Switzerland – GoGrano

Lucerne: I will return when the sun is shining

Lucerne

Lucerne seemed more like a large, gray city than a quaint, pretty town like the brochures hyped it to be. It was probably the drenching, dismal drizzle that colored our perspective.

Tourist signage is located throughout the central city making it easy to get around without a tour book.

Signage points tourists to where they need to go

Lucerne

Lucerne is a busy city center with tourists tucked around lots of street activity.

DSC02711 (1) Lucerne x — Lucerne, Switzerland

DSC03271 Lucerne x — Lucerne, Switzerland

Street musicians - really talented! — Street musicians – really talented!

We waited our turn to take photos of each other in front of the lake. Here are Tracy and Rachel in Lucerne, Switzerland

The swans were as domesticated as ducks, swimming right up to tourists for hand-outs — The swans were as domesticated as ducks, wimming right up to tourists for hand-outs

Barbara, Maureen, Tracy, Rachel in Lucerne, Switzerland

Chocolate

Where do I start? More important, where do I stop? The chocolate in Switzerland is perfect: Rich, creamy, delicately flavored. One shop after another displays pretty little confections worthy of gifting but begging to be tasted. So we tasted. My favorite is a dark chocolate filled with a raspberry filling.

When you're tired of chocolate (as, if!), you can always choose ice cream. — When you’re tired of chocolate (as, if!), you can always choose ice cream.

Kappelbrucke

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland

We agreed to skip the boat ride into the harbor and settled for a stroll through the extraordinary covered bridge with 17th century paintings still intact even though exposed to the elements for nearly 500 years. Part of the bridge burned in a 1993 fire but it was quickly restored and is extraordinary.

The oldest truss bridge in the world, the Kapellbrucke (Chapel Bridge) is a covered wooden foot bridge built in 1333 as part of the city’s fortifications. It’s 560 feet long and crosses the Reuss River at an angle in the center of Lucerne.

The Kapellbrucke is named for St. Peter’s chapel which is located near one end of the bridge. In the 1600’s, artists added 110 paintings to the inside support beams of the bridge. Lucerne’s city councilmen paid for the paintings that illustrate scenes of Swiss and local history, including the biographies of the city’s patron saints, St. Leodegar and St. Maurice. The councilmen got to include their coats of arms in the paintings they sponsored. Blogger Michele writes, “The depictions of St. Leodegar and Swiss history were meant to call the citizens of Lucerne to recall that a pious way of life and service would lead to happiness as well as a strong city.”

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland Painting # 77

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland Painting #8

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland Painting #105 I think this is a painting of a devil tempting a priest but it might also be a part of several paintings as the next painting is related to this one some how.

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland Painting #107

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland Painting #4 Mary and baby Jesus appear before church officials and a knight

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland Painting #3 - this is a painting of three bridges crossing the River Reuss — Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland Painting #3 – this is a painting of three bridges crossing the River Reuss

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland bridge and paintings burned by 1993 fire. Apparently it started with a cigarette and quickly spread to a boat parked beneath the bridge.

After visiting the Kapellbrucke, I found interesting information about the fire: “85 of the 110 pictures under the roof, dating back to 1611, were destroyed by the 1993 fire, only 25 could be saved or restored. The others have been replaced by pictures from the second part of the bridge that had been safely stored since 1834. A few burnt panels are still shown to remind of the fire. During the carnival season, the ancient pictures are replaced by modern ones showing carnival motives. This provides a platform for the creativity of today’s population and besides the original pictures can be saved from thoughtless ‘attacks’ with all sorts of fun materials like paint and glibber bombs used during carnival these days. So if you’re interested in the old paintings don’t choose the carnival season for your visit to Lucerne” (http://lucerne.all-about-switzerland.info/lucerne-chapelbridge-watertower.html).

Shrine in middle of Kappelbrucke, Lucerne, Switzerland

DSC02779 (1) Lucerne copywrite Barbara Grano x — Shrine in middle of Kappelbrucke, Lucerne, Switzerland

Maureen on the Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland

The River

Lucerne is all about the river and the lake. These geographic features first brough people to Lucerne. These are the same waters we saw upriver in Interlaken.

Water is controlled by sluices – valves and gates control the flow of water into the lake

Giant gears - I'm not sure if they control the sluice or the bridge — Giant gears – I’m not sure if they control the sluice or the bridge

Water available on the street - no charge! — Water available on the street – no charge!

Painted Ladies

We saw many painted buildings in Switzerland. They are beautiful but require constant maintenance. I kept bumping into people because I was so busy looking up to the stories above the street.

Shopping in Lucerne

DSC03235 x — Shop sign in Lucerne, Switzerland

Maureen was intrigued by this giant shoe, reminding her of Mardi Gras and the Krew of Muses

Want a dirndle? It's yours for about $120 — Want a dirndle? It’s yours for about $120

Watches are available throughout Switzerland - but it's Mickey Mouse! — Watches are available throughout Switzerland – but it’s Mickey Mouse!

Good-bye, but not forever! The main reason we stopped in Basel– in addition of the bonus of sharing days with Stephan and his family – is that we launch from Basel on our week-long Viking river boat cruise. Much more of that in the next blog entry as we bid good-bye to Rachel and Tracy.

All good things come to an end – Rachel traveled to Bruges for a week and will meet up with us in Amsterdam; Tracy flew back to the US and work. We miss them already!

Interlaken – a gap between the alps

Interlaken

Since we were in the neighborhood (only one or two mountains away), we chose to visit Interlaken on our way home from Abelboden and Our Chalet. Interlaken is a beautiful, graceful city with the clearest water imaginable. Stephan said it was the color of melted snow. We could see the bottom of the Aare river even when it was more than 20 feet deep.

The dam keeper decides how much water to let out at any time – on the day we visited it was gushing out of four sluices and into the rivers that feed all the cities — including Lucerne — below. It was August and this was snow melt.

A sign near the river gave us a bit more information:

Since the Middle Ages, the bridges over the various arms of the River Aare provided the only options for getting from Neuhaus on Lake Thun via Unterseen to Aarmuhle, Interlaken, and on to the valleys of the Jungfrau Region.

The River Aare has formed a boundary since the land between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz was settled. Relations between the city of Unterseen to the north and Interlaken Monastery to the south was hostile. Unterseen belonged to the diocese of Constance, while the monastery followed the orders of the diocese of Lausanne, a fact often used to the advantage of the people of Unterseen. Fishing rights, control of the market, and bridge tolls caused endless disputes.

An emerging tourist resort under the name of Interlaken emerged after 1891. Interlaken, meaning “between the lakes” was renamed to attract hordes of 19th century English-speaking tourists.

It was interesting to me that an informational sign would air the region’s dirty laundry. I was impressed that the area recognized disputes of the past as significant history to share with others.

Unterseen is the older part of town on the west bank of the Aare river. Interlaken is the newer part of town - developed for tourism - on the east bank. — Unterseen is the older part of town on the west bank of the Aare river. Interlaken is the newer part of town – developed for tourism – on the east bank. You can see the towns’ coats of arms on the bridge designating which part of the dam belongs to which city.

DSC02607 (1) Unterseen Switzerland x — Unterseen is on the west bank of the river.

DSC02573 (1) Interlaken x — Interlaken is on the east bank of the river.

The Aare river is Switzerland's longest river and feeds into the Rhine which we would be traveling on in just a few days. — The Aare river is Switzerland’s longest river and feeds into the Rhine which we would be traveling on in just a few days.

Fountains like this dot every city center all over Europe. The water is drinkable and we often refilled our water bottles with free, crystal clear water.

This is another free fountain just down the street. (See the river through the little window in the top right of the wall? That's what we drank. — This is another free fountain just down the street. (See the river through the little window in the top right of the wall? That’s what we drank.)

Even the fire hydrants are beautiful in Interlaken.

The way to a girl’s heart

DSC03136 Interlaken Rachel Maureen x — Stephan definitely knows how to please the ladies. He bought chocolate for all of us! Here Rachel and Maureen make their selections.

Lunch in Interlaken

We enjoyed a fresh, tasty lunch along with a handful of tourists. Maybe it was the mountain air or maybe it was because we are always ready to eat, but we were hungry and this more than satisfied.

We didn't eat hear - kind of wish we had. Who doesn't like cow for lunch? — We didn’t eat hear – kind of wish we had. Who doesn’t like cow for lunch?

This place didn't serve lunch but we wished it had - it looked tempting. (sorry) — This place didn’t serve lunch but we wished it had – it looked tempting. (sorry)

Doorways of Interlaken

The doorways of Interlaken are painted to look especially inviting.

Working city

As a tourist, I sometimes forget that I am visiting a little town of 5,500 people that has a real life beyond tourism. When I lived in Chagrin Falls, we used to smile at the “cone lickers” who would day visit to enjoy the charm of our little town, including the ice cream. The tables turned for me on this adventure as I was the cone licker in Interlaken.

DSC03144 Interlaken x — Work goes on and there were construction vehicles everywhere making hay while the sun shined.

DSC03146 Interlaken x — Children at play on a local swing set in one of the few level patches of grass.

Scenes from Interlaken

Want to sight see and you can't find a luggage locker? No problem. — Want to sight see and you can’t find a luggage locker? No problem.

Hotel, Interlaken, Switzerland

DSC02311 Interlaken x — Interlaken, Switzerland

DSC02556 Unterseen Interlaken x — Interlaken, Switzerland

In case you brought your dog... — In case you brought your dog…

DSC03134 Interlaken x — Winters are long, wood is plentiful, and carvings abound.

Scenes on the road between Interlaken and Lucerne

Just another pretty barn on the road between Interlaken and Lucerne.

DSC03158 Interlaken x — We saw small waterfalls throughout our drive through Switzerland. The water table is so high in some places that cemeteries have to be built on hillsides.

If you are considering a visit to Interlaken, Rick Steves says to pick up a free town map, timetable and hiking guide at the main TI at the Interlaken Ost train station (Rick Steves Best of Europe 2015). He also offers a self-guided 45-minute walk of Interlaken complete with maps. I hope you enjoyed my little visual tour as much as I enjoyed visiting Interlaken.

Basel… Who wouldda thought this town could be so much fun!

9,127 steps, 1 castle, 2 churches 3 culture

Basel

Basel, Switzerland is a little jewel in the Alsace. (Say it like this: Bah-sel and Alls-ace.) One night we parked in France and walked across a footbridge to Germany for a Chinese dinner while visiting with friends from Switzerland. It was done with about as much fanfare as parking in South Russel to have dinner in Chagrin Falls with friends from the west side of Cleveland. No big deal to the locals but awesome to me.

DSC02943 Stephan Graenacher x — Our Basel Friend, Stephan

We traveled to Basel for two reasons – first to meet with Maureen’s Mardi Gras friend, Stephan. He grew up in Basel so showed us around town, plus drove us to Interlaken, Lucerne, and Girl Scout’s Our Chalet. What we thought would be a pleasant break in our travels turned out to be great fun thanks to Stephan’s energy.

DSC02277 Basel Rachel Stephan Maureen x — Rachel, Stephan and Maureen in Basel

The second reason for our stay over in Basel was that we launched from Basel on our riverboat tour via Viking up the Rhine River to Amsterdam. Basel marked a turning point in our tour as Maureen and I took the river boat, Rachel traveled to Bruges to visit friends for the week and Tracy returned home to the US. We thought of Basel as the Viking launching pad but it turned out that Basel was a grand adventure in itself!

DSC02274 Basel from Rhine River — Basel, Switzerland

Airbnb.com

We booked most of our reservations through Airbnb.com with outstanding results. We rented real people’s homes in real neighborhoods. The homes were roomy, convenient, and reasonably priced. For about $150 a night, three or four of us stayed in homes that were clean and comfortable, included a refrigerator, and often included a washer and dryer. Our three criteria were that we did not want stairs (we were carrying our own luggage), we needed wifi, and we wanted to be the only lodgers. This was our lodging in the Alsace:

We each had our own sleeping areas (three bedrooms plus two bathrooms) and a full yard. Our hosts even left us breakfast food in the fridge. Absolutely perfect.

Rhine River

The Rhine River drew settlers to this important transportation hub well before the birth of Christ. Today it remains a key stop on the Rhine.

DSC02813 Basel Rhine River x — The Rhine is a working river

DSC02285 Basel Braille x — This braille model shows the medeival heart of Basel, the city on the hill with the cathedral and St. Martin’s Church. According to the plaque, it is desiged to be used by the visually impaired as well as by everyone else.

DSC03474 Basel Rhine River Ferry x — Hand-operated ferry over the Rhine River

DSC02273 Basel Rhine River Ferry — Pulleys used on a hand-operated ferry that crosses the Rhine throughout the day

Doorways of Basel

I was fascinated by the doorways of Basel. The doors are old, really, old. Like before Columbus-set-foot-in-America old. It’s a simple matter of telling just how old a home is – it’s written right on the front of the house.

DSC03506 Basel house 1438 x — This house was built in 1438

DSC03493 Basel dated doorway 1390 x — This house was built in 1390.

DSC03492 Basel dated door 1486 x — This house was built in 1486

DSC03439 Basel Door Date x — This house was built in 1333.

DSC03510 Basel 1437 x — The building on the left was built in 1437, as were the stairs

DSC03486 BAsel oldest structure x — This is Basel’s oldest structure, built well before 1300.

Basel’s Town Hall (Rathaus Basel)

Basel’s 500-year-old town hall is locally referred to as the Roothuus, a play on words that means councilhouse but sounds like red house in the Basel dialect. This cute play of words is so appropriate because the town hall is RED.

DSC03516 Basel City Hall x — Rathaus Basel

DSC03538 City Hall x — The Rathaus was built in 1501 and updated in 1901 – a sign over the door gives you that information thanks to the architects

DSC03527 Basel City Hall x — Imagine you work at the Rathaus and get to walk through these doors every day! When I worked at City Hall in Columbus, Ohio years ago, it certainly did not look like this.

DSC03525 Basel City Hall x — Interior courtyard of the Basel Rathaus

DSC03524 Basel City Hall x — Basel Rathaus

Paintings around the exterior of the Basel Rathaus extoll the virtues of citizenship:

DSC02309 Basel There is agreement where God dwells x — There is agreement where God dwells.

DSC02308 Basel what goes round comes round x — What goes round, comes round.

DSC02307 Basel Freedom is more important than silver and gold x — Freedom is more important than silver and gold.

Basel Signage

Basels signs date from a time when all people could not read. So when you hung your sign, you made sure it included a symbol of what service was offered by you. Can you tell what these two establishments offer?

Basel’s Munster (Cathedral)

DSC02270 Basel Munster — Basel’s Munster, built between 1019 and 1500

Basel’s red sandstone cathedral was built by the Catholics but is now a reformed protestant church. Many of the artworks of the cathedral were destroyed during the reformation when Huldrych Zwingli condemned idolatry and the church was stormed by townspeople. The colorful roof tiles can be seen from all over Basel, making a good landmark for touring.

DSC02251 Basel Munster — The Galluspforte, the oldest surviving figure portal in German speaking countries

DSC02224 Basel Munster — Knight Georg slaying a very small dragon on Basel’s Munster

DSC03466 Basel Munster x — This is the rose window over St Catherine’s chapel from the outside

DSC03457 Basel Munster x — This is the rose window over St Catherine’s chapel from the inside

DSC02241 Basel Munster — Side window of Basel’s Munster

DSC02227 Basel Munster — Stained glass over the altar of Basel’s Munster

DSC03467 Basel Munster x — The cloisters of Basel’s cathedral

DSC03469 Basel Munster Musician x — Street musicians performed throughout Europe, including this young lute player in the cloisters of Basel’s Munster

Bathrooms

DSC02638 Basel toilet x — When’s the last time you found a public bathroom this clean? We experienced clean bathrooms throughout most of Europe.

DSC03552 Basel Portapotty x — But there is also this alternative located in a Basel town square

DSC03531 Basel x — The water pouring from public fountains is safe to drink

DSC03554 Basel fountain x — Basel watering trough for horses and humans

Real Fondue!

Stephan invited us to his home for authentic cheese fondue with his parents. Ladies, this man is available and he’s a catch! Not only is he a humorous host, he’s also a great cook.

We were so lucky to visit Stephan’s family home and meet his charming parents. These dishes are part of his mother’s collection.

DSC02937 Basel x — Stephan’s mother’s china. Each dish showcased a famous site or story of Switzerland.

International Dining

We got to see Switzerland through Stephan’s eyes as his home rather than a destination. He said when he was born, his family was living in France (or was it Germany?) but when it came time to give birth, his parents made sure Stephan was born across the river in Switzerland so he would have Swiss citizenship like his parents. Stephan thinks nothing of traveling between France, Germany and Switzerland but it was a huge treat for me.

We parked our car in France and crossed the Rhine River via a footbridge to Germany for a Chinese food feast with Stephan and his parents. The food was prepared with a light hand and just delicious. Stephan waived off the doggy bags and told us people don’t carry away left over food like we do in America.

DSC02303 Basel Schiesser Cafe x — Just in case we needed a McDonald’s fix…but the real draw is the famous Schiesser Cafe

Switzerland’s independence

Stephan’s very proud of his heritage and he should be. Switzerland’s legacy of independence has been hard-won and is protected with vigilance. For example, fortified caves strengthened during WWII still line the mountains and until the very recent past, every home and building was required to have a bomb shelter.

DSC03040 Our Chalet x bomb shelter — This is a photo of a bomb shelter at Girl Scouts’ Our Chalet, about an hour from Basel. It’s high up a mountain with no strategic points nearby but it does have a bomb shelter. Vigilance is what protects Switzerland’s independence.

Driving in Switzerland

Stephan drove us swiftly through crowded city streets, breath-taking mountain passes, and flawless freeways punctuating the ride with lots of “asshole!” and “shitty drivers!” He pointed out special spots with colorful remarks and skipped most of the touristy stuff that was beginning to jade us. Of course, every time something didn’t go our way during the rest of our trip, we’d look at each other and say, “assholes!”

DSC02935 Basel Industry x — Industry along the freeways carry mottos and advertising

Parking garages are easy to find, clean, and automated. Red lights indicate the parking spot is taken, green lights tells you the spot is free. Check out is also automated with machines and instructions located on each level of the garages. — Parking garages are easy to find, clean, and automated. Red lights indicate the parking spot is taken, green lights tells you the spot is free (not sure why the spot we just parked i is still showing green). Check out is also automated with machines and instructions located on each level of the garages.

Parking garage elevator - easy to understand and almost always in English — Parking garage elevator – easy to understand and almost always in English

Basel street scenes

DSC03481 Basel Stumblestone x — Stumblestone in Basel

DSC02215 Basel street art — Basel street art

This quirky water feature included several steam-punk-like water fountains that were interesting to look at, yet strange. I think I lacked context to understand what was going on – yet, I watched fascinated.

DSC02294 Basel love locks Middle Rhine Bridge x — Basel love locks on the Middle Rhine Bridge

DSC02319 Basel street art x — The Morrison Hotel, Basel

DSC02317 Basel street art x — The Morrison Hotel, Basel

DSC02316 Basel Morrison Hotel x — The Morrison Hotel, Basel

DSC03435 Basel Schoolyard x — Basel school yard recess

Basel is the best!

DSC03295 Basel x — Maureen, Barbara, Stephan, Stephan’s parents, Tracy

It was hard saying good-bye to Stephan and his family. They were caring hosts with a twinkle in their eyes that said happy times were close by.

I looked for information on Basel and tourism and found almost nothing on the internet or in tour books. But Basel is lively, happy, livable, and worth time to visit. I found it in many ways to be more approachable and more interesting than Lucerne and definitely a better destination than Zurich. So let’s keep this between us so it doesn’t get over-run with tourists: Basel is a worthy destination in Switzerland.

Abelboden: Our Chalet

Girl Scout’s World Site: Our Chalet

Switzerland. If this were a ski slope, I'd be perched atop the ski jump entering the black diamond course. — Barbara at Our Chalet, hanging on for dear life. If this were a ski slope, I’d be perched atop the ski jump entering the black diamond course.

A visit to the Girl Scout’s Our Chalet was a must for our journey because Maureen, Tracy, Rachel and I got to know each other more than 25 years ago through an on-line chat site on Prodigy for Girl Scout leaders. We were all leaders of Girl Scout troops looking for ideas that worked for other leaders throughout the country. While finding ideas, we also found each other.

We were once a group of more than 100 men and women who chatted day and night – you’ll never believe what one person can do with a bandanna or a can of pie filling and a box of cake mix. Our troops got the great benefit of Girl Scout ideas from people we never would have met locally — this was before the growth of the internet — but we made friends for life. We are now a group of about 12 and we still talk daily, throughout the day. But for this very special trip, there are four of us: Maureen from New Orleans, Tracy from Richmond, VA, Rachel from Columbia, MD and Barbara from near St. Petersburg, FL.

DSC02992 Our Chalet x — Tracy and Rachel at Our Chalet. Thanks to Tracy for many of these photos.

So, of course, we had to visit Our Chalet, WAGGGS world center in the Bernese Oberland. I expected a big camp site in a chalet high in the Swiss alps with caper charts, places to cook, paths to climb, and lots of camp fire circles. That’s exactly what we discovered. I was surprised to find the site a bit smaller than expected and quite shabby due to the constant use of troops from all over the world. But it’s a camp site, not a resort.

In spite of cold and spotty rain (which marked so many of our camp outs as leaders), I was so excited to finally visit Our Chalet. There was a big troop of girl guides and boy scouts staying there from England and like every camp out I’ve ever been on, we became quite friendly very quickly. We received an orientation video and tour with this troop from the interns.

Interns are selected from all over the world to spend six months at Our Chalet in one of four areas: kitchen, program, guest services, or marketing and communications. During our stay, I had a chance to speak with a charming intern from Oregon who was taking a brief break after her freshman studies in biology to live at Our Chalet. She introduced me to a guide from Zimbabwe who was practicing her English and to a husband-wife team from England.

On the day that we visited, the husband had been hiking when he discovered a suitcase alongside the road. When it was still there on his return trip, he picked it up and brought it to Our Chalet. He said sooner or later someone would claim it. You could tell the husband-wife team knew exactly how to interact with guests: be quick, be friendly, get out.

Our photos tell a better story of Our Chalet.

Sign pointing to Our Chalet, Adelboden, Switzerland

DSC02362 Our Chalet 2015 x — Here’s how to start your world centre story today

DSC02363 Our Chalet 2015 x — Entrance to Our Chalet

DSC02462 Our Chalet 2015 x — I got to put a pin in the world map representing my visit from St. Petersburg, Florida. My pin was one of hundreds representing the USA and one of several from the Tampa area.

Girl Scouts carry on silly traditions as part of the fun. This little wooden beaver gets hidden throughout out each day and when found by the visiting Girl Scouts it’s just one more reason to celebrate with giggles.

Bertha the Bell — Bethany the Bell – everything seems to have a nickname at Our Chalet

Our Chalet, Adelboden, Switzerland

DSC02433 Our Chalet 2015 x — Our guide points out the location of Our Chalet in Adelboden

The chairs were donated by Scouts including this chair sponsored by a Florida troop. — The chairs we sat in to watch the orientation were donated by Scouts including this chair sponsored by a Florida troop.

Patches represent the thousands of visits from traveling scouts.

This chest is at least 500 years old, donated by some Girl Scout at some point in time but the explanation is lost to history. Nevertheless, the chest is used every day and battered by the thousands of visiting scouts.

Little flags in a log mark the origins of guests visiting Our Chalet on any given day. — This chest is at least 500 years old, donated by some Girl Scout at some point in time but the explanation is lost to history. Nevertheless, the chest is used every day and battered by the thousands of visiting scouts.

Tracy finds instant common ground with one of the executives at Our Chalet.

DSC02390 Our Chalet 2015 x — Tracy finds instant common ground with one of the executives at Our Chalet.

A visiting troop of girl and boy scouts from England hiked up to Our Chalet singing and skipping. We arrived by car at the chalet huffing and puffing.