We awoke around 7am and headed to breakfast after our showers, about 8am. We were all geared up for our trip to Mt. Titlis — multiple layers, serious coats, etc. — as it is in the Alps at around 10,000′ and it being, well, December. I wasn’t optimistic about our chances of going, however. While yesterday had been gorgeous a storm had moved in and, while it was fairly nice weather in Lucerne, Mt. Titlis was getting heavy snow and hurricane force winds. As we’d be taking a free-hanging gondola up to the peak… yeah.
After a nice breakfast we were met by Jack and he informed us what we already sort of knew — the excursion to Mt. Titlis was cancelled and Viking would be refunding the money. We headed back up to the room to finish packing and shed off some of our winter clothing then headed back down to check out at about 9:30am. In the lobby we talked with a few Viking representatives and they recommended going across the lake to Burgenstock Resort for a nice substitute trip. They pointed us to pier 7 and we were on our way.
When we got to pier 7 we realized we needed to be at 3. Luckily it wasn’t that far and we made it there with plenty of time to spare. It being the off-season it was just a little over 100CHF round-trip for the three of us and included not only the catamaran ride over but also the funicular up to the resort at 2,000′. There were hardly any people on the boat nor at the resort. We arrived at the top about 10:30am and after using the restroom took some pictures. Genetta and I took a short walk and went over a metal suspension bridge and saw a few carved wooden sculptures. Afterwards, we shopped a bit with Genetta getting a postcard and the both of us getting a free coffee (as part of the initial ticket price).
Sadly we missed the 11:25am funicular back down the mountain so had to wait for the 12:25pm one. None of the restaurants were open so that wasn’t an option. We explored some more and luckily the delay meant we discovered an awesome viewpoint we had missed before so it was all good. It was really neat seeing the lush green hillsides with chalets scattered here and there and the Alps looming in the distance. The viewpoint also provided a panoramic view of the lake and Lucerne. Really breautiful!
We took the 12:25pm funicular back down and met the catamaran. There was a woman on the boat with two enormous but very rich-looking (you know the type) dogs. One was quite dirty, however, and she was in white pants trying desperately to keep the mud off of her. The boat let us off in Lucerne right at 1pm, leaving us enough time to get a bite to eat before returning to the hotel for our departure.
The three of us went to La Piaf, a small cafe in the KLL (the black glass performing arts center on the lake) for lunch. We got a 0.5L bottle of still water for the table. Michelle and I had Croquet Monsieurs, which is ham and Swiss on awesome bread with an egg fried on it. The side salad was even great! Genetta had a sub she didn’t like much. It was a ham and egg with some strange peppers. Guess they can’t all be winners. Wrapped up around 1:30pm and headed straight to the hotel nearby.
Back at the hotel we used the restroom, got our checked backpacks, and hopped on the bus for Basel at around 2pm. Our boat, the Viking Mani, was not in Basel because France had a lock strike and then the lock broke. Our guide for the bus trip to Basel was Brandon, a somewhat younger than us guy from Canada. He was great, giving us lots of facts about Switzerland as well as everyday life.
One of the first things we noticed on the way out of town was a number of steel towers arranged in a rectangle in a vacant lot. Turns out that by law new building proposals require these be erected to show neighbors both the footprint and the height of the proposed building. They’re left up for a bit and the neighbors get to vote on whether the project proceeds.
He told us about fishing in Switzerland — it is strictly catch and kill and a license is only good for a single lake. The country uses extensive use of speed cameras and thus doesn’t have many officers involved in traffic enforcement — it is all done automatically and because the fines are steep drivers generally behave. We passed an immense fortress, Festung Aarburg, on a hillside built by the Habsburgs but now a juvenile detention center. Brandon also showed us some Nazi tank traps. Though Switzerland was neutral they built the traps just in case. He also explained that the various cantons of Switzerland all joined voluntarily over time. Switzerland has great infrastructure (lots and lots of tunnels and fantastic roads) but gas is quite expensive. He also mentioned that closets aren’t really a thing, most people have armoires to hold their clothing and other belongings. Also all livestock, from chickens to cows, must be free-range — meaning that they are not confined and can leave their shelter at any time and go outside.
We arrived at the Hyperion hotel in Basel around 4pm to use the restroom and pick up people that did their pre-stay in Basel. We then proceeded on the bus to Kembs, France and met our boat (moored to a levy) at 5pm. All us guests were very efficiently led to our rooms by members of the crew, who also carried our bags. We were led to the lower deck down the stairs in the middle of the boat and shown our room. Michelle and I had one and Genetta’s was directly next door to the left, both on the starboard side of the ship.
The rooms were small, no doubt, but very functional, bright, and clean. Very Nordic. We took the time to unpack into both the dresser and the coat closet and placed our suitcases under our bed. It was a bit crazy to look out the window (at chest height) and see the water level just a foot below eye level. We headed to a 6:15pm orientation where we met the captain (a Dutchman), our manager (Mohammed), our head chef (and he looked every bit a chef and did this rubbing-tummy-“yummmmmmm” thing), and our on-board tour coordinator, Sharon. Afterwards we had a quick safety check involving our life jackets on the main deck.
We headed to dinner at 7:15pm. It was fantastic! The way lunch and dinner work is that there’s always some items on the left available like steak, chicken, classic vegetables. On the right the menu varies daily, with regional offerings. There is a salad then main course then dessert and one can mix and match between the left and right sides. They’re very flexible. I had a German salad with pickled cucumbers, ham, and cheese followed by veal in a mushroom sauce with a potato pancake and coffee ice cream (!) to top it off. Genetta had what I had except for the salad, she opted for a Caesar salad. Michelle had a Caesar salad, rotisserie chicken, and mashed potatoes. I drank coffee and Genetta had some wine.
Our dinner company was nice. It was a dude and his wife, both general managers of live music venues in Washington (used to live in Colorado). Accompanying them were his parents and his 80yo aunt living in Florida. They also had a cute tiny dog with them. The guy looked just like Scott Ian from Anthrax, it was uncanny. We talked about concerts and the odd requests that acts had, like a black metal band that wanted to sacrifice a live goat before the show. He managed to talk them down to a dead goat. Also learned about a famous artist that really, really hates air conditioning and demanded to be paid up-front.
Headed back to the cabin around 9:30pm for blogging and relaxing before bed at 12am.