower Zytglogge, the Parliament Building, and the Bern Cathedral. The train ride was about one and a half hours. The old town is just a few steps away from the train station. When we arrived in the old town, we noticed the crowd in front of the clocktower; everybody was looking at the clocktower and waiting for the bell to ring on the hour. So, we stopped and joined the crowd. It would be the first of many clocktower watching during our Europe trip.

Not too far away from the clock tower is the Einstein House. It is a museum and a former residence of Albert Einstein. A ticket to the museum was not free with the Swiss Travel Pass, but we did get 50% off. Einstein, his wife, and their son lived there from 1903 to 1905. It is the place where Einstein developed his famous Theory of Relativity. The museum is small but informative, and you learn much about Einstein’s personal life and scientific career. As a big fan of Einstein, visiting his place was on our must-do list.

Bern Cathedral, the tallest cathedral in Switzerland, is one of the most important landmarks of the capital city. The tower is open to the public for a small fee, and the Swiss Travel Pass is not valid for this church. We took the challenge and climbed up to the top viewing deck, and it’s worth the 311-steps climb. We were rewarded with a beautiful panorama view of the city.

We decided to take a little lunch break away from the old town sightseeing. We went to a nearby mountain called Gurten. You can take the tram or hike along the track to get to the mountain top. We didn’t think we could do another walk right after climbing up the cathedral, so we took the tram. On the top, the park is enormous. There was an amusement park, a playground for the kids, and many options for eating and drinking. We had our lunch at Restaurant Gurtners. We sit outside under the shade. The weather was perfect, the view was great, and the food was excellent. It was the ideal place to relax and enjoy food and scenery.

After a good meal and rest, we returned to the old town to see the Parliament Building. It’s a beautiful building with a stunning view of the city from the walkway in the backside. The building and surrounding area were spotless and well maintained. Although the building was closed for the day, we didn’t get a chance to go inside, and it was worth the time to walk around the building simply.

Bern is sometimes known as the city of fountains. Fountains are everywhere, in front of the churches, in city squares, in the middle of busy streets with trams running by their side. These fountains are beautifully made with vivid colors. We just couldn’t stop drinking the water from the fountains and taking photos.

Our day trip ended with the train ride back to Lucerne. We found a Korean restaurant nearby and had Korean BBQ for dinner.

第六天：今天去了在伯恩的爱因斯坦故居，漫步古城街头。爬伯恩天主教堂塔311步，高观远望将古老美丽的伯恩尽收眼底。然后乘缆车上了城边的小山顶Gurten, 山顶餐厅美餐一顿。最后去瑞士议会大厦看了一眼。

Jungfraujoch 少女峰

May 25, 2022

We were up early in the morning and sneaked out to see Staubbachfall. Outside was cloudy, but no rain. The town in the morning was tranquil and beautiful. The waterfall was a short distance from the hotel we stayed at. The almost 1000-feet tall fall was striking and powerful. Near the bottom of the fall, there was a tunnel. Without any lighting, the tunnel was dark in the early morning. We were not sure whether we were permitted to go through or not, but we were curious to find it out. Using the light from our phones, we slowly entered the tunnel. Out from the other end of the tunnel, an engraved path on the mountain slope led us up to the steel walkway, and soon we were standing behind the waterfall. Watching the stream pouring down and hearing the waterfall's sound is magical. We didn't stay there too long as we were getting a little wet from the waterfall, and we were not sure if we were allowed to go up there or not. Later we did find out that the tunnel was open for the summer. It was an excellent morning side trip. When we were back at the hotel, the breakfast was ready. We had our morning coffee, pastries, various kinds of cheese, fruit, and painted eggs with a stunning backdrop of Staubbachfall.

Rain was forecasted for the whole week. We worried that we might not be able to see Jungfraujoch at all on this trip. Although it was cloudy in the morning in Lauterbrunnen, the attentive host at the front desk told us that the sky at Jungfraujoch was opening up and showed us the webcam at its peak on his computer. He told us we would have an excellent chance to see it if we went there soon. We had our fingers crossed and were on our way to catch the train to Jungfraujoch. We took the train from Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg with a stopover at Wengen. It was a scenic route up to the mountain village of Wengen and then onto Kleine Scheidegg.  From Kleine Scheidegg we switched to the Jungfraujoch Railway. The Jungfraujoch Railway, completed in 1912, is the highest in Switzerland and Europe, running essentially through the 5.6-mile Jungfraujoch Tunnel. The Jungfraujoch railway ride was not covered under the Swiss Travel Pass but with 50% off. The train stopped in the middle of the tunnel for a short time for passengers to get out to look surrounding mountains through the windows. Because of the cloudy weather, there was nothing to see. The whole train ride in the tunnel was uneventful.

We got off the train at Jungfraujoch train station and walked through a tunnel for a lift to take us to the Sphinx observation deck. In the Sphinx Terrace, we had a 360-degree view of magnificent glaciers and snow-covered mountains under the shining blue sky. However, the summit of Jungfraujoch is still hiding behind the clouds.We walked through the ice gateway towards the Ice Palace, where many ice sculptures were displayed. Eagles, penguins, and bears all looked beautiful. A statue of Lang Lang playing the piano there seemed to be a marketing tool to attract Chinese tourists. It was a great experience and the best tour of ice sculptures we had had.

Out of the Ice Palace, we walked to the Plateau where a flag pole was, a view platform on the mountain. Many people were there, and we had to wait in line to take pictures with the Swiss flag. We were able to see the Jungfraujoch, just not the full peak. We patiently waited for the shy Jungfraujoch peak to get out of hiding, but the cloud seemed to become denser. With a bit of disappointment not to see the full face of Jungfrau peak, we were glad to make this trip and enjoy the natural beauty of Jungfraujoch.

After a quick lunch at the restaurant on the top and touring the chocolate shop, we headed back to Lauterbrunnen in a hurry to see the largest underground waterfall in Europe, Trummelbackfall, before it was closed for the day. From Lauterbrunnen, we took a bus to Trummelback with only 15 mins to spare. Once inside the park, a funicular elevator took us up from the bottom to the middle. Then we walked to the up falls and down to the lower falls via various stairs, walkways, galleries, and overlooks. The sound of the rushing water vibrated through the incredible rock formation in the mountain, and you felt the waterfall's power. We were the last tourists today; the park staff was just several feet behind us to turn off the light. We were glad that we made this tour too.

On the way back to Lucerne, we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant next to the Interlaken train station when we stopped for a transfer. The restaurant was big, but sadly there were no customers. Our food was ok; we were happy to have some hot food. It was a long day for us. Once we arrived in Lucerne, we just relaxed at our flat and were ready for another busy day tomorrow.

第五天：原本天气预报整周下雨，可是今天一早查看山峰上实时摄像头，顶上天气渐渐放晴，就直奔少女峰！在欧洲屋脊少女峰上享受壮阔美景之后，赶着门关之前，观览了欧洲最大的地下瀑布Trummelback Falls 。

Lake Brienz and Lauterbrunnen

May 24, 2022

The original plan for Interlaken and Jungfraujoch was to make a day trip from Lucerne or cut the stay at Lucerne short to spend a couple of days at Interlaken instead. We didn't go with either of the options. Long story short, we kept our apartment in Lucerne for the entire week but also booked hotel rooms for one night in Lauterbrunnen.

We left Lucerne in the early morning for Interlaken via a 1 hour 50 mins train ride. The weather didn't cooperate. When we arrived in Interlaken, it was very cloudy with occasional drizzle. Going to Jungfraujoch, Top of Europe would be pointless under this weather condition. Instead, we spent some time in the Lake Brienz area. Our friend suggested going to Iseltwald, a film set for a famous Korean Drama of "Crashing Landing on You (爱的迫降)." We took the bus there. The Iseltwald landing stage is a wooden boat dock on Lake Brienz, offering spectacular views of the lake and surrounding mountains. We took a few photos on the landing stage.

As we strolled in the area, we saw the ferry coming and decided to take the ferry ride to another small village across Lake Brienz. Again, the ferry was covered by the Swiss Travel Pass. Cruising on the lake, the view of lake shores was breathtaking. We got to enjoy the view of the Grandhotel Giessbach and Giessbach Waterfall together. We got off the ferry at Brienz, hopped on the train, and headed to Lauterbrunnen.

We checked in at our hotel near Staubbach waterfall. Our room has the perfect view of the waterfall. After a quick lunch, we did the 5 mins gondola ride to Grutschalp, then switched to a narrow gauge train to Mürren, a traditional Alpine village up the mountain. Based on the wiki, Mürren has a year-round population of 450 but has 2,000 hotel beds. It is a car-free town. As the cloud moved over the mountain, we passed through the village and hiked along the paved trail down to Gimmerlwald. Along the route, there were occasionally gift shops or small huts selling cheese, drinks, and snacks. They are self-service stores based on an honor system. We actually bought the cheese from one of the stores. It’s really just a refrigerator outside the house, you simply grabbed the packaged cheese from the refrigerator and paid on the machine with ApplePay.

We walked down the misty mountain accompanied by the sound of bells hanging on sheep and cows scattered on the hillside. It was a beautiful hike. Arrived at Gimmelwald, we took the cable car down to Stechelberg. We went to Murrenbachfall and took a few pictures. Then we rode the bus back to Lauterbrunnen. We had some traditional swiss dishes and local beers—another awesome day.

第四天：原本准备去少女峰，可天公不作美就先改去Brienz湖，乘坐公交，渡轮和火车把这小湖轻松地玩了一下。然后就来到Bernes山脉下小镇Lauterbrunnen，坐缆车上Murren，从那里沿着雾气弥漫，牛羊成群的山坡一路下山，到了Gimmelwald后又坐缆车，换公交回到小镇，吃上第一顿瑞士cheese晚餐和喝了当地的啤酒。

St. Gallen, Switzerland

May 23, 2022

We woke up at 6 o'clock early in the morning and went for breakfast. On travel, we always like to find places to taste their local coffee and pastries. In Switzerland, finding a coffee shop opening early morning is not easy. Fortunately, we found this coffee/bakery place nearby that opens at 6:30 am. Although the coffee in Switzerland is expensive, the pastries are reasonably priced. The coffee and pastries were excellent.

After breakfast, we took the train to St. Gallen, 70 miles northeast of Lucerne. We arrived at St. Gallen's station after a two-hour train ride. The old town, Altstadt in German, is a short walking distance away from the station. The city centers in Switzerland are never too far away from the main train stations, as we know now. St. Gallen is a historic town claimed as the center of ancient Europe. The old town survives two world wars without major damage, thanks to Switzerland's neutrality. In the Altstadt, surrounding the town square, are brightly painted timber-framed homes from the 16th century. They are stunning.

As we walked through the commercial district near the square, a sign of "Spargel Festival" in front of a restaurant got our attention. Our German friend told us it's Asparagus season in Europe right now. We didn't know Asparagus was a seasonal food since we can find it in the US supermarket pretty much all year round. We decided to try out fresh and seasonal Asparagus dishes at this restaurant. We sat down and asked the server about Asparagus Festival, and she told us that the festival was over the day before and there was no more Asparagus. Little disappointed, but we still had lunch there. We ordered Pizza, Salads, and grilled vegetables. The food tasted as good as it could be.

The main attraction in St. Gallen is the Abbey of St. Gall, its library, and the Baroque-style St. Gallen Cathedral. They are a UNESCO site, and the library is one of the oldest and richest libraries in the world. We went to the church first, and the baroque architecture and monumental ceiling paintings are breathtaking. We took so many pictures.

Then we walked across the lawn to the exhibition hall of the Abbey district, the oldest monastery archive in the world. As the tour guide told us, in the archive, you could find the property deeds dated back to 1500 years ago, who owns what. More than 1000 years ago, monks in the Abbey started to record and categorize information in books. They also figured out a system to store those books in boxes to move them out of harm's way in case of disasters. The Abbey was destroyed in a fire, but the library was intact. At the end of the tour, the guide took us to a separate room to show us the famous St Gall Abbey Plan, an architectural drawing of the Middle Ages. With the cover lifted, the plan drawing came out of the darkness for only a few seconds to limit the light exposure to the document. The building drawings and the buildings survived amazingly after 1000 years. Taking the picture was not allowed in both the hall and the library.

While we were learning about the library's history, our friend was trying to recover her Swiss Travel Pass. On the train to St. Gallen, she could not find the copy of the pass on her iPhone, and she might accidentally deleted it from the phone. The train conductor was friendly to let her go without buying another ticket, but the museum staff insisted on requiring the pass to give her the ticket. For Swiss Travel Pass holders, visiting the museum is free. Fortunately, her husband in Germany found a copy of her pass on the home computer when we were about to finish the tour. A happy ending, at least.

With the provided slippers, we toured the library, which was as impressive as they claimed. After touring the Abbey, we had famous Swiss hot chocolate at the blue building opposite the cathedral. Its look was better than its taste, just too sweet for us. Since we still had one hour to kill before catching the train back to Lucerne, we walked up the hill to explore the city. A waterfall in the residential neighborhood was good to see. We caught a 5:30 pm train back to Lucerne. Another amazing day!

早上六点就去了住所附近的面包房喝上一杯瑞士咖啡，当然还有面包。今天坐二小时火车去St Gallen,那是一座有悠久历史的古城，豪称古欧洲的中心，因为中立国的特殊性，小城还保留着战前原样，很漂亮。参观了世界文化遗产保护遗址，Abbey Library of St Galllen，珍藏有一千五百年来档案资料，很早就开始分门别类装箱。

Mount. Rigi, Switzerland -山的女王

May 22, 2022

We were going to explore The Queen of the Mountains – Mt. Rigi today. The route started with a ferry ride from Lucerne to Vitznau on Lake Lucerne. The ferry terminal is near the train station, which is not too far away from the apartment. We got there just in time when the ferry was about to leave. With a Swiss Travel Pass, the ferry ride is free of charge. The paddle steamer was powered by a 1901 Sulzer two-cylinder engine, located in the midship and open for public view. It is the oldest paddle steamer in Switzerland. Four of us sat on the port side of the boat and enjoyed the scenic view of Lake Lucerne under the perfect weather as the vessel was slowly paddling away from the city. It was more like a scenery cruise than a ferry ride.

After one-hour ferry ride to Vitznau, we walked a short distance to Rigi Cogwheel Railway Station. Opened in 1871, the Vitznau – Rigi Kulm cogwheel railway is Europe's first mountain railway. The view of Lake Lucerne and the Alpes was breathtaking along the rail. And it was free with a Swiss Travel Pass too. After 45 mins train ride, we had made it to the top. We wandered at the summit and enjoyed the gorgeous view and pleasant weather. At the summit, a rock was engraved with the name of a famous mountain in China - 峨眉山. We wondered if the stone came from China or just a tourism marketing scheme to attract tourists from mainland China. After a short coffee break at the restaurant, we started heading down to Rigi First.

Hiking to Rigi First was one of the best hiking we have had. Yellow wildflowers are everywhere over the Alpes slope. We wandered down the trail accompanied by the sound of cow bells with spectacular views in every direction. It was the best classic Swiss experience in the Alpes. We couldn't ask for more. As we were closer to Rigi First, we stopped by a little old hut serving drinks and snacks. We even went inside the kitchen and got some homemade Swiss Cheese.

In Rigi First, we adventured on a rock path carved into the mountainside overlooking the mountains. The rock path is less than 1km long, and several benches are along the trail. Little tired, we sat down on the benches and tasted local Swiss cheese. It was delicious. Our original plan was to catch the cable ride down at Scheidegg. However, we couldn't confirm whether the cable car was open or not in the early summer season, so we decided to continue the hike to the Rigi-Klosterli Station to catch the blue Goldau-Rigi Kulm Cogwheel train to Arth-Goldau. Over there, we hopped on the train back to Lucerne. In total, we hiked more than 10 miles today. Everyone was tired but had a great time. It was an excellent start for our Europe trip. With perfect weather, beautiful places, and good friends, it was a memorable nine-hour day trip.

After dinner, we returned to the old town area and enjoyed the excellent lake view. The famous Lion Monument was not too far away, so we walked there. The sculpture of the wounded lion was beautiful.

第二天乘坐渡轮来到Rigi山脚下，换乘齿轮火车直上Rigi山顶。在悦耳悠长的铃铛声陪伴下，一路徒步下山十几英里。真是田园风光无限好。新冠疾病对瑞士人来说已是过去的事，好像整个瑞士就我们几个还在戴着口罩，大家都在＂偷着乐＂。

Chicago– Zurich and Lucerne 芝加哥-苏黎世和卢塞恩

May 20 -21, 2022

We were packing light on this trip inspired by a few videos from Rick Steves and others. We each had only one carry-on luggage and one backpack for our two-month Europe trip. The time would tell whether it was a wise decision or not. Usually, we ask our friends to drop us at the airport when we go out for an extended vacation. Since the flight was in the early morning, we decided to schedule an Uber ride at 5 am in advance. It was the first time for us to reserve an Uber ride. We were not sure how reliable the Uber reservation was. It turned out to be great. The Uber driver showed up 5 mins before the scheduled time. Going through the security at the airport was fast without any problem. We were on the way to Chicago for a connection flight to Zurich.

Seven months ago, when planning this trip, we found a good deal from United Airlines on the business class fare to Zurich. Once we landed at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, we went directly to Polaris Lounge which is part of the benefit of flying international business class. The United’s Polaris Lounge typically has two dining options, a self-serve buffet, and a sit-in café. Since we had a 3.5 hours layover, we opted for lunch at the café. We had an iceberg wedge salad, rainbow trout, burger, and fried ice cream, which were delicious. After being refreshed, we boarded our flight to Zurich. What a difference these last few months made. Not many people wear masks either at the airport or on the airplane. However, with precaution, we still wore the N95 facemask for the duration of the flight. We lay flat on our seats and had some good sleep during a long nine-hour flight.

We arrived at Zurich Airport at 7:50 am and met our old friend Vivia from Philadelphia, who and her friend from Germany (comes later in the afternoon) joined us on the Switzerland portion of our Europe trip. We hopped on a train to Zurich downtown to officially start our Europe trip. A short 10 mins train ride from the airport to the Zurich central station was easy. We stored our luggage in a locker at the train station. However, it wasn’t cheap, costing about 15 Swiss Frances. No longer having the bags in hand, we headed out to the old town area around Lake Zurich/Limmat River. There are many historic sites in the area. First, we walked up to a hill, Lindenhof, over the bank of the Limmat. We had a breathtaking view of Zurich’s old town at the elevated spot. Then we walked back down to find a lunch spot recommended by many people online. We had curry sausages, bratwurst, and a schnitzel sandwich at Sternen Grill. To be honest, our first meal was just okay. Along the way to the café, we stopped by a few tourist attractions.

After lunch, we went to the Lake Zurich area for a few photo shots and strolled around the old town and by the river. We visited most tourist attractions near the river, Grossmunster, Fraumunster Church, Church of St. Peter, etc. Amazingly, we had covered most sightseeing places in the city during the short six hours. It was time for us to go to Lucerne, where we would stay for the next seven days and meet our new friend from Germany.

The train ride from Zurich to Lucerne is about one hour, with beautiful scenery along the way. With a Swiss Travel Pass, traveling in the country is easy and convenient. Typically, we check the timetable and the platform the train stops at on the phone and then just get on the train and find the seats. Sometimes, a train conductor may walk through the carrier to check the ticket or the pass. But for a short ride, no one comes to check. It is an honor system. The apartment we rented from booking.com was a short walking distance from the Lucerne central train station. Our unit is on the sixth floor, with a tiny elevator going all the way to the room. The flat seems to be newly remodeled and has a fully equipped kitchen, a dining/living area, and two good size bedrooms. The washer/dryer in the bathroom is such a plus and so convenient for our week-long stay. While we were waiting for the arrival of our new friend, Haili from Germany, suddenly, the church bell, not too far away from our place, started to ring for a long 15 mins. Is this an everyday thing, we wondered.

We had our first dinner at a Vietnamese Restaurant as there were not many choices near the flat at the time. The summertime sunset in Switzerland is very late, after 9 pm. The Chapel Bridge over the Lake Lucerne/Reuss River is the most famous landmark in Lucerne. This wood bridge, built in 1365, crosses the Reuss River at an angle. It is the world’s oldest surviving truss bridge and the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe. We walked over the bridge towards the Mussegg Wall. But the towers on the wall were closed for the day, so we walked along the wall and turned around to get back to the riverside.

As the sun set, we wandered through the outdoor seating area of many cafés and restaurants where people were drinking and laughing. Everyone seemed to have a good time and leave COVID behind, and life started returning to normalcy. It was our first day in Switzerland, and we felt we had seen so many places and were impressed by the beauty and easy access of the cities. An excellent first impression!

每人一随身携带行李箱和背包，开始了我们两个月的欧洲之行，第一天就把苏黎士和卢塞恩两城市一些亮点走了一遍，但留下印象最深的是城市里喷水池流出的水都能喝。