Good morning Switzerland!

I can live with this view everyday 🙂

Breakfast was… can you guess?

an assortment of bread and ham (again). But the bread here was really good! It was soft and decently good and all of us happily just eat the bread with the variety of spread provided

They even had hot water which was rare cos we didn’t see that in the hotels we stayed in Italy

It was a really cold and wet day in Lucerne, which was quite sad to take photos cos half the time we were shivering in the cold, the other half the time we were sheltering ourselves from the rain. We went to see the Lion monument after breakfast which was a highlight in Lucerne or so I think

Lion monument

A sculpture to commentate the Swiss soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the nation during the French Revolution. It was a very sad statue with an arrow in the lion’s stomach. Just look at the lion in pain

And then we were ‘released’ for shopping to get watches, chocolates or some souvenirs

So we decided to settle at a cafe to get warmth since there is only so much you can buy

After which, it was a trip up to Mt Titlis day, another optional tour offered by agency. Mt Titlis is the highest mountain in the portion of the Uri Alps which is about 3,000m high and about 45 minutes drive from the town but our driver drove so fast we arrived in 20 minutes

The whole day in Lucerne was just like this

To get to the top, we had to take 3 cable cars plus weather the cold at the same time and this is what we got on the way up

White, foggy and misty. Cannot see anything, at all

It was raining yet when we start to ascend, it began to snow, and everyone was just excited. Lunch was arranged (on additional expenses) before touring the alps, and food was fantastic. I can say so cos under such weather when you get such warm and decent Asian food is the best thing you can ask for

Not kidding, they can really cook

Food for 4 pax, and the food can be refilled. So good!

And so we began to roam around, but in all honesty the whole place was pretty small. There’s not much attractions such that you need a few hours there unless you are going to ski or something

The best view we can get to the alps outside

Walked the glacier cove, cliff walk and just froze ourselves to death in the snow

The cove was covered in ice and has these mini ice sculpture with very wet floor. Half the time you are hoping you don’t slip and fall and kill yourself. That being said, it wasn’t very big. I think you probably complete the walk in 10 minutes

Cliff walk! Well basically you climbed all the way to the top and walked across this suspension bridge so that you can feel like you are on top of the world with the alps and snow beneath you. But it was so glaring you had a hard time focusing you thought you are going to be blind soon, plus it’s snowing, plus you are climbing steps covered in snow plus the handrails are dripping wet. How awesome..

Cold is an understatement. The temperature that day was in the negative. I know you can’t tell it’s snowing but it is

Thoughts on Mt Titlis: I think the weather that day I went wasn’t ideal. Unless you are going there to play snow sport which will probably be much more fun, I don’t think it’s worth it to just go there for the view. It would be more enjoyable if you have activities in mind but that being said, mine is a tour = limited time for everything, which is why I feel like the agency shouldn’t even offer this in the first place

We went back down to the town of Lucerne after awhile, which we visited a few more attractions. I was very glad to be down in civilisation, less cold you know

The water tower, an iconic attraction of Lucerne and the chapel bridge

There’s supposedly painting inside the bridge but the bridge was burnt in 1993 so there are only 30 paintings left and restored, of the original 147 that existed before the fire

Such a charming place, so easy to fall in love with

Yes, I’m taking a photo of you

Needle Dam, another attraction, which is basically a dam restricting water using needle wood

We wanted to try Wirtshaus Galliker but the kitchen only opened at 6pm and we were time constrained so we had to give it a miss. We walked randomly and decided to try this place instead

Wirtshaus Taube

A very cozy place with free wifi, no less

Red wine

We asked the waitress to recommend and she really recommended something awesome

Swiss Rosti!

Or what you called the real Chapelbridge roschti. I felt so happy eating this. The potato were fried so perfectly the burnts were not only fragrant but also delicious. The combination with the egg, bacon and cheese was just perfect

Pork with ham and cheese and fries, Cordon Bleu style

I asked the waitress if this was good, and she said absolutely. So I gave this a try

The pork was fresh without any porky taste. Filled with ham and cheese, you can taste the different layers of the flavours, it was a well executed dish

Caramel pudding with hazelnut

I couldn’t resist dessert. I was quite surprised my pudding came in such form. I was expecting a solid pudding. Still, I enjoyed the dessert was not too sweet and the addition of the nuts provided a surprise element to it which was a delight

Very glad I had this meal in Swiss which is probably one of the best meals for the whole trip =/

Wirtshaus Taube

Burgerstrasse 3, 6003 Luzern, Switzerland

Roamed around a little after dinner while waiting for time to pass. Love the buildings here for they all have their unique identities

The people here really have work-life balance. By 630pm, I see most retail shops are closed. It’s like a dead town already

But still, Lucerne is really a charming little town and filled with friendly people. It is such a easy place to fall in love with

Caught the reflection of the light on the alps on our way back

Good night Lucerne and goodbye!

xx

Rise and shine, in Switzerland day 2. I skipped the breakfast part cos it’s the exact same breakfast, with more drama cos we have to finish our breakfast so fast before the ah tiongs finish our share as well. So stressful seriously. Today is a planned trip to Piz Gloria, a famed alps that was filmed for some James Bond movie

Before ascending to the top, I was happy the weather was pleasant and filled with sunshine

We had to take a few cable cars up, there were so many I can’t remember how many we took and they played the Bonds song when the cable car started moving. Talk about being in theme. But the view on top was breathtaking!

I do wonder what are these houses for though and who lived there

And soon enough, after a few cable cars, we finally reached the top

Just white,

pretty

and priceless

The viewing gallery isn’t particularly huge but it’s big enough to view the alps in the area. The temperature that day was 0 degrees, though I know it doesn’t seem much like it. And what entertains us was this couple who was taking their wedding shoot on the viewing gallery, shivering and jumping at the same time. lol

The James Bond cut out which was awkwardly placed in the middle of nowhere

There was a mini Bonds exhibition on the lower gallery which was a good option to hide from the cold and the howling wind so off we went. The gallery was basically everything Bonds related, or at least related to the movie that was filmed there. Very small, and nothing much

All for picture sake 😉

So I went back up and found people skiing. Looks so fun, though I don’t know how and we wonder where they go after that cos looking at the never ending snow, you can’t seem to find the end point

And we needed to pass time while waiting for lunch to be ready at the upper gallery, so what better way to order a cup of hot chocolate and use their free wifi

You would have thought you had come to a mini Bonds theme park, from the hardware to the wifi. The wifi was named 007 by the way

cannot.make.it

I was very glad lunch was over in a jiffy. So we left the place but as we were on our way down, we stopped by the lower platforms which you get another view of the alps, and it was spectacular

It was a transparent glass I was standing on so you get to feel like you have the world at your feet, and yes I have no fear of heights 😀

For the kid in you, you get to play with the snow

And I conclude Piz Gloria wins Mt Titlis, period

We popped by Interlaken, a very small town with a population of about 5,000 people. It’s so small there’s nothing much to explore and we were allocated so much free time there, oh gosh. The town has only one main street, which was lined with many watch shops. I mean, how many watches can you buy? Plus it isn’t exactly cheap in Swiss, just that they have newer models

The train was probably one of the attractions (but just look at the background)

Blooming flowers everywhere

Really pretty and captivating

Saw some lonely horse carriages along the way

and very interesting shop models

The perfect spot for ootd

This hotel was really beautiful, decorated with flowers and all. You feel like you can hold a fairytale wedding here, like seriously

Just so I bought so much chocolates for everybody, I decided I should get something for myself. These Swiss truffle chocolate are pretty good. I like how it isn’t overly sweet but you can still taste the deep chocolate flavour in your mouth

Paragliding is a very popular sport there but in such weather, I might freeze to death

And so as day ends, the weather got even colder. I was just happy when the tour guide collected us earlier and we could go back and rest

xx

Hotel for the night was at Allegro, which was the best hotel of the trip. It was a decently big local 4 star hotel with 4 restaurants located in the hotel. I was regretting that we didn’t have dinner on our own expense there. It would definitely, for sure, be good

Just had to take a photo at the lawn area. Even though the photo looks fine, I was shivering in here cos it was so bloody cold that morning

Breakfast was really sumptuous. I don’t think we could have anything better than this

There’s smoked salmon!

And a variety of yoghurt with toppings you can add on yourself

It’s the only hotel, that the egg does not taste weird and the tomatoes were awesome

My strawberry yoghurt with fresh strawberries, hazelnut and walnut!

I was very satisfied. ha

And then we explored the city of Bern, which is also the capital of Switzerland. How Bern became the capital of Switzerland was cos the founder decided to name the city the first animal that was hunted and they got the Bear, hence we got Bern

Dancing bear on the wire

No, it’s not real, just if you are wondering

We went to the Bear park which is a main attraction hoping that we are lucky to see some bears, since well it is quite a symbolic icon of the country. But nope we didn’t. Either the bears were still sleeping or the weather is too cold for them to come out

The bear’s home with no bears

So I got this image from Google just so, you know how a bear looks like (credits to bern.com)

It actually looks quite cute. The tour group was lightheartedly joking that we used our imagination. So we started saying ‘there there! the bear is drinking orange juice, can’t you see?’ -___-

No bears, but super gorgeous view overlooking River Aare on the Nydeck bridge. I feel like I can live here already

Such awesome view

Nydeggkirche or Nydegg Church

The tallest Cathedral in Swiss and also the second oldest church in Bern that replaced Nydegg Castle, which happened to be situated at Old Bern area

So we were given time to roam around the old city of Bern that was founded in the 12th century, which is now a UNESCO heritage site

The special clock tower that will have music coming out 4 minutes before the minute hand strikes 12

The Parliament building on Bundesplatz, which is the government plaza

Crossing the roads can be challenging cos the train doesn’t really stop for you

Exploring the old city of Bern which has its own charm and beauty

and fair share of goodies 😀

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