Lucerne, Switzerland

We started our full day in Lucerne with a trip up Mount Pilatus. It took us about 35 minutes to take the ski lifts up the mountain. The elevation was 7,000 ft! We were so lucky to have a clear, sunny day and we had perfect views of Lucerne and the lake.

{view of the mountains}

{view of Lucerne}

After the trip up the mountain we had the rest of the day free. We took this time to walk the Nine Towers of Lucerne. The Nine Towers were originally built in 1386 as a defensive fortification for the new town of Lucerne and consist of a giant stone wall and nine lookout towers that are still completely intact. We started at the tower closest to the river, and when we visited the first two were under renovation so we weren't able to go in them or get any pictures. 

{view from one of the towers}

{view of the city and lake from the towers}

{all nine towers and their locations}

After roaming around the towers and town taking pictures of the Chapel Bridge and Jesuitenkirche we were a bit tired so we made our way back to the hotel for a short rest and then we were back out again for some dinner, ice cream and an evening walk around the lake. Matt said he enjoyed Mount Pilatus the most on this trip...but he is an outdoorsy person. 

{Chapel Bridge}

{Chapel Bridge and Jesuitenkirche}

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Day 3: Through the Black Forest

The day started like any other day, I got up and started doing my hair... but this time my hair straightener wasn't working. (Keep in mind that this straightener has been with my for all my travels to Europe.) Well I guess it wasn't feeling it and it surged and burned the back section of my hair!!! I was freaking out to say the least! SO, no pictures of me on this day since I looked like a HOT MESS!

After that horrible mishap we left Mannheim and headed through the Black Forest and stopped at Hofgut Sternen. This little "village" consists of a cuckoo clock maker (since cuckoo clocks originate in the area), a glass blowing shop and a super cute Best Western that apparently was fit for the future Queen of France! The one and only Marie Antoinette.

{Best Western at Hofgut Sterned}

{Largest cuckoo clock ever at Hofgut Sterned}

{Hofgut Sterned}

After that we were on our way to the Germany/Switzerland border where we had to stop for a border check. We stopped in Schaffhausen to see Rhine Falls, the largest waterfall in Europe (no offence Europe but Hawaii's are better :P). You can see the personal post card I sent of the falls here and send your own personal card here.

{Rhine Falls}

Once we were in Lucerne we viewed the Dying Lion Memorial which commemorates the Swiss Guards that were lost in 1792 during the French Revolution. After that we were suppose to go on a lake cruise but I had to find a mall so I could get something to fix my hair and a new straightener! Once we found that and fixed what I could we walked around to a few shops before they closed at 6pm and then met up with our group for dinner.

{Lion memorial of Lucerne}

Have you ever had any electrical mishaps while traveling?

Check out our time in Amsterdam and Germany.

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Verona, Milan, Lake Maggiore, and Lugano, Switzerland

Verona kind of holds a special place in my heart. We went there and saw the sights (if you have seen Letters to Juliet then you will know what I am talking about). We saw Roman arena, Juliet’s balcony and the Statue of Juliet. And the story goes that if you touch her left breast you should wish for love and if you touch her right you should wish for money. So naturally, since Ashley has Hutch and I had nobody, I touched the left and wished for love (she touched the right for money). And what can I say…less than a year after that I found the love of my life :) Maybe if you are looking for love you need a trip to Verona! Then we made our way to the Fashion Capital, Milan! Although, I think we can both say we were kind of disappointed with it. We didn't have enough money to buy all the designer things we say so we just walked around and tried to avoid getting harassed by a gypsy or two. I did of course buy a pair of shoes there…I had to! After we preoccupied ourselves with our own humor we got back on the bus and headed to our hotel at Lake Maggiore. I have to say I think I liked this hotel the most! Plus, it was snowing!!! So being the typical Texas we are we had some fun in the snow and made a little snow man and snow angle.

{Me and Ash with the Juliet statue}

 {Verona, Colosseum in the background}

{no swimming here! We saw SNOW!!!}

The next day we had an excursion to Lake Como and Lugano. Lake Como is where part Ocean’s 12 was filmed and where George Clooney has a house…well a lot of famous people have homes. And we walked around the town a bit. The we headed up to the Italian speaking area of Switzerland, it was a Sunday so most of the shops were closed :( boo, would have been so nice to shop there (better exchange rate too!). So we just walked around the lake and bought some little souvenirs and we were headed back to the hotel.

{Lake Como}

{Lugano, Switzerland}