What a fun, marvelous day it was! Paula drove with her father, Hans Peter, to pick us up at the hotel. We then turned around and headed back to Bienne (or Biel, since it is a bi-lingual city of French and Swiss-German speakers), a total of about 3 hours for them! Paula got "car sick" twice, so we had to stop for fresh air, and then we had to stop at a backerei for some vermicelles and cookies, but we made it to her home, where Hans Peter dropped us off and w...

This morning was on-our-own. It was nice to relax in bed, listening to the early morning rain through our open window. Church bells in the distance. The city awakening. After breakfast in the hotel, we walked the Kapellbrucke (Chapel Bridge) that leads across the Reuss River into which Lake Luzern flows. This is identical to the Spreuerbrucke John led us across yesterday, but most of the paintings were destroyed in a fire, never to be restored. Still love...

Did you notice the new spelling? I am getting so European, it's frightening! We disembarked from the boat at 9 a.m. this morning and boarded our bus for about a 90 minute ride to Luzern. Behind us, the bus towed a little baggage trailer, which transported all our suitcases and any carry-on luggage we didn't need to have with us. As we traveled through Switzerland, the new guide who joined us (John Mallidies) narrated about the country and its culture. The R...

Exciting day today! It started out interesting and calm enough with a lecture on the country and some of its history and customs. Then we left the boat for a walking tour of downtown. First we boarded a bus for a ten minute drive to the tram, which we boarded with billets (tickets) that Steven provided, warning us to carry it with us at all times when riding the tram because, although no one ever checks, it could happen and since we have no identification ...

Yes, that is a strange name for a French town, but with the borders so close, this area known as Alsace has changed hands so many times that the people took down the French street signs when the Germans came in and saved the signs to put up again when the French retook the area, then took down the German signs and saved them for when the Germans came back. So Steven introduced the town, as Riquewihr, France-Germany-France-Germany-France! A little of both cult...