Lucerne & Mt Pilatus

After Liechtenstein we had the afternoon to explore Lucerne. This marks my third time being in the city!

Lucerne has so much natural beauty and everything about it is lovely. It’s situated on the lake surrounded by the Alps … what more could you want?!

We stayed at hotel Des Alpes where we stayed before. Lucerne is such a great city to walk around- we were right next to the chapel bridge and church. 

The Chapel Bridge is pretty special. It is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe, as well as the world’s oldest surviving truss bridge. As you walk along the bridge, you’ll notice interior paintings dating back to the 17th century. 

The famous Jesuit Church got its claim to fame for being the first major baroque style church built in Switzerland north of the Alps.

Lucerne is also famous for the lion monument. I did not see the monument this time around, but I’ve seen it two other times before. It commemorates the Swiss guards that were killed in Paris during the French revolution. If you look at the statue, the lion has been pierced by a spear, which symbolizes their loyalty and sacrifice.

Day 6: we went to Mount Pilatus. Last time we were here we went to Mount Titlis. (I think I liked Mount Titlis better.) 

There are many ways to travel to and from Mount Pilatus. We took the Panorama gondola and then cable car. Mike and I stopped and did the summer toboggan on the way up.

Some views from the top:

We then took the world’s steepest cogwheel railway back down. (Reaches a maximum gradient of 48%)

We probably spent 4 hours in total - going up, stopping for the toboggan, walking around at the top, going back down… We were lucky to have such a nice day with clear views! It was still pretty warm even being up that high. I think Mount Titlis had prettier views and they had really good ice cream! LOL 

I think anyone visiting Lucerne should spend at least two days there- one exploring the city and one doing an excursion like Titlis or Pilatus.

Must do while in Lucerne: watch the sunset 

Next up: Zermatt! 

Liechtenstein

Day 5: I was most excited about this DayTrip adventure (Füssen to Lucerne) because we would be stopping in Liechtenstein!! (Country #35 for me!!) 

Fun facts about Liechtenstein:

-Around 37,000 people live there

-It’s a semi-constitutional monarchy headed by the Prince of Liechtenstein 

-It’s the 6th smallest country in the world (62 sq miles)

-It has one of the lowest crime rates in the world 

-It’s the worlds leading manufacturer of false teeth

We stopped in Vaduz which is the capital. We drove up to see the castle, but it is not open to the public as the Prince actively lives there!  

We then ate lunch, I bought my country magnet, got an official Liechtenstein stamp in my passport, and walked around the town! 

They have a postal museum (which we did not go in), but it was fun to see all the stamps like this one on the streets! 

We only spent a couple hours here, just walking around the town and having lunch… Lichtenstein

is a very small country so I imagine most people don’t spend a whole lot of time here. 

After our stop, we drove the rest of the way and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon/evening in Lucerne!

Next post will talk about our afternoon exploring and the next day visiting Mt Pilatus from Lucerne! 

Neuschwanstein

Day 4:  We left Rothenburg and we used DayTrip again for our private transfer to Fussen. We stopped in Ulm along the way. Ulm is famous for having the tallest steeple in the world. Ulm Minster stands at 530 feet tall. 

Ulm was mainly just a lunch stop, time to stretch our legs, and restroom break, but I did go inside the church and snap a few pictures. I probably could’ve spent more time in Ulm, but we had a tight schedule to get to our next stop.

When I went to Europe roughly 20 years ago (yikes!! I swear I’m not that old!) we went to Neuschwanstein and took a tour inside the castle.

I don’t remember a whole lot about it because it wasn’t really of interest to me. 
We had people in our group this time around though that wanted to stop there so we added it to our itinerary. Unpopular opinion: I think it’s slightly overrated. 

Do to unforeseen cirumstances I did not go inside the castle this time around, but some of the others did.  The key takeaway I got from them was that it was hot inside the castle and the tour was rushed. (so I’m not really sad that I missed it)

My husband also added that they were not many rooms to see, and that only a small fraction of the castle was ever finished. Going into it, he thought he would be able to see more of the castle than he did.  

Seeing it from the outside was good enough for me! (And technically I did tour inside 20 years ago even though I don’t remember much about it.)

A little bit of history: Neuschwanstein castle was built for King Ludwig II. The construction started in 1867 and it was nearly completed in 1886.  (almost 20 years later!) The castle was intended to be a personal retreat for the king. It has over 200 rooms. Neuschwanstein has also significantly impacted pop culture -the sleeping beauty castle, which is located in Disneyland was inspired by it.

Our hotel in Fussen was called Hotel Hirsch. It was a lovely hotel and they had a fantastic restaurant! The waiter helped rate our Deutsch speaking abilities. Sadly, he only gave me a 6.5 :(

I did, however, have my favorite meal of the trip here! It was a Swiss wurstsalat! So yummy!! Not what I expected at all, but delicious!! 

Rothenburg pt 2

Our itinerary:

We flew into Frankfurt and we arranged a private transfer through DayTrip. I’ve never used this company before, but they basically offer private transfers between cities with the option to add sight seeing stops along the way. This is offered in many countries around the world and when you have a big group that wants to travel together it just makes sense! (Coming from suburban America we aren’t too savvy when it comes to trains, buses, and subways! We also didn’t want to rent a car and drive ourselves.)

Our driver was great, very friendly, and we had a pit stop in Creglingen. This was mainly just to stretch our legs and give us a little something to do before we were able to check into our hotel. 

Once we got to Rothenburg we dropped our bags off at the Hotel Gerberhaus. We found a restaurant to have lunch at and (!!!) this is where I reunited with Carla!! It was so good to see her after 7 years. 

Our hotel was in a great location- within walking distance of everything! We stayed within the town walls the whole time. PSA: If you visit in the summer, it is HOT and a lot of hotels don't have air conditioning. 

After lunch we did the Kathe Wohlfahrt- Christmas Market and climbed the Town Hall tower (220 steps to the top!) 

Outside the Christmas market

Inside the Christmas market

 

Top of the tower!

We also explored the Castle Gate and Burggarten

Next day we walked the wall and discovered some really cool things! We walked to the Spital Bastion from the wall which is the most fortified section. What's cool is you can freely explore on your own- we wondered into the courtyard area and we even found some old cannons.

Walking on the wall

Viewing the courtyard from a window

Exploring

Found the cannon!

View from the window

Bridge by Spital Bastion

We also did the Night Watchman Tour tour which is a must do while in town! It provides a fascinating and entertaining account of Rothenburg's history and it is really interesting and well done!! 

ALSO... DON'T MISS THE GELATO!!!!!!

More from our trip coming soon.....

Rothenburg pt 1

WE ARE BACK! BACK AGAIN! 

We (okay, I) floated an idea of a family trip a couple years ago and last week we finally made it! (Mike and I, my parents, and Mike's mom and sister)

I planned and organized the whole trip based on my favorite places and places I knew our family would like. 

Stop #1 Background:

Back in 2007, I visited Rothenburg, Germany and fell in love. Rothenburg ob der Tauber is famous for its well-preserved medieval architecture and fairytale atmosphere. It's known for its intact city walls, cobblestone streets, and it has a number of original buildings dating back to the Middle Ages. I knew our moms would love it! I was also very eager to go back as it's officially one of my favorite cities in the entire WORLD. 

Iconic photo op

So many good photo ops

Walking the wall

Almost group photo-just missing my dad!

Not only that, but it has been SIX years since I've seen my German sister so a reunion was LONG OVERDUE!!! 

Reunited with my German Sister! 

I first met Carla online back in 2012. We didn't know each other, but we decided to spend 2 months traveling New Zealand together. The rest is history! (This is seriously such a cool story- maybe I'll make a seperate post about it)

Anyway, Carla is one of my very best friends! Even though we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like, the memories we've shared together are PRICELESS. We spent two months in New Zealand together, met up a few years later in Spain to do some traveling, met up a few years after that in Amsterdam and Hamburg where she got to meet my dad and my husband who were traveling with me, and now reunited in Rothenburg!! 


Up next, I'll tell you all the things to do and see in Rothenburg and why you need to spend more than one day there! 

Cedar Point

Spent the weekend up at Cedar Point and got to try out their newest ride, Sirens Curse! (Rode it twice over the weekend!)

I have always LOVED Cedar Point - not only do they have amazing coasters, but I also have such fond memories going there growing up! 

Over the weekend we rode:

Top Thrill 2

Sirens Curse (2x)

Sky Hawk 

Maverick (2x)

Magnum

Gemeni 

Steel vengeance 

Gate keeper 

Wild mouse

Rougarou 

Millennium 

We missed out on Iron Dragon, Raptor, Corkscrew, Power Tower, and Valravn which was okay because none of those rides are “favorites” anyway. 

I’ll do my rankings of CP coasters just like I did for Six Flags:

5 star - Steel Vengeance and Sirens Curse !!!

4 star- Millennium, Maverick, Gemeni, Magnum, Sky Hawk

3 star- wild mouse 

2 star- Rougarou, Gate Keeper 

1 star-  

In line for Sirens Curse!

Raptor, Valravn, Corkscrew and Iron Dragon are not rated at this time because I did not ride them on this trip. I have ridden them in the past, but it has been a bit and I don’t want to give them the wrong rating! I’m guessing I would put Corkscrew and Iron Dragon at 2 stars as well. I remember liking Raptor in the past, but in recent years I think I had a less favorable experience.  

 

Fun fact: Growing up, Corkscrew was my very first “upside down” ride… My dad told me it didn't go upside down and basically forced me to ride it. He said if I didn't ride it, we were going home. (!!) So, yes, it is his fault that I am an adrenaline junkie. :)

 I remember not liking (Corkscrew) in recent years, but there’s something still nostalgic about that ride.  Magnum was my favorite growing up which then transferred to Millennium after it was built. They are still good rides, but Steel and Sirens are current winners in my book!

Steel Vengeance combines the thrills of a wood coaster with the smoothness of a steel coaster. It is the longest hybrid coaster in the world and reaches top speeds of 74mph. 

Sirens Curse is our first tilt coaster! It has a 160ft lift hill where the train then tilts 90 degrees. So FUN!!! (Providing the ride doesn’t break down!) 

This trip to Cedar Point wasn’t as ideal because of the weather…it was really hot, there was some rain, and the rides kept breaking down (due to weather and mechanical issues) .... I couldn’t believe how many issues they were having with so many of the rides!

I still love Cedar Point though and I am thankful we have two of the best amusement parks in the country in our home state!! 

Colorado

 As we were leaving Moab, UT we wanted to fill the car up with gas... Our GPS told us there was a place called, "Papa Joe's Gas & Go" so we figured we would swing by there to fill up and to get some snacks for the road... the best part is that it was converted years ago and this is what we saw: 

We still got (rather expensive) gas and took a look around in the store. SO not what we expected, but the store was kind of Jungle Jim's-ish. They had a lot of unique and quirky things.  We were unsure at first when we saw the new name, but we were glad we stopped! Yes, it might be overpriced, but the experience was worth it -unexpected and fun! 

NOW for Colorado.....

We drove to Glenwood Springs and it is a BEAUTIFUL town! 

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park -America's only mountaintop theme park! To get there, you have to take a scenic gondola ride to the top of Iron Mountain.  They have a couple of roller coasters, a giant canyon swing, cave tours, laser tag, a drop tower, alpine coaster and more!  

I, of course, love any kind of thrill/adventure activity so this was right up my alley!  We did the Alpine coaster, giant canyon swing, crystal tower, defiance roller coaster, Glenwood canyon flyer, cliffhanger roller coaster, and mine wheel.  We did not get a chance to do either of the cave tours, but maybe on my next visit! 

I was pleasantly surprised that we didn't have to wait in any line except for the alpine coaster.  We must have went on the perfect day! It's a beautiful park and I enjoyed the views and uniqueness of this attraction! 

Next on the agenda was Iron Mountain Hot Springs.  Their website lists the following amenities: Geothermal pools, inspired pools, large mineral family pool, inspired jetted spa, bathhouse with luxury shower products, cafés and bars.

We stayed for a couple hours and tried out some different pools/spas. The nice thing about this was that it was very scenic and beautiful! 

There was a packaged deal we got in on which included both the adventure park and the hot springs. We were able to fit both in comfortably in one day. 

Sadly, our flight left from Denver the following day so we didn't get to do much else in Colorado. I really enjoyed Glenwood Springs and would like to go back to Colorado to see and do more things! It looks absolutely beautiful - just the drive to Denver!