Lucerne, Switzerland: My Little Piece of Heaven

 "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" Psalm 8:9

In the summer of 2008, I was extremely blessed to go on an European trip with two of my best friends from high school and our moms. What an incredible experience it was and probably why I was so eager to move here when given the opportunity. Our whirlwind 12-day adventure began in Rome and ended in London with several stops along the way. After Venice and before Paris, nestled in the Alps, our bus somehow managed to traverse the narrow, zig-zag roads which lead us to the quaint town of Lucerne, Switzerland. It was love at first sight.

Six years later, I convinced my husband to bring me back to the place which had enchanted me for a romantic Valentine's weekend. Hallelujah! It was just as picturesque as I remembered, yet a little chillier! 

Amazingly enough, we live only four hours north of Lucerne so the drive was easy and increasingly beautiful as we approached the Alps. I should note that if you travel by car to Switzerland, you will be required to buy a vignette (windshield sticker) at the boarder for 40CHF. For more info on the Swiss vignette, click here. Also, do NOT speed in Switzerland. They have speed cameras everywhere!! Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure we will be finding out how much one of those suckers cost. :(

As Marriott Rewards members, we chose to stay at the Renaissance Lucerne which happens to be the world's smallest Renaissance. It had a boutique feel with a clean and sophisticated design and it's ranked top 10 on Trip Advisor. We arrived on Friday (Valentine's Day) and received a complimentary upgrade for being Marriott Rewards members- Bonus! Who doesn't love an unexpected upgrade?? 

Our room has a balcony with a view? Be still my heart! Happy V-Day!

Confession- we completely slacked on making V-day dinner reservations prior to our arrival. (Oops!) Therefore, when the kind gentleman at the front desk called around asking restaurants if they could squeeze us in, it was no surprise that the only place who had availability, La Terrazza, was for 5:30pm. Based on the way the gentleman spoke, it sounded like a low-key Italian restaurant because as he said "they serve pizzas." Let me just say that I am SO glad the other "nicer" Italian restaurants had been booked because nothing on the menu was below 25CHF (including the pizzas which started closer to 30). Since A. it was Valentine's Day and B. we hadn't been out to a nice dinner recently, we rolled with it and had an amazing evening!

Saturday | Day Two

According to the forecast, Saturday would have the best weather to take full advantage of seeing Lucerne. So, first things first... Starbucks via the oldest wooden bridge in Europe called Chapel Bridge.

Chapel Bridge

I wish this was a cruel joke, but sadly it wasn't and let's also remember the Swiss franc is stronger than the dollar. Ouch.

Old Town

 Swan Lake

  After getting some lunch, I took Richard to my favorite spot in the city and perhaps world. Seriously. I could sit here forever and enjoy the Lord's creation. As much as I adore the beach (and being warm), there's something about the mountains that proclaim the majesty of God. 

I call this Swan Lake because at any given time you can see up to 25 swans. However, don't trust these elegant-looking birds...they may take a snap at you like they did to me in 2008. I didn't even chase them- promise! (something I am known for doing)

The Dying Lion

The Dying Lion monument (much bigger than you expect) was made to commemorate the 600+ Swiss soldiers who died during the French Revolution. This is a great place to people watch!

 

 

 The Nine Towers

We were excited to climb the wall and see the Nine Towers not to mention an amazing view of the city. Problem- the wall is only open for visitors during the summer and even still it's only a portion that you can walk.

We still got to see some lovely views of the bright, colorful housing in a part of the city I'd never seen before.

Hello, creation! Definitely worth the climb despite not being able to go on the wall.

Sunday | Day Two

As planned, the weather on Sunday was rainy off-and-on which made for a relaxing day mostly inside watching the Olympics via BBC (Team USA > Team GB) while Richard worked on grad school homework. Also, I had twisted my ankle on our last day in Berlin so a day off after a busy sight-seeing Saturday was much needed/appreciated.

But how many times are you in Lucerne?? Thanks to Advil, another $9 latte (ridiculous, I know) and a study break, we took a walk despite the gross weather.

Monday | Day Three

Of course on the day we had to leave the sun was shining and the skies were back to bright blue. Since I'm married to someone who loves to get an early start to a road trip, we compromised with one final walk across the Chapel Bridge and a quick peek inside the Jesuit Church. Last but certainly not least, we stopped to pick up some Swiss chocolate- YUM!

 
Thank you for experiencing one of my favorite places in the world! I hope I have convinced you to put Lucerne on your "Bucket List." You will not be sorry you did!

Tschüss!

Berlin | Day Two: The Wall and More

Let's be honest. It's completely impossible to see Berlin in a weekend. As one of the most historic cities in all of Europe, this place has seen a lot especially in the last 100 years. We barely scratched the surface on this quick trip seeing and experiencing the major Berlin sites, but that just means we need to come back again preferably when the weather is nicer.

 My first impression of Berlin: Windy & lots of graffiti. Some parts of Berlin look pretty grim as though the war ended recently while other parts are very modern with swanky hotels, high-end shops and fine dining. Speaking of hotels, we stayed at the Berlin Wyndham Grand thanks to a former co-worker of mine who now working for Wyndham in Chicago and got us a 'friends and family rate' (thanks, Kenny!).

Berlin Wyndhm Grand

A look at our room with the very European dual comforters.

Our sunset view across the street from the Berlin Tempodrom.

Day two began with a brief train ride to Alexanderplatz and more importantly discovering a taste of home (literally): Dunkin Donuts! Back in the States I wouldn't have been this excited about DD, but when you're an ocean away, it's funny how the little familiar sites suddenly become a big deal.

'America runs on Dunkin' or perhaps they use a different slogan here?

After we got our DD fix, we made our way toward the Brandenburg Gate hitting the highlights along the  famous Unter Den Linden street in former East Berlin.

Neptune Fountain in front of St. Mary's Church.

The beautiful Berliner Dom.

Humboldt University

Among the many notable alums, Karl Marx graduated from Humboldt University and Albert Einstein was a professor here. Directly across the street from here is the Bebelplatz which is where the Nazis burned some 20,000 books from the university's library written by 'opponents of the regime.' Makes me thing of Indiana Jones, anyone else? Fun Fact: HU is home to 29 Nobel Prize winners... nbd.

Brandenburg Gate

The iconic 18th century Brandenburg Gate. You know it's a big deal because you can find on the Starbucks Berlin mug!

We came across this memorial dedicated to the more than 220,000 gypsies who were killed by the Nazis.

I learned that the triangle in the center represents the shape of the badges concentration camp prisoners were made to wear. A fresh flower is placed in the middle each day.

Reichstag Building

Originally built in 1894, the Reichstag Building houses the German Parliament. As you can imagine, it was severely damaged during WWII and the Cold War. After major repairs plus the addition of the glass dome, it was reopened in 1999. It's free to visit, but make sure you register here at least 2 days in advance to get access to the dome and rooftop terrace. I cannot wait to come back when the weather warms up!

Berlin Drain Cover

Throughout our European adventures, I've noticed that most European cities have personalized drain covers. How artsy is that? Beauty in the details.

Checkpoint Charlie

The little, white shack you see in the median the only crossing point for Allied forces between East and West Berlin until the reunification of Germany in 1990. You literally had to have a passport to travel from one side to the other.

Here it is, folks... The Berlin Wall (this is the western side).

The difference between freedom and communism was only a few inches wide.

 In the 28 years the Berlin Wall was active, it is estimated that somewhere between 100-250 people were killed trying to escape to the west; however, more than 5,000 successfully made the journey.

The brick foundation is the site of the former Nazi Gestapo and SS headquarters.

If you've never seen the speech President Reagan gave in reference to the Berlin Wall, do yourself a favor and watch it. However, if you don't have time to see the whole thing now, here's his famous quote... "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." 

What's left of an old bahnhof (train station) after WWII.

One last DD coffee for the road and a fond farewell to one of the friendly Berlin bears around town.

Tschüss!

Berlin | Day One: The Concert

Before we get to Berlin, let's rewind...

It all began when I was driving with my windows down and rocking out to "Call Me Maybe" on a beautiful autumn day in Wiesbaden in our new (to us) Jetta. Suddenly, I see a flash out of the corner of my eye. This flash isn't a good flash, but rather a I-just-got-a-speeding-ticket-oh-crap! flash. You see, despite what you've heard about being able to speed in Germany without consequences, it is a dirty lie. Probably sarted by the German Polizei to give foreigners this notion that you can put the 'pedal to the metal' 24/7. False. There are portions of the autobahn which don't have speed limits, but most of the time you have a max of 120kmh.

Since this (unfortunately) wasn't our first flashy ticket we knew that in about four to six weeks we would get a ticket by mail in a plain white envelope to the name and address listed under our registration. The ticket includes a photo of the driver at the time of the incident, a photo of the front license plate timestamped, how fast you were traveling and the amount of the ticket.

After I got over being upset that I was 99 percent sure I had just gotten a speeding ticket, I started thinking how hilarious the photo was going to be of me rocking out to Carly Rae Jepsen's annoyingly catchy song. I pictured the DMV equivalent (TUV) having a good laugh (except Germans don't laugh) at the crazy American dancing and singing in the car.

Weeks came and went with no tickets in the mail until one day I saw it. Or what I thought was it. This envelope was also very plain and addressed to Richard (like I expected since his name is on the registration). So, of course I ripped it open without another thought. Oops. Instead of a speeding ticket was two concert tickets with not my photo, but Miss Taylor Swift's photo underneath "THE RED TOUR." I may or may not have screamed with joy... I'll leave that up to you. The concert was to be held in Berlin on February 7 at the O2 World Arena.

Fast Forward.

A beautiful and windy five and half hour drive to Berlin got us there just in time to change clothes, grab a quick bite to eat and head over the arena.{Side note: my husband took the day off work to take me to see Taylor Swift since the concert was on a Friday evening. He's amazing. I know.}

Also, I'd like to disclaim that you will never, ever, ever see me in red & black again. This Auburn girl doesn't do those colors, but I made an exception since this Zara dress was super cute and on sale (great find, Michelle!) and I had to have an accent necklace in the color/name of Taylor's tour. OK, I feel better now that I've gotten that confession off my chest. :) Oh and War Eagle.

"Lovin' him was RED"

YAY! WE LOVE TAYLOR SOOO MUCH!!

"Holy Ground"

"I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22!"

"All Too Well"

"Love Story"

"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"

The concert was incredible! It was more like a production and less like a concert which took me back to my Nsync days. In the words of Fat Amy from Pitch Perfect, Taylor crushed it! Even Richard said it was a good show although he wouldn't go on the record stating he actually enjoyed himself. Good thing they sell adult beverages at these shows for the men! But seriously, if you get the chance to see her either in this tour or another, do it! I don't care what her haters say (cough... Lindsay...) she is an extremely talented singer/songwriter. Not to mention she has mastered the hair flip/head bang thing while she's playing the guitar and piano. Impressive!

Oh and to answer your question... I still have not received a speeding ticket! :)

Tschüss!