2014 Trip Selected!

Learning how to play the alpenhorn. (2012)

After much agonizing and discussion, we have finally chosen a tour for our 2014 trip to Europe. It is always difficult to select a tour. We always try to keep a few factors in mind when making our selection. The first consideration is always enjoyment. Is this a trip that our participants are going to enjoy? What kind of new experiences are they going to have on this trip? The second factor that we consider is price. The price of air travel has skyrocketed since I started doing these trips in 2006. This has especially affected those of us looking to get to Europe from the Left Coast. Because of this, we tend to look for trips that are at least ten days long. This really gives our travelers a little more value for their travel dollar. Of course, the cost of transportation also limits our geographic reach. We try to offset this by selecting tours that offer a variety of experiences. Travel, when done correctly, is an investment in the future life of the traveler. It should be a transformative experience that opens one up to even greater experiences and opportunities in life.

A summer day at 10,000 feet (Switzerland, 2012)

So, which tour have we selected? Our tour for 2014 is called "Edelweiss" (a beautiful alpine flower). This 11-day excursion is centered around Austria, Bavaria, and Switzerland. We start off with three nights in Vienna, where we will tour the Schönbrunn Palace and learn the Vienese Waltz. Then we dart off to Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart, to tour a fortress high on a hill and a salt mine deep under the mountains. After our Austrian adventures we head for Munich, the capital of Bavaria, stopping along the way to tour "Mad" King Ludwig's grand palace in the middle of a lake. Our time in Munich also includes a tour of Nymphenburg Palace (the summer palace of the Wittelsbachs) and the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. On the way to our final stop in Switzerland we will visit Neuschwanstein, Ludwig's most famous fairy-tale castle. We end our tour in the beautiful village of Engelberg, high up in the Swiss Alps.

Visit the trip site for more details:

Click Here for Trip Site

 

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Day 8: Engelberg & Luzern

Hot chocolate (NOT Swiss Miss)!

I'm a little sad that our visit to Switzerland has to be so short. It is often said of Switzerland that the Swiss just sit back and let other people do things, that nothing ever happens in this corner of the alps. After all, Albert Einstein came to Switzerland to escape the militarism and intensity of Germany. I personally believe that doctors should be able to prescribe a Swiss vacation for patients suffering from stress and overwork (I guess that would be the entire United States). The alpine air is wonderful stuff for sleeping. The intensely green landscape is enough to melt away even the toughest stress. There is nothing like waking up to a breakfast that includes ingredients that are so local that the cheese has the picture of the dairy farmer who made sitting next to the serving plate. That is the kind of place that Switzerland is.

Fearless!

After that breakfast, we embarked on our most adventurous day trip yet. We climbed aboard three different cable cars to make the ascent to the top of Mt. Titlis, 10,000 feet in altitude. The first cable car was a pretty standard affair, a little six-passenger bubble that took us straight up to the second station on the mountain. The second cable car was more like a city bus. It held 80 passengers and took us to the third station. The final cable car was the most impressive. It was shaped like a giant hockey puck and rotated as it made its way up the final stretch to the top, giving everybody a fantastic 360-view. This was definitely not easy going for those who are afraid of heights, especially when the cars started swinging a little as we crossed each tower.

Is this the line for the Matterhorn?

Once we reached the top, we made a visit to a glacier cave. This was quite an amazing, if a little frigid, experience. I expected to see Darth Vader come swaggering around a corner followed by a squad of snowtroopers. If you know what I am talking about, then I congratulate you on being as big nerd as me. Back to the stuff that matters. We also had the opportunity to walk out onto the glacier itself. The summer temperature at the top was a balmy 0 degrees Celsius. For those of you who don't follow the metric system, that's the freezing point of water. The wind came howling across the summit, pushing the clouds at incredible speeds. Forty-five minutes and three cable cars later we were back in Engelberg, where the weather was 77 degrees and sunny.

Beautiful Luzern

Another 45 minues brought us down out of the mountains to the lakeside city of Luzern. Luzern is an ancient and very important town on the lake. Luzern sits at the mouth of the river that empties the lake into the lower elevations. The people of Luzern are responsible for regulating the flow of the water out of the lake in order to control its level. When the snow melts in the spring they open up the gates a bit more in order to prevent the towns that dot the lakeshore from flooding. Today, Luzern is a relatively sleepy little city (nothing like Paris or London). For me, it's the perfect place to have a little picnic next to the lake, and to buy a sweet Swiss Army knife and some chocolate.

 

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Day 7: On the Road to Engelberg

The beautiful view from Brienz

This morning was another early-morning wake to catch a train (4:45). This was the smoothest ride on the TGV I have ever had. Thomas was able to secure a luggage compartment at the end of our coach to store our luggage. Without this compartment we would have to fight for space in the small racks at each end. Three hours after leaving Paris we were in Geneva. From Geneva, it was another six hours by bus, with a stop in Brienz, to our home in Engelberg.

She's just so... wooden!

The highlight of our short stop in Brienz was a trip to watch a Swiss master woodcarver. It was absolutely amazing to watch him fashion a figure of a man playing the alpenhorn from a simple block of wood. It would have been fantastic to take one of these little wooden figures home, but even the smallest costs 150 CHF (about $160).

Beautiful Engelberg

Arriving at the Edelweiss Hotel in Engelberg is like coming home again. I have stayed at this hotel four times now, and each time the experience is more amazing than the last. Suzanne and Peter, the hotel's owners, are the most gracious hosts. This trip was a very special treat. Peter drove all of us up to an alpenhut above Engelberg for a traditional Swiss dinner and an alpenhorn playing contest. The contest was over who could play and hold the longest note on the alpenhorn. After a furious contest, it come down to the top two finalists, Eddie and Matthew. At the end of it all, Matthew stood alone as the alpenhorn champion, with a time of 29 seconds. His trophy was an alpenhorn playing figurine. After this intense competition, we settled down for a dinner of rösti (potato pancakes with ham and cheese) with meringue and ice cream for desert (very Swiss).

Go Eddie, go!

Our Swiss champion

After dinner Suzanne took us on a 40 minute hike down the mountain and back into Engelberg. Our journey down the mountain took us through some of the most beautiful, green pastures and deep dark forests I have ever seen. We could hear the cowbells somewhere off in the distance, and met up with a couple of Swiss goats (wearing goat bells). This evening was a truly Swiss experience. Tomorrow we have a more civilized wake-up call (7:30) for our trip up (10,000 feet up) to Mount Titlis.

The view from the top ain't bad.

The road home

 

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We Have Hotels!

 

With all of the excitement (and general chaos) surrounding the end of the school year and graduation at Westview I almost forgot about the other bit of exciting news. We have hotels confirmed for our summer tour! I spent a little time checking out all of the hotels on our itinerary. I checked out the neighborhoods, the proximity to public transportation, and the general quality of the hotels. ACIS never fails to book us in some amazing locations and hotels. For example, our hotel in Paris is not just within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower, it's practically across the street! My favorite hotel on the list, however, is the Hotel Edelweiss in Engelberg, Switzerland. The Edelwiess is really a treat. This Guilded Age hotel was built in 1908, and features some of the most stunning views of the mountains surrounding Engelberg. The hotel is owned by Susanne and Peter Kuhn and their family. They are always warm and gracious hosts. I'm looking forward to being back in this Swiss gem.

For more information about our hotels and the tour itinerary visit the trip site:

http://www.acis.com/tripsite/?key=RFJjUDRLSFMwY3ZXQVpPWmVwaz0%3D

Free Time Suggestions: Lucerne and Engelberg

Lucerne and Engelberg are going to be a nice break from the craziness of Paris. I always like to build in a couple of overnights in a smaller town to allow myself to refresh and rebuild between big cities. Engelberg, a ski and hiking resort town high in the Alps, is a perfect place in which to do this. The alpine air is crisp and fresh, even in the middle of the summer. I love to leave my window open just a little bit as I sleep under the big down comforter that is common to German and Swiss hotels. Engelberg is also where I like to take a long after-dinner walk through town, past the monastery, and into the pastures just outside of town. Be prepared for chilly weather! Switzerland can be cold and rainy even in July!



Think of our afternoon in Lucerne as an opportunity to slow down and relax for a moment. The Guilded Age of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has left the biggest mark on Lucerne. Paddlewheel steamers still deliver sightseers to destinations around Lake Lucerne. Take some time to wander around the narrow, automobile-free streets of the old town. Lucerne is a great place to do some shopping for chocolate and Swiss Army knives (or some wardrobe refreshing at H&M). While most of Lucerne has been shaped by the nineteenth century, there is still a segment of the old city walls left for you to explore (just head uphill). Lucerne also plays host to a gallery of modern masters like Picasso, Klimt, and Klee at the Rosengart Collection (http://www.rosengart.ch/foundation.php5).



Restaurants in Switzerland can be expensive because only 17% of Switzerland can be utilized for agricultural purposes (the price for living in the Alps). That's why I always make sure to take only what I know I will be able to eat at breakfast and other meals in the hotel, especially if I am staying at a family-run hotel like the Edelweiss. That is also why I take the opportunity in Lucerne to grab some quick food and a beer at a supermarket (there's a good one in the train station) and have a picnic on the lake. After lunch with the ducks and the swans, you could take a short trip on the lake on a foot-powered paddleboat.


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