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Sunday August 31st
A travel day. After a leisurely breakfast before packing up and heading to the airport for the noon flight to Zurich where were met by our hosts for our time in Switzerland, Kurt and Rudi.
We had a quick look around the city centre of Zurich before heading out to the village of Keinberg where they live.
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Monday September 1st
The weather was uncooperative today so we went for a drive heading west from Zurich to Sargans to pick up friend Felix and then north to Lake Constance. On the way we took a short detour into Valuz in Lichtenstein. From there it was a stop for lunch and then onto the quaint village of Stein am Rhein and then the Rhein Falls at Laufen.
We finished the day at a restaurant near Kienberg to celebrate Rudi's birthday.
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Sargans with the local castle in the background
The village of Stein am Rhein |
Valuz in Lichtenstein with the local castle in the background |
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At the Rhein Falls | |
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Tuesday September 2nd
The weather forecast was much better for today so we headed for the mountains. It was a couple hours drive from Keinberg to a place called Lengwald (Lauterbrunnen) where you catch a series of gondola rides up to the Schilthorn (elev 2970m). This is the location of the Piz Gloria revolving restaurant made famous by the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service with George Lazenby.
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| Some views up the valley on the way to the Schilthorn | |
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The views from the top and above the clouds |
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Some awesome views from the gondola on the way down |
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| After we got back down from the clouds, we stopped off at the nearby Trummelbach Falls. An amazing waterfall that over many millennium has carved its way into the side of the cliffs to create a spectacular falls. What is also amazing is what the Swiss have done to make the falls accessible to tourists. A funicular in a tunnel in the cliff and many walking tunnels in the cliffs that conveniently open up to view the falls at the most interesting places. | |
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Another view of the countryside in a nearby valley on the way home |
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Wednesday September 3rd
Today was a relatively easy day with a visit to Lucerne and the Pilatus (a mountain lookout over the city and lake Lucerne). The plan was to do the gondola ride up to the Pilatus, the cog railway down to the other side and a boat trip back to Lucerne. Unfortunately the gondola was out of action for repairs so we took a train to the cog railway station at Aplpanch and did the trip up and down on the cog railway. The weather was not so great and we were in the clouds at the top.
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Some pic's on the way up on the 48% cog railway |
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The view from the top when the weather is clear (image from Google Earth) |
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Some views from Lake Lucerne and downtown Lucerne |
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