Musical playground instrument

The playground elements were hidden in a maze. Cody was especially delighted to find this giant xylophone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WgwFXquoWg

Lucerne, wading thru history

In the summer after my Sophomore year at college I spent two months in Austria on a study-abroad program. We were based in a small ski town outside of Vienna called Semmering which had a tiny street, post office and a bar. The actual classes only went for about 4.5 weeks of that and the rest was travel on the front and rear-end of the summer. Every weekend we busted out the Eurail passes and saw other stuff. In between there was spending of lots of money at the bar. Occasionally there was cramming for exams.

Anyway, one weekend a few of us went to Lucerne. You hear so much about Switzerland growing up that it becomes a priority to see once we got to Europe. Lucerne activities included renting a motor boat, walking the medieval bridge, taking a Lake tour on one of the old paddle boats, and the Bourbaki Panorama, a 360 painting of the retreating French army during the Franco-Prussian War.

Going back to these spots years later is kind of like looking through the past and for someone who has a strong connection to geography and personal history it is total catnip!

First, the hotel: Swiss breakfasts are a team favorite.

This I have never seen in a hotel room: a "peek-a-boo" shower window that lets out into the suite.

There's no screen, you just have to be ok with sharing your shower experience with the rest of the suite. 

The medieval watertower and accompanying bridge.

Must do Kirche. (church)

The cobblestones that are throughout Europe and which are destroying daddy's roadbike.

Can other armies use Swiss Army knives or just the Swiss one? Nevermind, this is the one I want. (He didn't get it since nearly everything in Switzerland requires cashing in retirement accounts to pay for).

Swiss Guards memorial.

Bourbaki. The Prussians beat the French during the 1870-71 war and part of the French force retreated into neutral Switzerland. This painting outlines the scene as the French are disarmed and granted "asylum." They've built out several foregrounds with actual objects (rifle pile, stretchers, train car) to grant that 3D effect.

Mt. Pilatus - amazing dayhikes

We took a local train to a cog railway up Mt Pilatus then we hiked around the 6000-7000' high mountain tops, then a tram and gondola back down. When we walked in the front doors of the hotel we'd clocked over 10 miles today! Wow!

Mt Pilatus Summit Stuff

What is it about Switzerland that makes you post tons of pics. Oh yeah, it is beautiful. Also, expensive, so you feel you must document the heck out of it.

More from the top of Pilatus:

Quite easy to see how amazing the engineering feats were just to establish this hiking trail. They just blasted a notch out of the cliff side and threw in a hiking trail.

Get back. GET BACK YOU! WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY??

Heading back down in the front seat of the cable car.

And then switching to a gondola. Cody needs food.

Mt Pilatus, some more..

We did spend a fair amount of time pleading with the children to not climb over the split-rail fencing and go tumbling to their demise. Actually it wouldn't be much of a tumble since there is mostly just air there. But boys will be boys, and they are specially-designed to instill stress and apprehension in parents who are rather keen to keep them around for future hikes/Christmases/Medical School Graduations. 

Lake Lucerne. Weggis is on the peninsula facing you at top center of picture. Mt Rigi rises just behind it. Rigi is another "take the cog railway to the top and hike around seeing amazing views everywhere" type of thing.

Cog Railway up Lucerne's Mt Pilatus

First you take a 48 degree cog railway up the mountain:

Make sure you thrill to the views outside the window:

Note also the cows grazing on the steep mountainsides.

After a tunnel the car emerges into an alpine ampitheatre! More cows.

And then you notice the hotel that somehow was built on the ridgeline between nearly vertical slopes on both sides. There are actually two hotels and a rail station up here, which is impressive. People have been coming up Pilatus since the days of Mark Twain (who spent a summer in Weggis) but it is still fairly mind-blowing of an experience. 

Weggis Swiss Trip

Just one of those proto-typical Swiss experiences. Day hiking around Weggis, Lake Lucern.

Weggis Wedding shots (randoms)

Cody's first cross country European train (Zurich to Lucerne). With juice and cheese! It's what you do!!

Then we got on a sweet 1913 paddle boat to cross the lake to Weggis.

Then the guys went on a bike ride up a super steep hill.

Then we met some new friends.

Then Jay took a selfie.

The End!