After a quick transfer in Zurich (and by quick, I mean a full on sprint to catch our next train), we finally arrived in Zug.
Derek and Mary were waiting for us in the main lobby of the station. It was SO great to see them! Scott and I were pretty hungry, so we decided to head straight to dinner. I remembered that Mary had mentioned most places in Zug close early... and she wasn't kidding! It was just 8pm and the only nearby restaurant still open was an English pub. Good enough.
Derek and Mary's DARLING apartment was only about a 15 minute walk from the train station. Mary is an incredibly talented designer with impeccable taste. It was really fun to see the space where they sit when we chat on Skype.
We hung out for a bit, then I headed downstairs to do a load of laundry. I was so wiped out by then that I actually fell asleep on the floor of the laundry room for a few hours. If you're going to fall asleep on the floor of any laundry room, make sure it's in Switzerland. That country is unnaturally clean.
Thank you thank you thank you Derek and Mary for letting us use your laundry pass!
Despite the pouring rain, we hit the ground running early the next morning. D+M's apartment is just a couple of blocks from a Mickey D's. Check out the McFondue, McRösti, and McRaclette! Though we never ate at McDonald's in Europe, I absolutely loved that each country had their own spin on the Big Mac.
Mary and I spent some time in a flea market. She's a pro!
While Mary and I shopped for bargains, Derek and Scott went to the store to get us some food for lunch. On their shopping adventure, the boys picked up a couple of bottles of this fabulous pressed apple/pear cider that I now refer to as 'liquid gold.' It is quite possibly my favorite beverage of all time. Sadly, I can't remember what it's called. Guess we'll just have to go back again so I can find out.
The boys did a great job at the store. We had a delicious lunch with Raclette, Muesli, and chocolate. Yum!
Is it strange that I think everyone needs a raclette oven as part of their basic kitchen equipment? Maybe.
Just love these guys!
We made a quick detour to the mall to buy some warmer hats and scarves for the next destinations in our journey: Grindelwald, the Jungfrau, and Lauterbrunnen. We came prepared for Autumn weather, not the early winter that happened to hit whilst we were going to be in the Alps.
Not to worry, I found this sweet little number at H&M for 15 Francs!
It stopped raining for a bit after we left the mall, which was nice.
We fell in love with the clock towers all over Switzerland. It felt like every time we turned a corner there was another fabulous clock tower.
It started raining again, but we pressed on.
The main clock tower for the town of Zug. LOVE IT!
As the wind and rain grew stronger it became apparent that our crappy little umbrellas from Italy were on their last leg.
We pressed on, but decided we needed to keep our eyes out for decent replacements.
We wandered around the center of the old town for a while.
I'll admit, I'm extremely jealous that Derek and Mary get to see this all the time.
We made our way to the shore of Lake Zug. Mary said the lakeside is absolutely packed when the weather is decent. We had the whole place to ourselves due to the rain/snow/wind. Nice!
It was tempting, but we decided against going for a swim.
Scott loved the wild swans in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. I think he got a little too close to this pair... check out the murderous look that swan is giving him. I thought it was going to waddle up and bite him!
Just Derek and a weird fish boy fountain.
There is a really cool aviary near the lake. We were all super excited to see a snowy owl like Hedwig, making me realize we have completely let ourselves become huge Harry Potter nerds. I'm not too proud to admit it.
We were able to find some really great replacement umbrellas at a department store near the station. Arrivederci lousy umbrellas!
This picture says SO much. Did I mention how much I love these two?!?
I fell in love with Lucerne the moment we stepped out of the train station.
The famous Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge). Originally built in 1333, most of it burned down in 1993 because some complete moron dropped a lit cigarette. They rebuilt the bridge shortly after the fire, but it's sad to think that an almost 700 year old masterpiece burned down because of something so trivial. Such is life, I guess. Things get destroyed, but we can always rebuild.
We stopped for some photo ops as we walked across the bridge.
Check out the neat onion domes on the cathedral in the background.
We stopped inside that neat cathedral and were a bit surprised by the soft colors and elaborate details of the interior. Also, it was nice to get out of the rain for a minute.
There are fountains all over the towns in Switzerland. Apparently most of them spout out culinary water. Cool!
Yet another great clock tower.
A lot of the older buildings in Lucerne have really great murals painted all over them. I particularly liked this one of a family tree. I'd love to do something like this on a wall in our house someday.
Sadly, we came home without a nutcracker from Europe. We just didn't find one we loved enough to splurge on.
These pictures are good enough for now.
Why? Because he can.
If you're ever in Lucerne, do yourself a favor and stop by the Löwendenkmal (Lion Monument) by Bertel Thorvaldsen. The stunning carving commemorates the hundreds of Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution when a mob stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris. Mark Twain called it, "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world."
I agree. It's breathtaking.
Another great mural.
We were lucky enough to pass down a street with a cheese tasting festival. Yum!
I would go back to the Lucerne train station just to eat another one of these kebab/gyro sandwiches. Incredible!
Alas, it was time for us to head back to Zug to grab our gear and catch our next train. We had hotel reservations in Grindelwald and wanted to make it there before all of the restaurants closed.
We passed this massive sculpture on our way back to D+M's place. I thought it was a great concept.
We also passed this fancy car dealership.
Dream on Scott, dream on.
Clearly, Autumn had come. I absolutely prefer warm weather, but there is something magical about fallen autumn leaves. I love the way they look, smell, and stick to wet pavement.
We made it to our train right on time. I swear you can set your watch by the Swiss trains. Efficiency!
This is a really crummy picture, but I wanted to document these wonderful little community garden plots we saw from the train window. A lot of the gardens have a darling shed where the owners can store their gardening paraphernalia. I had a Veruca Salt moment and said, "Scott, I don't care how, I want one of those gardens NOW!"
Don't you?
Up next: Part 5.2: Grindelwald, the Jungfrau, and Lauterbrunnen!
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