@Mickey D's in Switzerland Again

If you wanted to scroll back through this blog to an entry a few years ago, you would find your hard working blogger sitting in this very same McDonalds in Interlaken, Switzerland availing myself of the free one hour of internet time. For the price of a coffee we get an hour of internet, a big discount over the prices at our hotel.

We met up with Caitie on Monday at the Milan airport. Our meeting place was a little vague and a bus driver sent me to the wrong place to locate her, but after an hour of pacing the airport we found each other and hit the road to Switzerland. She looks happy and beautiful and she entertained us as we navigated the roads towards Milan and north into Switzerland. Pietro, Catie's boyfriend wisely recommended that we get GPS with our car and it performed beautifully in helping us navigate the roads. We hit lots of traffic in the spot going north where the two lanes of traffic merge to become one for traveling through a 17 km tunnel through the mountains. We sat in traffic for an hour crawling to the tunnel entrance, yet the rest of the trip was trouble-free.

Our first Swiss night was spent in Lucerne. We found a triple room that looked like a dorm room; Pergo floor, three twin beds pushed up against the walls with duvets folded in half on each, a tiny table and a sink. The toilet and shower were down the hall; one set for men and the other for women. All this plush living for only $150 per night. Parking was another $5. No internet and no window shades. We went to bed with the bright lights of street lamps shining in our windows.

Caitie and I went for a long walk through the beautiful old town. I will download the photos tonight. The river was sparkling in the sunset as we walking across the wooden bridge that is the trademark of this charming city. After walking for a few hours we stopped at the grocery beneath the trainstation to buy the elements of a picnic dinner. At 8:15 in the evening on a holiday (Easter Monday) that was the only shop open. The three of us sat on our individual twin beds and eat our wonderful meals, a roast beef sandwich for Mike and salads for Caitie and me, which was composed of a bag of lettuce each with a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar. A giant come down from those cruise ship feasts.

Breakfast this morning was typical Swiss hotel food- musseli, cornflakes, toast and hard boiled eggs. We are going through withdrawls from the cruise.

After breakfast we packed up the car and headed out to Interlaken, one of our favorite Swiss cities. As we headed up into the mountains we passed a sign which I interpreted as saying the mountain pass was closed, so we had to turn around and head in another direction. Nevertheless, with a 9:00 departure we arrived in Interlaken at 10:30, checked into the hotel we stayed in last time (the good old Tuscana) and walked to a favorite restaurant for lunch. After salads and minnestrone we walked around the shops and found the greatest cold weather hat for Caitie (a woolen knitted red cap with the Swiss cross on each side) and a necessary Swiss hat for Mike who lost his hat a week or two back and needed something to defend agains the warm Swiss sun. It was a beautiful sunny day all day.

So, tonight we are tucked in for the night, with picnic supplies in the frig (ham, cheese, bread, fruit and more bags of lettuce, with the treats from the nearby chocolate shop for desert).

Good night. Love to all.
Deanne