Euro Vacay - Day 2

There is a 7 hour time difference between Oklahoma City and Zurich, so although we went to bed at a decent hour our first night in Switzerland, 4 hours later (about 3 a.m.) we were both wide awake. I got a lot of reading in and Eric played a lot of Angry Birds... three hours later, after dozing on and off we finally decided to get out of bed and get ready for the day.

The hotel had a delicious breakfast included, so we went down to enjoy. We have a disgustingly funny breakfast story... I'll start by setting up the room: Fresh fruit, assortment of fine Swiss cheese, assortment, the 'American' breakfast section with bacon/sausage/scrambled eggs, a variety of breads and bagels, cereal, sliced meats, etc. Well, in the bacon pan, they use toast to line the bottom (and absorb the grease, of course). My precious husband went up for round 2 and (unknowingly) served himself said toast and commenced to consume commenting that it sure did taste weird for a 'pancake.' Yep, he made his arteries work overtime that morning.

We still had an hour and a half before we needed to check-in at the meeting point, just a couple blocks from our hotel, so we wandered around the peaceful Zurich streets. We found a little bridge with some "love-locks," I guess people are trying to bring some Paris tradition to Zurich?!

I couldn't believe how much a mani/pedi cost!
(55 Swiss Francs = $57.31 USD and 60 Swiss Francs = $62.52 USD.) Of course, I told Eric that I get such a steal when I go in the states!

Eric found a knife store he liked--unfortunately (or fortunately for our bank account), the store was hours away from opening.

Time for our departure! 

Just the ridiculously gorgeous countryside...

First, we stopped at the Lion Monument: [Wiki explanation] The Lion Monument (German: Löwendenkmal), or the Lion of Lucerne, is a sculpture in Lucerne,Switzerland, designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and hewn in 1820–21 by Lukas Ahorn. It commemorates theSwiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris, France. Mark Twain praised the sculpture of a mortally-wounded lion as "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world."

     --I couldn't have said it better myself.--

Next, we had just over an hour to explore the quaint town of Lucerne. In the heart, we visited Kapellbrucke, or Chapel Bridge. This bridge is famous because it has a number of interior paintings dating back to the 17th century. It is also the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe and the worlds longest surviving truss bridge.

We had our first pretzels of the trip and walked through a market with, of course, Swiss cheese!

This fabulous day was building up to the main attraction: Mount Titlis at 10,000 feet... WOW! Hanging out in the Swiss Alps was, simply put, breathtaking!

So at the top of Mount Titlis, there is a suspension bridge. When one walks across said suspension bridge, steps are not absorbed, but rather emphasized on the bouncing bridge. It was a little scary at first, but it was funnier watching the other people white-knuckle the rail :)

Also atop the mountain, we walked through a glacier cave. Obvi, it was freezing in there, but pretty neat to be surrounded by naturally-formed ice. Maybe this is where the Gaylord hotel in Dallas got the idea for the  ice sculpture exhibit?!

What a day!

We spent a beautiful day in the Swiss countryside and made it back to the city for some delicious Italian food on a patio in the Altstadt (Old Town) area of Zurich. After dinner, we wandered over to a little pub and listened to some acoustic music and enjoyed a few adult beverages. You know, this life is really beautiful when you get to spend it with the one you love. <3

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

.Saint Augustine.

xo, ms