Switzerland with the Strongs

{December 26-28, 2013}

Our first experience in Switzerland was a short 3 day trip with our neighbors and good friends, the Strongs.  This is also the trip that I learned how to better plan my trips (with gps coordinates), thanks to Cody who planned this trip.  We left the day after Christmas first thing in the morning to make the 6 hour drive with a planned stop in Lauterbrunnen.  After making it to Lauterbrunnen in a snow storm, we realized there was no point in going up to Gimmelwald since we wouldn't be able to see anything, so we trekked on to our apartment.  The snow was coming down pretty heavily, which didn't make it very easy for our friends minivan to drive on the mountain roads, so we had to turn around at one point and go around the mountain instead of over it.  This and other little stops turned this into a 10 hour drive, which we were not prepared for, but it was so worth it in the end!

the mountain road we couldn't pass

The next morning we woke to beautiful views of a snow covered mountain valley!  We drove about an hour to Engelberg to spend the day on Mount Titlis.  

our morning views

a beautiful drive

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the Swiss alps

 We had to take several lifts up to the mountian and the views were extraordinary!  After insisting that she go down alone and then falling off her sled on the first run, Avery refused to go down any more so she played in the snow banks for a while.  Eventually I was able to convince her to try one more time, going down with me and she loved it so we had an enjoyable second half of the day!

ready for a fun day on the mountain

The next day we headed to Lucerne to explore the city.

saying goodbye to our mountain village

a crazy little family in Lucerne

Avery + Jake at Lake Lucerne

An afternoon pick me up: Berliner

Avery + Eve

Hofkirche

Avery + Eve at the Lion monument

 The Lion of Lucerne monument was sculpted in 1821 in memory of the Swiss guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French revolution.  It is a beautiful sculpture that Mark Twain praised as "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world"

Kapellbruke

 Probably one of the most iconic pieces of architecture in Lucerne is the Kapellbruke, which is a wooden covered bridge that spans the river, which was built in 1333.  The bridge and the paintings that are on each of its arches had to be restored after a fire in 1993.