Mirabell Garden 米拉贝尔花园

June 12, 2022

Today we had to say goodbye to the beautiful city of Salzburg and head to Ljubljana, Slovenia. Before leaving, we revisited the Mirabell Palace near our hotel in the early morning. The palace was built in 1606 by the Prince-Archbishop, Wolf Dietrich Raitenau. He erected this luxury palace for himself and his mistress Salome Alt. But the good time didn't last very long, and he was deposed six years later. His successor kicked the mistress and her family out. Today, the city government uses the palace for official functions, but the garden is open to the public. It is one of Salzburg's most popular tourist attractions, and several scenes from the "Sound of Music" were filmed here. We had visited this place a couple of times since we arrived here. Today's weather was perfect. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the garden was even more attractive. Since it was early in the morning, there weren't many tourists, and we enjoyed the quiet atmosphere and beautiful landscaping. After Mirabell garden, we went to the city center for breakfast and did our last walk around the city of Salzburg before heading to the train station.

The train from Salzburg to Ljubljana took four and a half hours, which was covered with the Eurail Pass we purchased. Something interesting happened during our train ride. We made seat reservations for our train ride as we learned by now that the train could sometimes get crowded even for the 1st class tickets. When we boarded the train and located our train cabin, our seats were occupied by two women. We thought we might enter the wrong cabin since one of the ladies insisted it was her seat. We double-checked our reservation and cabin number. It turned out she did not even have the 1st class ticket. She quietly left the cabin and went to a different car. The other lady politely switched to a different seat but stayed with us in the same cabin. She was not very talkative during the ride, but we did chat for a little. Before we arrived in Ljubljana, the second train conductor came to the cabin to check our tickets. Surprisingly the train conductor pointed out that the lady had the 2nd class ticket. But the conductor let her stay because the 2nd class cabins were full and the train was just a few minutes away from the destination. Only at this point the lady told us it was her lucky day because the first train conductor in Austria knew she sat in the wrong car but did not say anything. All we could think of was glad we made our seat reservation. It was almost three and a half weeks into our Europe trip, and we always admired Switzerland and Austria's public transportation honor system. Today's encounter showed us a different side.

Arrived in Ljubljana, our rented apartment was five minutes walk from the Ljubljana central train station. We texted the apartment owner using the WhatsUp app to inform our arrival. The app was a popular and helpful communication tool outside the States. The owner's son was waiting for us outside of the apartment. It was a one-bedroom apartment on the second floor. The unit was not bad, except the shower was tiny. Another strange arrangement was that the bedroom was connected to the kitchen without the door, but the dining/living room was in a separate room. As usual, once we settled, we headed out to see the new place and get familiar with the area.

On Sunday, most of the stores were closed. We found a restaurant nearby that was still open and had a good review on Yelp. We sat and ordered a local beer, beef tongue, salad, and Slovenia sausage. They didn't disappoint us; it was one of the best dinners on this trip. Their sausage seemed to be better taste than those in Switzerland and Austria. After dinner, we walked to the city center. We got the first taste of the beautiful Ljubljana, like Triple Bridge, Franciscan Church of the Annunciation, Preseren square, and the summer concert in Park Zvezda.

第二十三天：非常喜欢萨尔茨堡这个城市，今天下午要离开，有点依依不舍。早上再次去旅馆旁的米拉贝尔花园(Mirabell Palace)走走, 蓝天白云下的花园非常的美，尤其是大清早大部分游客还没出门。之后来到城中心，坐下吃个早餐，听着教堂的钟声，看看过往行人🚶‍♀️🚶，发个呆。下午坐火车来到斯洛维尼亚的首都卢布尔雅那。老规矩，放下行李🧳，先去外面走走熟悉下环境，为明后二天做准备。晚餐是当地的啤酒，牛舌，色拉和香肠，味道很不错。斯洛维尼亚香肠比我们在瑞士和奥地利吃到的好吃多了。

Hallstatt 哈尔斯特达

June 11, 2022

Today we headed to the fairy-tale-like town of Hallstatt. The mountains surrounding Hallstatt made traveling there a bit more complicated. We started with Bus 150 from the Salzburg bus depot to Bad Ischl Bahnhof. After 90 minutes ride, we arrived at Bad Ischl and switched to Bus 542. We were on Bus 542 for 20 minutes before having to do a second and final transfer at the Gosaumuhle bus stop. We had about 5 minutes to switch from Bus 542 to the neighboring Bus 543. It was a quick transfer as two buses parked beside each other. Since we wanted to see the Dachstein Giant Ice Cave first and return to Hallstatt later, we did not get off the bus at the Hallstatt bus stop. Instead, we continued our bus ride to Obertraun Dachsteinseilbahn Talstation. Once we arrived, a short walking distance from the bus station, we took the Dachstein Krippenstein cable car up the mountain to the Schönbergalm station. We were assigned to a group based on our preferred language at the cable car station.

From there, the ice cave was another 20-minute steep uphill hike. We had to wait for about an hour to start our guided tour. The Dachstein Giant Ice Cave was the first ice cave we have ever visited. The illuminated ice cones and beds were attractive. We took some pictures, but since it was dark inside, the quality of the photographs may not be very good. We were slightly disappointed with the giant ice cave visit since it didn’t have the glory of dry caves. Then we continued to Krippenstein station. From there, we did a short hike on the mountain with a panoramic view of the surrounding mountain and a distant view of Hallstatt. We wish we could explore the mountain more, but we needed to get down to catch the bus back to the town. The Bus 543 back to Hallstatt runs hourly in the summer. Unfortunately, we missed the bus, so we decided to have a quick, simple lunch/snack at a small café near the bus stop and patiently waited for the next bus.

On the way back to Hallstatt, the bus winded through small villages. Sometimes, we felt the bus might hit the houses along the roads. We got off the town square of Hallstatt. Hallstatt is a small village on the southwestern shore of Lake Hallstatt. After being featured in K-drama, it became a popular tourist place for East Asian tourists. The town has about 800 permanent residences but received 10Ks tourists daily in the summer before COVID. We first learned about the Hallstatt from Rick Steven’s video. The town has a perfect tourist setting. It is located on the shore of a calm blue lake and has historic buildings on the cliff. The oldest salt mine is nearby, but we didn’t have time to visit. There were a lot of tourists even in the COVID era. We strolled through the narrow streets along the lake and up the hill. We stopped by a stand to have daily baked Schaumrollen. Wow, that was good. The town was beautiful from every angle. We took so many pictures that day. We would stay overnight next time to visit.

We decided to return to Salzburg by train for a different experience. The train station was on the other side of the lake, and the ferry ran between the town of Hallstatt and the train station based on the train schedule. While we waited for the ferry, we had our coffee break at the café near the ferry terminal and enjoyed the great view of the lake. The ferry took 15 mins to cross the lake, and the station was a short walk distance. After a few mins at the station, we hopped on the train back to Salzburg. It was a great day trip.

Our dinner was at this Chinese Restaurant near the Salzburg train station. This was not the first time we had dined there. The other day we tried their Hong Kong-style duck, which was really good, and we knew we would come back for more. After dinner, we walked back to the Salzbach River to see the sunset for one last time. Tomorrow, we would say goodbye to the city. We love Salzburg, and it has a rich history, beautiful baroque buildings, and natural wonders.

欧洲游第二十二天:大清早出发坐了二个多小时的公交车，中间还转了二次车，终于来到奥地利著名小镇哈尔斯特达（Hallstatt)。我们先去了小镇边上的巨冰岩洞，第一次去冰洞，有点失望，就算是到此一游吧。小镇的确很美，清澈的湖水，美丽的白天鹅，明信片标志性的建筑，只可惜我们时间有限没能多留。建议朋友们以后来此镇的话至少住一晚。晩上回到萨尔茨堡，最后再看一眼太阳落山时的城堡🏰，明天我们就要和这座城市说再见。

Trick Fountains 奇巧喷泉

June 10, 2022

The bus No. 25 took us to Hellbrunn Palace at the bottom of abundant water Hellbrunn Mountain, which Prince-Archbishop Markus Sittikus built for enjoyment and leisure. The center of the palace is the world-famous Trick Fountains, where spring water, coming from the mountain, jetted out from unexpected hiding places to entertain his guests over 400 years ago. While his people were trying to feed their families and have roofs over their heads, he used the tax collected from the people to build complicated water fountains and a lavish summer palace just for entertainment. He hardly stayed overnights in the palace. However, the Trick Fountains, water engineering masterpieces of the 18th century, are still very impressive and fascinating today. The tour to the Altemps fountain with the Star Pond was guided in English or German. The tour guide took us to a beautifully carved stone table with ten stools. As told, the Archbishop always sat at the north end of the table. While the guests were sipping the wine and enjoying the delicious food feast, the water jets would suddenly come out of the hole in the middle of each stone stool except his. Imagine how embarrassed all the guests would feel with the wet pants while the Archbishop was laughing at his guests. The tour guide let us try to sit on the short end of the table without getting wet. The waterfall and sculptures were stunning. The rest of the tour was an audio self-guided tour.

We visited 21 stations of the trick fountains in the fantasy world of Markus Sittikus. The water automats of five water-driven figures along the small stream amazed us with the technologies the engineers mastered to achieve. The motion was driven by water flow from the mountain, not an electric pump in the modern days. The Mechanical Theater was another masterpiece, although it was constructed in the later days. One hundred sixty-three water-driven figures depict the life of a small city, where people were working, shopping, and entertaining tirelessly. We could not catch up with all activities of each figure in the show. The Grottos was another fantastic wonder. Now the park workers have control over the fountain system. Usually, they warned us before turning on the water jet from hidden places. We had a fun experience and many unexpected. We highly recommend this place to visit.

From Hellbrunn Park, a trail led us through the forest to the Folklore Museum at Hellbrunn hill. The museum had a collection of traditional folk house items in Salzburg and the figures of Samson, Giant Heroic Figures from the 16th century. It was a small museum, but it was interesting to see how people lived back then in Salzburg. The museum offered an excellent view of the park below, the surrounding area, and the Salzburg Fortress in the distance. Hiking down from the hill, we wandered around the park. It was such a beautiful place to walk, sit and relax. There were some big fish in the pound. We learned that the white sturgeon could live up to 80 years and up to 4.5 meters long.  

We took our lunch break at the park’s café. Chicken salads, pancake beef broth, and dessert all tasted very good. Then we went to the Hellbrunn Palace with an exhibition about Markus Sittikus. At the end of our visit, we walked more around the beautiful garden and saw the “sound of the music” Pavillon. The gazebo was used in the movie and was presented to the city of Salzburg as a gift at the end of filming. The original filming site was in another park, and the pavilion was relocated to Hellbrunn Palace Park in 1991.

Left Hellbrunn Palace, we continued our day trip and took the No. 25 to the bottom of Untersberg. From there, we rode the cable car to the summit. Untersberg offered a wide choice of routes for hikers and mountain bikers. Unfortunately, the sky was cloudy, and the visibility was very poor to see much. From the top station of the Untersbergbahn, we did a short hike to the peak. We came back quickly because we had an early dinner reservation at 5 pm at Barenwirt, a popular Austria cuisine place where we couldn’t get a table yesterday. We had roast pork with a huge dumpling ball and fried chicken salad, both being their most popular dishes. The food is delicious. The dumpling tasted good but had too many carbs.

Another reason to have an early dinner was that we would attend a “Sound of Music” show at the Salzburg Marionette Theater, which is included in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. We did not remember the last time we watched a puppet show. The show was great, and it was better than expected.

第二十一天：时间过得很快，来欧洲整整三个星期了。前二天一直在萨尔茨堡城里的博物馆，城堡和教堂里转悠，今天换个环境去城外的海尔布伦宫放松一下。这座当时大主教的花园式避暑行宫不仅有迷人的花园，更以各种独具匠心暗藏的喷泉而出名。400年后的今天，这些喷泉仍然在给游客们带来惊喜。中午在花园餐厅用餐，色拉，煎饼丝牛肉汤和甜品都不错。下午去郊外的山头上，坐缆车上去的，因为云雾缭绕山顶，也未能看到城市全景。匆匆下山赶去旅馆推荐的火红的餐厅。昨天去过说是全满，今天的也满了，只能订上早早的晚饭，不过这正好符合我们需要。饭后要赶去看具有世界文化遗产的奥地利的木偶戏-“音乐之声”。点了烤猪肉，给了一大碗德国酸菜和一大个土豆面粉团，猪肉很不错，土豆团也还可以，酸菜就有点多了。饭店最有名的特色菜炸鸡味道的确不错，但垫底的蔬菜色拉和中午的相比就要差一截了。

DomQuartier, Austria

June 9, 2022

We started our day with a butter croissant and a salami sandwich for breakfast. Today's weather forecast was not very good. It started raining when we walked across the Love Lock bridge. We passed by a 19-century weather station on the street on the way to Salzburg Museum. The three sides of the station have been providing the temperature, barometric pressure, and humidity since 1888. It looked like a piece of art that belonged to a palace or a museum. With more rain in the forecast, we changed our plan to stay inside and visit the museums instead. We bought the 72 hours Salzburg Card for 40 Euros per person, covering all public transportation and free admission to all city museums. The river cruise we took and the two Mozart museums we visited yesterday were all covered by the Salzburg Card. We would try to visit as many museums as possible to maximize its benefits. Today, we first visited Salzburg Museum at Neue Residenz, situated on the opposite side of Residenzplatz in the Old Town. Through multi-media and colorfully designed exhibitions, the museum provides comprehensive insights into the uniqueness of Salzburg with a diverse array of objects from the collection to explain how Salzburg became what it is today. We saw a few paintings of Salzburg that might inspire us to paint the same theme in the future. The music instrument collections were interesting too.

We toured the DomQuartier, a building complex consisting of a Cathedral, Residenz precinct, and St. Peter's Abbey. Over 400 years ago, the Salzburg prince-archbishops' absolutist rule installed spiritual and secular power over the people. As we walked through the exhibitions, we learned a few things about the prince-archbishops' life. To see the prince-archbishop, people had to wait and start from the large stateroom to the smallest private room. Only a few select guests were ever allowed access to the private area of the princely apartments adjacent to the study. The residence of the prince-archbishops was luxurious and extensive. We were especially interested in various ceramic heaters. We took a few pictures of them. Then we walked into the backside of the Salzburg Cathedral and had a full view from the organ gallery. The Cathedral Museum houses the Cathedral treasure as well as paintings and sculptures, dating from Gothic to Baroque, from the Cathedral and churches belonging to the archdiocese. The tour ended at St. Peter's Museum, which displays art treasures from the extensive collections of St. Peter's Abbey. We had looked for St. Peter Cemetery, a site inspiration for the “Sound of Music”, for a while. We finally located it behind St. Peter Abbey.

From the DomQuartier, we went to Nonnberg Abbey. The "Sound of Music" shooting location where the story began in the movie, and the nuns sang every morning. The Abbey was up the hill between the Old Town and Fortress, and it was a steep climb up the hill to reach the Abbey. The church was small. When we walked in, people were sitting there with no lights. After a few minutes, we figured out that putting 50 cents euro in a box would turn on the altar lights for five minutes. It was a good way to raise money for the church. The altar was terrific. There also were some lovely Roman frescos in the back of the church, which also required 50 cents euro to get the lights on.

While walking down the hill, a local guy suggested we stop by the Stiegl taste site. We ordered two different kinds of beer, and both were good. After a nice break, we continued to walk to see another film site of the "Sound of Music," the famous "horse Pond." Unfortunately, it was under construction, and we did not have good pictures.

We went to the restaurant the hotel host recommended, but it was fully booked for the day. We just grabbed a panini and a sausage from the street vendor and returned to the Hotel. 

第二十天:天公不作美，今天萨尔茨堡的天气是我们来欧洲近三周最差的一天。一整天都在下雨，本打算去郊外看宫殿改成了继续在城里看博物馆，先去了萨尔茨堡博物馆和DomQuatier(主要看主教宮殿), 这个城市以前受天主教控制，可以看出那些主教们是非常腐败奢侈，但因为他们奢侈，给我们留下了豪华宫殿和无价精品。下午按音乐之声的观光路线把没去过的景点补上。当然不忘喝上一杯咖啡及在啤酒庄里品尝当地的啤酒。晚上就在路边的小摊上买了一根香肠充饥。

The City of Mozart 莫扎特的故乡

June 8, 2022

Salzburg was the filming site of the movie "Sound of the Music" and the birthplace of its favorite son, Wolfgang Mozart, one of the world's most famous musicians. There are many monuments to Mozart in the city, and music is in the air in Salzburg. Today's theme was to follow in the footsteps of Mozart to visit as many Mozart things as possible. We started our day by having breakfast at Cafe Tomaselli, where Mozart's family often dined when they lived in the Old Town. Then we took the funicular up to Salzburg Fortress, high above the rooftops of Baroque-style buildings. It was a vast compound and offered a 360-degree view of Salzburg and the surrounding area. The history of the Salzburg Fortress dates back almost 1000 years ago. We did the panorama tour, which took us from the salt magazine via the dungeon to the viewing tower, through the battlements to the famous Salzburg Bull, a roughly 500-year-old wheel-driven barrel organ. It was an exceptional experience. Although all the castles we visited on this Europe trip were terrific and picturesque, we wish we knew more about local history to make the visit more interesting. 

With its Baroque-style dome and two towers, Salzburg Cathedral, where Mozart was baptized, is the centerpiece of Salzburg. Its distinctive and impressive architecture on the city skyline left on many of our pictures. The inside of the Cathedral was even more impressive. The imposing organs hung on the splendid façade of white marble with detailed frescos on the dome. The interior was simplistic but magnificent. Walking down in the basement of the Cathedral, where many archbishops were buried, we ran into the Vanitas installation, one of 13 Modern Art installations in public spaces. It was interesting. We also saw another piece of an art installation at the plaza earlier today, Sphaera, a man standing on a golden ball. He was looking for the female counterpart, "Woman in the Rock." But he looks at the wrong direction. In the afternoon, when we passed by a parking lot in the cave, we saw the sculpture on the entrance door to the parking lot.

We had a quick lunch at the old marketplace and continued our Mozart theme activities by touring Mozart's birthplace, a museum focusing more on his family and youth. Before this trip, with our limited knowledge of music history, we didn't know much about the Mozart family. The museum was not just about Wolfgang Mozart but also about the parents, Leopold and Anna Maria, and sister "Nannerl." The Mozart senior was also an accomplished composer, music teacher, and the author of a violin-playing book. We learned more about Leopold Mozart than Wolfgang Mozart from the museum. After visiting Mozart's birthplace, we walked toward the river. We saw the river cruise that was about to leave. Due to the high-water level, the river cruise hadn't run since we arrived. With a few minutes to spare, we hopped on the boat quickly and started 45 mins river cruise on the Salzach river. The ship passed the Mozart bridge a little further and turned around back to the Old Town. The ride was pleasant, the view was incredible, and it was free-covered under the Salzburg card. 

We then walked across the Love Lock bridge over the Salzach River to see Mozart's Residence, where Mozart lived until he went to Vienna at the age of 25. Mozart's piano was the highlight of the museum. On our way back to our hotel from the museum, we saw another Modern Art installation, Caldera. No one knows what the stature means, and someone says it is Mozart'‘s wig.

Attending a Mozart concert in Salzburg was a natural thing to do in Salzburg. We had booked the show before we left for Europe. The Mozart Dinner Concert occurred in the Baroque Hall of St. Peter Stiftskulinarium, the oldest restaurant in Europe and part of the famous Benedictine monastery. There was no obvious sign of the Baroque Hall. Following the direction of Google Maps, we came to the large courtyard within St. Peter but couldn't figure out the concert place. We saw a historic and fancy restaurant at the corner of the courtyard, and the hostess took us to the Baroque Hall. We were a little bit early, and the hall hadn't opened yet at the moment. Only a few minutes later, they started to usher people to tables. We got upgraded to a table in the first row next to the stage. The three-course dinner menu included clear lemon chicken soup with curd cheese and rosemary dumpling, supreme roasted chicken on the glaze of red wine and herbs with creamy white polenta and vegetables from Padre Prior's garden, and the famous Salzburger Nockerl. The food was served during the intermission of the concert. The concert was most of The Mozart Opera, performed by two opera singers and a small ensemble dressed in costumes. We were not familiar with Mozart's Opera, only knowing he was a great composer for classical piano and string music. Although we hardly understood what they were singing, the music was beautiful, and the singing was fantastic. The concert's highlight for us was when the opera singer knelt in front of our table and sang to Connie. The beautiful Mozart music and delicious local cuisine inspired by historical recipes from Mozart's time gave us a fantastic night in Salzburg.  

第十九天：萨尔茨堡是电影“音乐之声“的拍摄地，但它更以音乐天才莫扎特出生地而出名。莫扎特短暂的一生超过一半的时间是在萨尔茨堡度过的。今天除了参观著名的萨尔茨城堡，坐了河上观光游船之外其余的基本就以莫扎特为主题了。我们早上在莫扎特常去的饭店吃了早餐😜, 下午先去他出生及童年居住的房子，然后参观莫扎特一家的住宅，晚上莫扎特晚餐音乐会很不错，音乐伴随着美酒佳肴，还有什么能比这更好的来结束忙碌的一天。

Kufstein, Austria

June 7, 2022

Today was a travel day, leaving Innsbruck for Salzburg, Austria. Before leaving the town, we did our last morning walk around the Old Town and went to the marketplace for breakfast. The marketplace was just a block away from our hotel. We went there twice in the last two days, but it was closed because of the holiday and Sunday. Today was our last chance, and we finally made it inside. The marketplace was smaller than we expected, and there was not much to offer for breakfast. We only had coffee there and left shortly after.

We visited the Hofburg (Imperial Palace), a former Habsburg palace in Innsbruck, Austria. Hofburg in Innsbruck is considered one of the country's three most significant cultural buildings, along with the Hofburg Palace and Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. We passed the palace so many times in the last three days but never had the chance to get inside. Since picture taking was not allowed, we didn't have any pictures to share. To find more information about the palace, click the link:https://www.burghauptmannschaft.at/Betriebe/Hofburg-Innsbruck.html

On the way to Salzburg, we got off the train at Kufstein, Austria. Kufstein is a small medieval town located between Innsbruck and Salzburg. Our original plan was to spend a half day there sightseeing. But when we arrived in Kufstein, we found no luggage storage facility at the train station or the nearby area. It was hard to drag the suitcases down the cobblestone streets, and visit the beautiful fortress with the luggage in hand. We ended up crossing the bridge and did a short walk on the trail along the river. We found a café by the bridge not far from the train station and had lunch there. We also used the café as the resting place and took our turn to see the old town area and take some pictures. Then we got back on the train and headed to Salzburg.

Our hotel in Salzburg was located in a quiet area, not too far from the river and the Mirabell Palace. After we checked in and settled, we went to the old town. Because of the recent rain, the water level in the river was very high, and the river current flew very fast. We quickly walked around the old town and glanced at a few famous structures. We returned to our hotel and ordered Chinese takeout for dinner. Our room had a nice balcony. Sipping the local beers and eating our Chinese food on the balcony, we enjoyed the first night at Salzburg.

第十八天：来Innsbruck几天一直没时间去皇宫里面看看，今天就要离开去下一站。不想有遗憾，早上走之前赶紧买了票进去走马观花地看一圈。因为不让拍照，所以没任何照片可上。今天的目的地是音乐之声的故乡Salzburg（萨尔茨堡）。去的路上火车会经过一个小镇kufstein，我们按计划中途下火车，准备在Kufstein先来个半天游后再继续前往Salzburg。没想到火车站居然没有行李储存服务。拖着行李箱，城堡是没法进去了，只能匆匆在外面看一眼。来到萨尔茨堡的第一感觉就是这个城市真漂亮。晚上在阳台上喝上奥地利的啤酒，吃上外买的盒饭，美好的一天又过去了。

Swarovski & Ambras Castle 水晶世界 & 城堡

June 6, 2022

We went to the Swarovski Crystal Worlds by a local bus in the morning. Swarovski is one of the world's most famous jewelry brands. The Swarovski Crystal Worlds is located in Wattens, near Innsbruck, where the company was founded, and its headquarters today. Seeing the Green Giant was on the top list of place-to-visit in Innsbruck. The green Giant at the entrance of Chambers of Wonder welcomed visitors to experience fantasy inspired and designed by some of the world's greatest artists. There were 18 chambers of Wonders containing thousands of sparking crystals, vibrant and exciting displays, and 3D images of civil rights activists and politicians. It had the smallest and largest hand-cut crystals displayed.

We enjoyed this magnificent crystal world very much. After chambers of wonders, it came with a sale trap. The Swarovski Kristallwelten (Crystal Worlds) Store was located at the museum's exit. We usually tried not to buy souvenirs during our long travel because we packed light and had no room for extra items. But it was hard to walk away when you were at the Crystal Worlds, one of the world's largest Swarovski stores. There was this old saying - "Happy wife, happy life." So as the lady was busy shopping, the guy was enjoying a cup of coffee and a small cake. Something we did not realize while shopping at the store until many weeks later. Typically, if you buy something in EU (Europe Union) countries that exceed the value limit, citizens of non-EU states would get value added tax (about 20%) back before leaving the EU. Unfortunately, when we traveled in Europe between EU and non-EU countries by train, there was no passport control station at any train station, so we never had the chance to stamp our receipts to prove that we had left the EU. The only time we would be at the airport with passport control was when we flew back to the US from Switzerland at the end of the trip, but Switzerland is not a member of the EU. Therefore, we could not have our Swarovski receipts verified and never got the tax refund. We just considered that it was our contribution to the EU.

Done with shopping and coffee break, we went to the garden. The garden of the Giant was terrific. We especially liked the Crystal Cloud, where the cloud consisting of 800,000 crystals flows above a black reflection pool. It gave us a unique experience, and it was sparkling and stunning. We had lunch at their beautiful café facing the garden. After lunch, we walked around to see other parts of the garden.

Once we got back to the city, we turned around and got on another local bus to see the famous Ambras Castle on the outskirt of the town. There was an interesting story about the castle. Archduke Ferdinand II, the second son of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, fell in love with the daughter of a patrician, not from a royal family. The emperor didn't want outside the family to know about their marriage. They secretly married, and the prince turned the medieval fortress at Ambras into a Renaissance castle as a gift for his wife. The prince systematically collected armor and art from famous personalities of his time and built one of the world's oldest museums. It was a magnificent castle where you could spend a lot of time enjoying and relaxing. Unfortunately, we arrived late afternoon and did not have as much time as we wanted to go through the castle before it was closed for the day.  

We had a short coffee break in the castle's courtyard and went to the garden afterward. The garden was very well-maintained and gorgeous. A rare white peacock and a few Indian peacocks were walking freely in the garden. One male peacock opened its train and shook its feathers to catch the attention of a female peacock nearby. But it looked like just a one-way attraction. The female peacock was interested in someone else. We spent so much time taking pictures and videos of the peacocks. We had never seen a white peacock before, and it was our first time seeing peacocks with trains open so closely. It made our day.

We had our dinner at the old town and enjoyed our last night and very last walk of Innsbruck.

第十七天:一早坐了公交车去城外的Swarovski水晶世界。这个家喻户晓的品牌在全世界都有专卖店，而我们今天来到的是它的最著名的水晶博物馆，也是这个品牌的总部所在地。入口处的绿色巨人喷泉，展厅内各式璀璨夺目的水晶及水晶艺术品，还有展馆外的园林艺术让我们觉得不虚此行。下午再接再厉赶到Innsbruck另一个著名的景点 Ambras 城堡，号称是世界上最早的博物馆之一，收藏了不少珍贵物品。当时蒂罗尔国王子因为父母不同意他与平民结婚，他为平民妻子秘密地将堡寨改建成这个城堡。在城堡的花园里我们有幸看到了白孔雀和孔雀开屏。

Innsbruck, Austria 因斯布鲁克

June 5, 2022

We started our day early as usual and went out looking for a place to have breakfast. We walked around the quiet streets nearby. The only place that opened in the early morning was this bakery called Der Bäcker Ruetz behind our hotel. It was a nice cozy place with many choices of pastries, breakfast bread, and sandwiches, but it only had a couple of small tables. We grabbed some coffee and breakfast bread, sat at the town square just a few steps away from the bakery, and enjoyed our first breakfast in Austria.

Innsbruck offers Welcome Card to the tourists, a complimentary card for free public transportation, and discounts for other activities. We got the cards from our hotel since our stay exceeded the minimum requirement. With the card, the first thing we did was to head out to Nordkette, the Top of Innsbruck. We could hike up to the summit, but we took an easy route. We walked to the Congress station not far from the old town and took the Hungerburg funicular to reach Hungerburg in just 8 minutes. The station was beautiful and contemporary. Then we switched to a cable car to Seegrube. After getting to the Seegrube station, a short walk distance from the station was an outdoor seating area outside the Seegrube restaurant. We did not stop at the deck immediately; instead, we started our hike along the Path of Perspectives, which winded in breathtaking alpine surroundings. It was not a typical hiking path; the subtle architectural structures embedded seamlessly into the landscape along the trail. A view platform extended out over the edge of the landscape to provide uninterrupted views of the city. An array of stepped wooden benches form an amphitheater with the backdrop of sky and valley. Several benches could be found along the trail for view, relax and reflection. The quotes from the Austrian's most influential philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein were inscribed on the steel surface of some structures, like "Don't let yourself led by example of other people, but by Nature!" or "Things are right before our eyes…". It was not only a physical hiking trail but also invited us to take a moment to observe the landscape and reflect over the life. It was a true Path of Perspectives.

After about a mile of hiking, we returned to Seegrube Restaurant for a light lunch and cappuccinos. After our lunch break, we went on the cable car to Hafelekar to enjoy the breathtaking views of the Top of Innsbruck above the tree line. Once off the cable car, there was a short hike to reach the summit. Because of the high elevation, this last part of climbing up the hill made us very tired, but we made it. We were at the top of Innsbruck.

We returned to the hotel for a short nap to recover from our hiking. In the late afternoon, the weather changed to cloudy with little rain. We started a self-guided walking tour of "In the Habsburgs' footsteps" based on the information we got from the tourist's office. We started at the Golden Roof, then passed by the Cathedral of St James, Tyrolean State Theatre, Leopold's Fountain, and House of Music. The route continued to the Imperial Palace and Court Church, the Jesuit Church (University Church), and Rudolf's Fountain on Bozner Platz. Next to the plaza, we saw a Chinese restaurant with a duck dish, which one of us could not ignore. We were also hungry, so we had duck over noodles for dinner, and the food was okay. At least it was reasonably priced for duck dishes. We had found that duck dishes were on the menu of almost all the Chinese Restaurants in Austria, even fast-food places, and had thought about trying it. Today we finally did it.

After dinner, we walked to the Triumphal Arch, built in 1765, for the wedding of the second son of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis Stephen. The emperor died 13 days after the wedding. Later, a memorial motif was added to the Arch to describe the wedding and commemorate the emperor's death. Innsbruck was a special place for Maria Theresa.

第十六天：今天去Innsbruck的最高点，从山脚到山顶之间有无数的徒步小道，每一条看着都难，我们还是花钱坐缆车上山。在山腰间先走一圈，然后在餐厅享受美食，喝上一杯咖啡，欣赏脚下的城市美景。缆车到山顶后，还要沿着陡峭小路走到最高点，上年纪了，走着有点气喘😀。下午回到旅馆睡个午觉，傍晚在老城里走了一圈，在一家中国小餐馆吃了简单晚餐。

Liechtenstein 列支敦士登国

June 4, 2022

Four of us did our last walk along the Lake St. Moritz this morning before headed to the St. Moritz train station. We not only had to say goodbye to this beautiful town, but also said goodbye to our friends today. They went back to the US and Germany. Together we enjoyed Switzerland's natural wonders, and culture and historical landmarks. We all promised we would make another trip together somewhere around the world. It was a memorable two weeks. After separating from our friends at Chur, we boarded our train to Buchs, Switzerland. At Buchs train station, we put away our luggage in a locker and got on a bus to Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, with a transfer at Schaan, Liechtenstein.

Liechtenstein is a micro-country between Switzerland and Austria, has the highest GDP per capita in the world, and is a constitutional monarchy headed by the Prince of Liechtenstein. The prince and his family still live in Vaduz Castle, so the castle is not open to the public. However, Vaduz Castle is the #1 tourist attraction in the country. The castle sits on a hillside above the town. From the nearest bus stop to the castle was little less than a mile uphill walk, and along the route were impressively well-preserved houses with vineyards aligned. The beautiful castle looked stunning from the town of Vaduz, and it was even more attractive up close in person. At the top, we could see the whole country. We hiked down to the town of Vaduz via a different trail and explored the town a little before heading back to Switzerland.

After a quick snack at Schaan, we took the bus back to Buchs train station. From there, we rode the train to Innsbruck, our first stop in Austria. Today is the last day of our Swiss Travel Pass. We used it for traveling to Liechtenstein. Today is also the beginning day of our Eurail Pass. We used it for our train ride to Innsbruck. The Eurail Pass is a rail pass that permits travel through 33 European countries on nearly all railways. There are several different options available to choose from. We selected a 15-day 1st Class Eurail Global Pass that was valid for any 15 days within two months. We picked 1st class fare over 2nd class to have fewer people and more space in the carrier. It proved to be a wise decision.

The train ride to Innsbruck was very smooth and comfortable. We almost had the whole train coach to ourselves. About two and half hours later, we arrived at Innsbruck train station. Our hotel was in the middle of the old town. After checking in at the hotel, we went to find a place to eat. Due to many weekend tourists, we couldn't get a table at the first restaurant we walked into, so we settled in an Asian fusion place nearby, and the food was very disappointing. Then we went to explore the old town. There we found so many restaurants and bars. It was too late for the second dinner, we had large ice cream instead, which was good.

第十五天，今天和同游瑞士二周的新朋老友说再见。同伴们一个回美国，另一个回德国，我们俩则前往奥地利继续我们的欧洲游。在瑞士和奥地利之间有一个非常小的国家Liechtenstein(列支敦斯登)。我们一早从St. Moritz 坐火车到达瑞士的边境小镇Buchs，换乘公交车进入不到四万人的Liechtenstein到达首都Vaduz. 一路徒步到山顶只为能亲眼目睹Vaduz 城堡的尊容，累得够呛。这个小小国的首脑-王子还住在城堡里。之后坐车又回到瑞士的Buchs镇，再换乘火车到达我们奥地利游的第一站Innsbruck。

Bernina Express 伯尼纳快车

June 3, 2022

Chenggang is an early riser. He went out early to do a morning walk and see a few sights like Engadiner Museum and Segantini Museum only from outside. The town was quiet and had few cars and people, and the lake was calm and had an excellent reflection of the surrounding mountains. After returning from the walk, we waited for the bakery across the street to open at 7:30 am. We grabbed a few pastries for breakfast and walked about a mile along the lake to the train station. Butterbretzel and Laugensandwich became our favorite pastries.

Bernina Railway is a UNESCO world heritage site, one of only two railways with such honor. The Bernina Express connects St. Moritz, Switzerland, with Tirano, Italy, via Bernina Pass. The Bernina crossing is the highest railway crossing in Europe. During the journey of 38 miles, the train ascended 1476 ft and descended 5653 ft. The line winds in many S-bend, 180 degree-bend, and the most renowned Brusio spiral viaduct. The spiral viaduct is a 360-degree curve to keep the inclination at no more than 6%. Like Glacier Express, this Bernina Express train ticket is covered by the Swiss Travel Pass. But a seat reservation is required, and it is not cheap either. The coach we were in was not full, only two groups of tourists. A videography team from Japan’s NHK, two cameramen and a female interpreter, also joined us on the train to tape the Bernina Express journey. They asked for our permission to be taped, and we agreed. The train stopped at Alp Grum Station for 15 mins. The TV crew got off at the station, and we exited the coach to get fresh air and enjoy a magnificent view of the Palü Glacier, the Lagh da Palü lake, and the Bernina mountains surrounding it. The train ride was specular. We thought it was more interesting than Glacier Express.

When we arrived at Tirano, the clouds were moving in. It was the first time for us to land on Italy soil. Tirano is a small border town with a river flowing through. During lunchtime, most shops were closed, but restaurants were open. As we strolled through the city, we were looking for an Italian restaurant with outdoor dining so we could enjoy the beautiful town. At the city square, we found one. However, it started to rain only a few minutes after we sat. We had no choice but moved to inside. We ordered several Italy dishes. They were outstanding, especially beef on the stick we called. We enjoyed our lunch very much. As time passed fast, we knew it would be really tight to catch the return Bernina express, for which we made a seat reservation. We decided to take our time and enjoy the moment. After lunch, we walked around the town and had Italy Gelato and coffee, a must-to-have treat in Italy.

We missed our reserved Bernina Express. Our plan B was to take other commercial trains along the same line. They passed the same scenery without requiring seat reservations and fewer tourists, but we had to make a transfer at Alp Grum station. When we got off the train at Alp Grum the second time, it was raining cats and dogs. We were running towards the café/hotel and ran into the young couple who sat with us on Glacier Express yesterday. They came from Chur and stayed in Alp Grum. What a small world. We had cappuccinos at the café, then boarded the train back to St. Moritz.

After we arrived at St. Moritz, we didn’t take the bus back to the flat this time. Instead, we walked through St. Moritz Via Serlas, home to the highest outdoor shopping avenue in the world, they claimed. In its natural alpine setting, St. Moritz has the best class and luxury shopping mall we had seen.

Two weeks of Switzerland travel were ending. Tomorrow we would say goodbye to our friends and go on a separate way to continue our Europe journey.

第十四天，今天是这次瑞士游的最后一天。一早坐上著名的Bernina Express 观光火车，沿路欣赏冰川，高架桥梁，穿越无数的隧道来到意大利小镇Tirano. 好不容易来到意大利，同伴们都不想匆匆忙忙就回，于是决定放弃已买好的回程观光火车票。中午好好享受了一顿美味的意大利餐，然后再来一份必不可少的Gelato 和咖啡。下午改坐了regional 的火车🚞回到St. Moritz ，最后再享受一下这个滑雪小镇的美景。从Tirano 坐regional 火车回St. Moritz感觉并不比观光火车差，推荐以后朋友来瑞士🇨🇭游的话可以考虑一下

Glacier Express 冰川快车

June 2, 2022

In the last twelve days, we had walked more than 20,000 steps a day on average. We would replace the walking with train rides in the next two days. Today, we boarded the Glacier Express from Zermatt to St. Moritz we had eagerly looked forward to. We had planned to do one of the world’s best train routes near the end of our Swiss trip for the epic experience and allowing us to relax and recover. The Glacier Express is probably the slowest express in the world, taking 8.5 hours throughout approximately 180 miles. The train runs over 291 bridges and through 91 tunnels over the Swiss Alps. The Swiss Travel Pass covers the train ticket. But a seat reservation is required, which is not cheap. Since we booked the tickets too late, we only got four aisle seats. It was nice to have window seats for a better view since the Glacier Express has a big panoramic window. But it doesn’t provide the best conditions for picture taking because of reflection or dirty windows. We found that at the back of the train, we could open the window on one of the doors. During the eight-hour journey, we ran back and forth to the end of the train to take pictures when the train passed the beautiful scenery.

The eight-hour train journey was quickly over, and we arrived at St. Moritz in the afternoon. We took a local bus from the train station to the rented two-bedroom flat. The bus winded through St. Moritz’s quiet and elegant downtown area. St. Moritz is a luxury resort town having 300 days of sunshine a year. The city also hosted Winter Olympics twice. The nickname is Top of the World. We guess it tries to beat Jungfraujoch as Top of Europe. Our first impression of the city was stylish, elegant, and classy.

The two-bedroom flat was located on a quiet street near the lake. It was the best place we rented on this trip. It had a large modern kitchen and dining space. Once we settled, the ladies went to the market nearby and got some fresh veggies and fish filet. They prepared a delicious dinner, and it was comfy and tasty. After dinner, we went to the lake. There was a nice trail loop around Lake St. Moritz. We were impressed by the city of St. Moritz presented to us. Even their trash cans along the lake had the style.

第十三天：十几天来我们每天平均行步都在二万步以上，在今后二天，瑞士之行将以乘坐闻名世界的冰川快车和列入世界遗产目录的伯尔尼那快线而告终。冰川快车从Zermatt 到St. Moritz一共一百八十一英里，行驶八个小时，该叫慢车吧。到了St. Moritz后，三位女士忙着准备晚餐，也算是给我们的胃减压。饭后我们环着小湖走了一圈。

Matterhorn and Five Lakes Hike 马特洪峰

June 1, 2022

After a good night's sleep, we got up early and took a routine morning walk around the town. As we reached Zermatt Museum, the snow-covered Matterhorn was right in front of us in the northern sky. It was a perfect view of the peak, to our surprise. Opposite to yesterday's cloudy weather, this morning's sky was clear blue with few clouds. It was a good start for us to endeavor another adventure.

As we walked to the Sunnegga Funicular station through the town, we often stopped to take more photos of the Matterhorn from different angles. The funicular station is on the other side of the Vispa river that flows through Zermatt. The Zermatt–Sunnegga Funicular, also known as short SunneggaExpress, is an underground funicular railway. The funicular ride to the top was less than 5 minutes.

At Sunnegga, the people usually took the cable car up Blauherd, saving two miles of uphill climbing. Unfortunately, the cable service had not started for the summer yet. Without the gondola's help, we started our Five Lake Loop hike at Sunnegga instead and hiked our way up to Blauherd. Although the hiking up 2 miles from Summegga to Blauherd with an elevation of 1400 feet was challenging for us, the views of Matterhorn and surrounding mountains and glaciers were stunning and made the hard-working 100% worth it. We had stopped many times along the trail and turned around to look back at Matterhorn; it was the best hiking on this Europe trip.

From Blauherd, we walked to Stellisee, the largest and prettiest of five lakes on the loop. It was an easy, predominantly downhill walk. The lake view with the partially cloud-covered Matterhorn in the background was beautiful. We walked around the lake for the best view of the Matterhorn from the far side of the lake. Not so lucky, the lake was not as calm as we like to have a better reflection of the Matterhorn on the lake. We had our lunch, simple sandwiches, by the lake. Then we continued our downhill hiking as the clouds were moving in. We visited the other four lakes, Grindjisee, Grunsee, Moosjisee, and Leisee. The scenery of these four lakes was good but not as impressive as those in the first half of 8 miles hike. The highlight was that we saw some black goats on our way from Moosjisee to Leisee. Their furs were half black and half white. We learned later that these were the famous Valais Blackneck goats.

The hike to Leisee, the last lake on the loop, was the most challenging part of today's hike for us after six hours on the trail. It was a steep continuous zig-zap walk up some villages before arriving at the lake. The clouds became so thick we could not see the lake at one point. By reaching Leisee, we were almost at our finish line, except there was one last hill to climb to get back to the station. Luckily not far from the lake, a lift could be used to go straight up to the hill where the station was located. We were so exhausted to do another uphill walk that we took the lift to the station instead. We were very proud of ourselves for completing this 8 miles adventure. Overall, the section from Sunnegga to Stellisee was the best part of the Five Lakes Trail, with a much better scenic view.

Back to town, we were hungry for some delicious food. We found a place called Schaferstube, its specialty being black face sheep dishes. But one of us didn't like lamb dishes and was afraid she could not handle the lamb smell. We found another café, Restaurant Julen, at the exact location serving more non-lamb dishes. We followed the direction from Google Maps to the site and walked into the restaurant in the basement. There was no sign outside; we didn't see one. It turned out to be Schaferstube, our first choice. Both restaurants belonged to the same hotel. The atmosphere of the restaurant was warm and like an old Europe tavern. On the wall, black face sheep sculptures and pictures were everywhere. There was no unpleasant lamb smell, so we decided to stay. The kitchen grill was just a few feet away from our table. Three of us ordered the black face lamb dishes, and one had seafood. Overall, it was an excellent choice for everyone.

第十二天：早上天气晴朗，在镇上都可以欣赏到雄伟壮观的马特洪峰Matterhorn。昨天四英里徒步下山算是给大家一个热身，今天著名的五湖环绕徒步对我们来说是自我挑战，由于其一缆车尚未开通，给今天的徒步增加一份难度和力度。五湖徒步一共八英里，上下一千七百英尺，我们花了六小时多才回到镇上。晚餐是烤当地的黑面羊为主，很不错。

Gornergrat Railway and Downhill Hike 戈尔内格拉特铁路

May 31, 2022

We took a morning walk along the lake one last time and captured a few more pictures before going to the same bakery place to have coffee and pastries. After breakfast, we said goodbye to Montreux and got on the IR 90 train heading to Zermatt, a part of the Classic Grand Train Tour of Switzerland. We arrived at Zermatt before noon. Zermatt is a car-free resort town. The majority of the buildings are either hotels or restaurants. The winter is the busiest season. Since we were there when the summer season just started, only 20% of the hotels were open, and many restaurants had not opened for the summer yet. Although the town is car-free, taxi by electric vehicles is available for the tourists to get to their hotels up the hills. Our hotel was a short distance from the train station, so we dragged our luggage to the hotel. Luckily, our room was ready for us before normal check-in time. After settling in the room, we headed out to start a new adventure.

Grabbing some sandwiches for lunch at a nearby bakery, we boarded the Gornergrat Railway to the summit of the Gornergrat. The cogwheel railway is the second highest railway in Europe after the Jungfrau and the highest open-air railway in Europe. Unfortunately, the cloud started to build up in the afternoon at high altitudes. The Matterhorn was not visible, but we had countless panoramic views of mountains and glaciers as the train pulled up to the summit. After 40 mins of a magnificent ride, we arrived at the summit. The weather was chilly in the early summer at summit, but the view was breathtaking, even with the peaks obcuredtially by clouds. We had our lunch at the summit café. With the hot goulash soup and drinks ordered from the café, the sandwiches we brought tasted pretty good and it was a very good lunch. After lunch break, we toured a small church and enjoyed the views from the overlook deck. We also took some pictures at the Grand Tour Photo Spot, one of 64 spots in the country.

After watching a cogwheel train running up to the station, we knew it was time to leave. We got on the return train back down to Riffelap, a hamlet approximately halfway between the town of Zermatt and the Gornergrat summit. From Riffelap, we hiked four miles back to Zermatt. The trail was scenic, with wide-ranging views of the valley and peaks. It descended steeply and put a lot of pressure on our knees. It was raining a little most of the time, and we were glad we had rain cover with us. We took a break at Chalet Harmonie. The mountain chalet hadn’t opened yet for the summer, and four of us were the only people there. But the whole area was still well maintained. We were astonished to find out that the restroom was open and kept as clean as at the hotel. Nearby were Ricola Herb garden and a small church, both lovely. We wished we could stay a little longer to explore the area more, but we wanted to get back to the town before dark. The hiking was challenging for us, but we enjoyed it very much.

We had dinner at a popular Italy restaurant. Pizza, pasta and dessert were delicious.

第十一天：今天一早离开St. Montreux坐二小时火车到了Zermatt。先去旅馆，转身就坐Gornergrat 齿轮铁路火车上山。在沉浸在静谧瑞士冰川和高山之后，我们在蒙蒙细雨中徒步四英里海拨落差二千尺下山。回到镇上后去了一家意大利餐厅美餐一顿。

Geneva 日内瓦

May 30，2022

We got up early again in the morning and walked to see Montreux's old town up the hill before breakfast. The old town was small and peaceful. But it doesn't have the glamor like other old towns in Switzerland have. The historical museum was part of the preserved old house. Up the hill, we overlooked the train station and the lake. Then we came down to have breakfast near the train station. We found this wonderful bakery across from the train station, the only one that opened in the early morning. We had coffee and pastries there. Everything was so good, and we knew we would come back later. We returned to the promenade after breakfast while waiting for our friends to get ready. We walked along the lakeshores towards the nearby town, Clarens. We just couldn't get enough of the beautiful view of the lake.

Today we had another day trip. We went to Geneva by train, the best well-known city in Switzerland. Chenggang went on his way to visit the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN. CERN has the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments for fundamental physics study. The latest discovery is the Higgs boson, a god particle described in the news. It is also a place where the WEB was invented. The CERN offers the public a guided tour of the oldest particle accelerator every hour. But you have to get the tickets at the visitor center in person. After getting off the train, Chenggang went on a separate way to catch a bus to CERN. The bus ride was about 45 mins. When he got there, there was a line for the tickets. Each hour, the tour had 21 tickets. Unfortunately, he got a ticket three hours away. There was not too much to do near CERN. He decided to get back to the city by another 45 mins bus ride and had lunch in the beautiful outdoor courtyard at Kiosque des Bastions in Parc des Bastions. The salad was good, and the atmosphere was even better. After re-energized, he returned to the CERN by a 45 mins bus ride. By the bus schedule, he would arrive a few minutes before 3 pm when the tour started. But it never worked that way. The bus was delayed, and the tour was about to begin when he arrived. He went inside the visitor center to get the pass badge; initially, the staff refused to give it out. He went outside to talk to the tour guide and back to the center to tell the staff that the tour hadn't started yet. Finally, the staff handed him the pass, and what a relief that he didn't waste time riding buses back and forth for approximately 3 hours. The tour was informative, and the first generator was huge to us, imagining how big the latest accelerator would be.

When Chenggang was riding buses between CERN and Parc des Bastions, three ladies went to see the Broken Chair, the giant chair with a broken leg that stands across the street from the United Nations building and the world's tallest water fountain on Lake Geneva. They took a lake ferry in the afternoon from Geneva to Yvoire, a beautiful small medieval village located on the French shore of Lake Geneva. They had a brief time there, enough to have ice cream and coffee and then headed back to Geneva.

After visiting CERN, Chenggang went to see the broken chair as well and strolled along the lake shore. He even took a ferry to the other side of the lake, and the Swiss Travel Pass covered all ferry rides. Four of us were united near Parc La Grange and wandered through the park. After dinner, we went to Parc des Bastions to see the Reformation Wall. At dawn, in front of the wall, was a dance class and some kind of pot-luck going on. One day's trip to Geneva was hectic, and we were tired. We got on the train back to Montreux, and everybody took a short nap.

第十天: 在日内瓦，我们兵分二路，成刚参加了欧洲核子研究组织的对外导游，带着参观了与他同龄第一台加速器，为了能得到一张参观券，来回坐公交车四次。三位女士坐渡轮去日内瓦对面的最美法国小镇，喝上一杯咖啡和吃个冰淇淋就回来。

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。