Good morning! Yesterday I spent the day in Lucerne, Switzerland! It was absolutely stunning and I had amazing time. Everything I ate was delicious and everything I saw was beautiful! This country is one of the most amazing places I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting!
Breakfast at Hotel Olten
We started the morning bright and early with breakfast at our hotel, Hotel Olten; the hotel offers a breakfast buffet with many options. I enjoyed a croissant, hard-boiled egg, watermelon, and some cheese. The breakfast was delicious; my entire experience with that hotel was wonderful, and Hotel Olten is in the less touristy city of Olten, Switzerland. Finding a less touristy city is nice because it provides a more well-rounded experience. I explored the area a little the night prior; it was very pleasant. There wasn’t much nightlife perhaps, because it is a smaller city. I definently would recommend this hotel if you are interested in visiting the area; it was about an hour drive to Lucerne.
What I Saw During the Guided Tour in Lucerne
Once we finished breakfast, we set on our way to Lucerne. The first thing we did was visit the Lion Monument. The monument represents the Swiss soldiers that passed protecting the royal family during the French Revolution. Mark Twain once called it ‘the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world’. It was very exceptional! I hadn’t expected it to be carved into the mountain, but it is. Sadly, they were making repairs when we were there. So we couldn’t see the words written below the lion. It was still cool, even with the repairs!
After that, we were able to explore for a little. My friend and I walked around and visited some stores. Lucerne is a popular tourist destination; many stores exclusively sell Swiss army knives, chocolate, and watches. The buildings were gorgeous in Lucerne.We went on a walking tour across Kappellbrüke, the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe and it houses around 150 paintings. These paintings depict the daily lives of the people of Lucerne during the 13th or 14th century. We later had some free time to find lunch and explore the city in small groups.
Lunch and Free Time in Lucerne
I had lunch at MANORA Restaurant . It is on the top floor of the department store Manor. MANORA was recommended to us by our tour guide Lieke. I had lamb (The name was in German; I had not translated it, so I am not sure what I had), Strawberry Basil Water, and a Raspberry Panna Cotta, and ate on the rooftop. It was fabulous! My lamb and the water were fine, but the panna cotta was delicious. The raspberry coulee provided the perfect layer of tartness. After lunch, my friends and I hiked up to Zyttrum, a watchtower that was pointed up during the walking tour. It was up a steep incline, similar to a driveway, but far steeper. The view was worth the hike and we were able to climb up to the watching point of the tower and the view was even better!
Time at the Stunning Mount Pilatus
Then our group had to gather for our boat ride to Mount Pilatus. It was about an hour’s ride and another school group was on the boat! The houses that were scattered across the mountains were gorgeous and some even had garages attached to their homes for their boats. Once we reached the mountain we took a “train” up it. The “train” was more like a ginormous gondola with seats that are staggered.We had time to hike up the mountain in small groups for an hour. There were three trails: a short trail that only reaches a little higher, a medium trail that goes even farther, and a very taxing course that guides you to the top. My group couldn’t hike the strenuous trail because it took over an hour to reach the peak; instead, we did the other routes. The views were stunning; birds would land on the ledges around you. At the end we took a gondola to the bottom of the mountain and returned to our bus.
Dinner at Hotel Olten
For dinner we had pork with noodles and zucchini. It was really good! The noodles were plain and lacked a sauce (honestly, that’s how I prefer them 🙃). On top of the meat there was some butter with chives in it. It provided another layer to the dish. For dessert we had a Nutella mousse. That was also very tasty! After dinner and dessert, we had to pack our bags for the next morning. I also finished yesterday’s blog post, you can read that here! Tomorrow we are driving to Genova with a stop in Bellagio in between!
What a wonderful time!