20090502 - Saturday - Luzern

We got up early and headed out for the walking tour of Luzern. It was an odd day alternating between rain and sun. We went to the "Hug" for a lunch of Rosti - a Swiss specialty - butter fried potatoes with various toppings. In the afternoon we headed for Mount Pelatus in bright sunshine. The mountain is just outside of town and is reached by a series of cable cars, the last going almost vertically to the 2200 metre summit! In the evening we went out for a Traditional Swiss Cheese fondue - probably a kilo of cheese and a loaf of bread each. As a matter of fact we took the rest of the bread and joined tourists and locals alike feeding the swans in the river in front of our hotel. We then strolled across the wooden bridge that was part of the fortification of the town, down the other side to one of the other bridges and ended up having cappuccino in a water-front brasserie. Our hotel was quite nice with a good breakfast which was included. The safari bag provided lunches. The stay was made more pleasant and informative by Selma the night clerk. She had just arrived back from studying in California and was able to interpret what we wanted (as Canadians) and provide us with a look into the reality of day to day life in Switzerland.