Europe - Switerland
Liechtenstein
We passed by Liechtenstein en-route from Austria to Switzerland. The Principality of Liechtenstein is bordered by Switzerland and Austria. Mountainous, it is also a winter sports resort and is the smallest German-speaking country in the world. Nothing much here to offer us though.
Lucerne
Can see the sun rays shining thru the clouds onto the fields? Lovely!
Arrived in Lucerne that night (the same day we woke early in Austria). It was raining and pretty cold. We went to the old town hoping for some traditional swiss dinner, and got a cute waiter too! Qianyi decided to tip him more and I fully support! Think we were super heng lor, it rained before our meal, was cool and dry during our meal, and rained again the moment we left the restaurant. This allowed us to enjoy the cool night breeze by the river while slowly tucking into dinner.
This is the view from our hotel room, its very cosy, and I was so tired I fell asleep the moment I laid in bed - WITHOUT BATHING. Damn gross!
Mount Titlis
The next morning was an early one and we went to one of the mountains in the Alps, Mount Titlis. Amazingly, I wore 4 layers of clothes (plus my red jacket), a pair of jeans, my holey jelly shoes with a pair of thick socks, and I can go up to the Alps, the top of the mountain! We took 3 cable car rides just to go 3000+ metres up, and it was quite scary. The first cable car (2nd pic in collage) is like normal ones we sit in Sentosa, the second will swing in a mild viking fashion with 70+ people in it. I thought I was gonna die! The last one could rotate (3rd pic), so we could see the nice scenery at the top from all directions, but I hate the China/Indian people squeezing inside with us. Super low class and no mannners!
The Alps are really beautiful, and it was so white that it hurt my eyes. Too glaring liao! Forgot to bring sunglasses summore - dun care if its obiang lor, need them to be able to SEE.
I played with snow with my bare hands! Some people in the tour group started nagging at how I'd get frost bite and my fingers would drop off. Hit Qianyi and the lil girls with snowballs a few times but when Qianyi finally started to get gian to play with snow, my socks were very wet liao (rem my shoes had holes!) and my toes really felt like they wanna drop off, den I dun wanna play liao. Think she sian diao after that. Sorry ah babe!
Lunch was Swiss Barley Soup and Beef Goulash. Very nice, not very pricey too. I like the Swiss Barley Soup - very creamy and rich, get won't feel very gelat after eating. P/S: I took off my wet socks during lunch to prevent my toes from really dropping out - stupid tour people made me paranoid only. >.< Later we took the cable car down and had a very scenic view. In Switz, the cows have cow bells on their necks, and the size ranges from a small one the size of a baby's fist, to one that is bigger than my fist! As we went down the mountains, we could hear the heavy "thonking" sound of the bells as the cows grazed. There were goats too (last pic in collage below). Very melodic! My nerves were so much calmer after that (was kancheong about the cable car ride initially).
Back in Lucerne
Later in the day, we journeyed to see the famous Lion Monument in Switzerland. The monument carved in stone to commemorate the Swiss Guards who died in the French Revolution. The carving shows a lion dying from arrow wounds but still feircely protecting the swiss emblem under its' paws. Shows the Swiss Guards courage, yet it is a very very sad monument. I could actually feel the sadness just looking at the lion's face.
We went back to the old town where we had dinner the night before. This is when I started my frenzy of chocolate shopping for you guys!
The water is so clear you can actually see the stones and the swan's webbed feet as they swim in the water! Also, there was an old Chapel Bridge, the one Qianyi is posing with. It intially got burnt down, save for the 2 entrances on either side of the river banks because someone was smoking on it, and the wooden bridge caught fire. Wasted! Don't you think this view by the river looks like Clarke Quay did an imitation of this place?
More scenic pics of the place by the river. Very nice hor! The 2nd pic in the above collage is actually their post office!
Old towns tend to look about the same after a while - with very slight variances in architecture and scenery. I like Lucerne a lot though, more than Salzburg, maybe cos the old town was much bigger than the one in Salzburg, and also cos its the chocolate haven. Both were very peaceful and quiet though. I wanna migrate to Switzerland! If only they gave out citizenship easily! Its hard to become a Swiss, and the Swiss are proud to be Swiss!
Went past a high class chocolatier, and look at the chocolates! They look like bah kwa sitting by the window. The smell from the shop was heavenly - fresh chocolate was wafting through the air! For me, the gate to paradise was not in Italy, but through the doors of this shop! ZAI!
The next day was supposed to be a public holiday in Lucerne (certain states in Switz have holidays while others don't, depending on the primary religion of the state). We managed to catch a public performance by a Swiss uniformed band. There were horses and the VIP was standing just behind me! Haha. I think its nice when you get to see these kinda things - makes you feel more for the country.
On our way back, we saw something very funny. You know how the waters in Switzerland are so clear? Well... at the bottom of a rather deep river, we actually saw a shopping cart (kinda like the ones from NTUC)!! Can you spot it?
Dinner was at Movenpick where we ate the Breaded Pork Chop again (but this was much nicer!), Rosti with Veal in White Wine Sauce and button mushrooms, and Movenpick ice-cream which tastes very similar to that in S'pore. The Rosti was something quite different though, our potatoes seem more defined, theirs abit more mashed up and less chao tar. One interesting to note - beef and pork are cheaper than chicken meat in Europe!
So thats the end of Switzerland, and I wanna come back here. We've only been to one state and its already so breathtaking that I wanna go visit the other areas as well. Apparently there is this place called Jungfraujoch, which is the top of Europe, and is also located in Switzerland. Wanna go see Zurich and check out the Swiss banks too! So yeah, back to Switzerland when I have more $$ as well!
We passed by Liechtenstein en-route from Austria to Switzerland. The Principality of Liechtenstein is bordered by Switzerland and Austria. Mountainous, it is also a winter sports resort and is the smallest German-speaking country in the world. Nothing much here to offer us though.
Lucerne
Can see the sun rays shining thru the clouds onto the fields? Lovely!
Arrived in Lucerne that night (the same day we woke early in Austria). It was raining and pretty cold. We went to the old town hoping for some traditional swiss dinner, and got a cute waiter too! Qianyi decided to tip him more and I fully support! Think we were super heng lor, it rained before our meal, was cool and dry during our meal, and rained again the moment we left the restaurant. This allowed us to enjoy the cool night breeze by the river while slowly tucking into dinner.
This is the view from our hotel room, its very cosy, and I was so tired I fell asleep the moment I laid in bed - WITHOUT BATHING. Damn gross!
Mount Titlis
The next morning was an early one and we went to one of the mountains in the Alps, Mount Titlis. Amazingly, I wore 4 layers of clothes (plus my red jacket), a pair of jeans, my holey jelly shoes with a pair of thick socks, and I can go up to the Alps, the top of the mountain! We took 3 cable car rides just to go 3000+ metres up, and it was quite scary. The first cable car (2nd pic in collage) is like normal ones we sit in Sentosa, the second will swing in a mild viking fashion with 70+ people in it. I thought I was gonna die! The last one could rotate (3rd pic), so we could see the nice scenery at the top from all directions, but I hate the China/Indian people squeezing inside with us. Super low class and no mannners!
The Alps are really beautiful, and it was so white that it hurt my eyes. Too glaring liao! Forgot to bring sunglasses summore - dun care if its obiang lor, need them to be able to SEE.
I played with snow with my bare hands! Some people in the tour group started nagging at how I'd get frost bite and my fingers would drop off. Hit Qianyi and the lil girls with snowballs a few times but when Qianyi finally started to get gian to play with snow, my socks were very wet liao (rem my shoes had holes!) and my toes really felt like they wanna drop off, den I dun wanna play liao. Think she sian diao after that. Sorry ah babe!
Lunch was Swiss Barley Soup and Beef Goulash. Very nice, not very pricey too. I like the Swiss Barley Soup - very creamy and rich, get won't feel very gelat after eating. P/S: I took off my wet socks during lunch to prevent my toes from really dropping out - stupid tour people made me paranoid only. >.< Later we took the cable car down and had a very scenic view. In Switz, the cows have cow bells on their necks, and the size ranges from a small one the size of a baby's fist, to one that is bigger than my fist! As we went down the mountains, we could hear the heavy "thonking" sound of the bells as the cows grazed. There were goats too (last pic in collage below). Very melodic! My nerves were so much calmer after that (was kancheong about the cable car ride initially).
Back in Lucerne
Later in the day, we journeyed to see the famous Lion Monument in Switzerland. The monument carved in stone to commemorate the Swiss Guards who died in the French Revolution. The carving shows a lion dying from arrow wounds but still feircely protecting the swiss emblem under its' paws. Shows the Swiss Guards courage, yet it is a very very sad monument. I could actually feel the sadness just looking at the lion's face.
We went back to the old town where we had dinner the night before. This is when I started my frenzy of chocolate shopping for you guys!
The water is so clear you can actually see the stones and the swan's webbed feet as they swim in the water! Also, there was an old Chapel Bridge, the one Qianyi is posing with. It intially got burnt down, save for the 2 entrances on either side of the river banks because someone was smoking on it, and the wooden bridge caught fire. Wasted! Don't you think this view by the river looks like Clarke Quay did an imitation of this place?
More scenic pics of the place by the river. Very nice hor! The 2nd pic in the above collage is actually their post office!
Old towns tend to look about the same after a while - with very slight variances in architecture and scenery. I like Lucerne a lot though, more than Salzburg, maybe cos the old town was much bigger than the one in Salzburg, and also cos its the chocolate haven. Both were very peaceful and quiet though. I wanna migrate to Switzerland! If only they gave out citizenship easily! Its hard to become a Swiss, and the Swiss are proud to be Swiss!
Went past a high class chocolatier, and look at the chocolates! They look like bah kwa sitting by the window. The smell from the shop was heavenly - fresh chocolate was wafting through the air! For me, the gate to paradise was not in Italy, but through the doors of this shop! ZAI!
The next day was supposed to be a public holiday in Lucerne (certain states in Switz have holidays while others don't, depending on the primary religion of the state). We managed to catch a public performance by a Swiss uniformed band. There were horses and the VIP was standing just behind me! Haha. I think its nice when you get to see these kinda things - makes you feel more for the country.
On our way back, we saw something very funny. You know how the waters in Switzerland are so clear? Well... at the bottom of a rather deep river, we actually saw a shopping cart (kinda like the ones from NTUC)!! Can you spot it?
Dinner was at Movenpick where we ate the Breaded Pork Chop again (but this was much nicer!), Rosti with Veal in White Wine Sauce and button mushrooms, and Movenpick ice-cream which tastes very similar to that in S'pore. The Rosti was something quite different though, our potatoes seem more defined, theirs abit more mashed up and less chao tar. One interesting to note - beef and pork are cheaper than chicken meat in Europe!
So thats the end of Switzerland, and I wanna come back here. We've only been to one state and its already so breathtaking that I wanna go visit the other areas as well. Apparently there is this place called Jungfraujoch, which is the top of Europe, and is also located in Switzerland. Wanna go see Zurich and check out the Swiss banks too! So yeah, back to Switzerland when I have more $$ as well!
posted by huijing at
6/16/2007 02:37:00 PM
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