We arrived at t"Sand square at Bruges where we had a lovely walk around the city. Beautiful lace and tapestry shops. Passed by the canal and fish market and found the Notre Dame cathedral where Michelangelo 's Madonna & child is situated. After our interesting though short stay we proceeded onto Brussels. We were dropped off at the GrandPlatz where we walked to see various statues,shops etc. We had dinner at a restaurant in the square and then went to the Renaissance Hotel for our overnight stay. We had a bit of rain today but not too bad.

After buffet breakfast we headed for Amsterdam . When we arrived we did a canal cruise. We had some lunch and then visited a diamond factory.No purchases here though! We got to the hotel late afternoon and decided to have dinner in. We left here at 7.30 am and drove onto Boppard on the Rhine and had a lovely cruise to St Goar. The coach picked us up and our next stop was Heidelberg. We alighted here and decided that the castle on the hilltop was a good challenge so off we went. After 314 steps (or thereabouts ) we made it to the top. What a great view and the castle was good too! Our stop for tonight was Mannheim we arrived in t he dark and left in the dark! Can't really say much about this except the evening meal was ok and breakfast was good, and there were rabbits on the green as we drove in and out of town. I missed them though !
20th October - We had a great day - a visit in the sunshine to Rhine Falls, Schaffhausen where we took numerous photos and had lunch. It was a beautiful area. Mt Pilatus was our next port of call where we went on the world"s steepest cogwheel to the summit 2312 metre high - just spectacular views. We spent some time walking around and clicking until the camera battery went flat!
Quite exhilarating , so nice to be in the fresh air. We were so fortunate to have a beautiful sunny day. There were remnants of snow from days prior just in the clefts of the rocks. We came down via the gondolas - that was really fun - panoramic views and an interesting look into peoples gardens as we descended the mountain. After an amazing day enjoying God's creativity we came to the Astoria hotel in Lucerne. Dinner at 7pm on the 7th floor was ok. I think the views were better than the meal though. Slept very well after all the fresh air activity today.
It 's Sunday today - miss the familiar folk back home and our usual Church attendance. Tried to Skype family but not successful will try again sometime. After breakfast we visited the Lion Monument which is carved into a natural rock face , it commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in 1792. The sculptor Bertell Thorvaldsen really captures the pathos of the terrible situation. A cruise in the sun again was just delightful - on Lake Lucerne with the mountains all round and the decorative buildings on the shores. Mt Pilatus where we were yesterday rise up as a magnificent back drop. (Switzerland 's 4th largest lake) . We have had a lovely day wandering the city ,getting our free spoon from Bucherer ,visiting the Jesuit church and walking the wooden bridge etc..Starbucks coffee and a lovely schnitzel ciabatta and vanilla pastry for lunch. It' s been a good restful and pleasant sunny Sunday - a great place to be today. After dinner at the hotel we walked to the Lake and went for a ride on the ferris wheel. It was great and the lights looked lovely. Back to the hotel and prepare for travelling onto Innsbruck which is next on the itinerary.