Day 11- Art?

May 9th, 2012 ---

Having checked the forecast last night, I knew today was supposed to be a rainy one. I decided it would be a good day to hit the museums and some giant Imax theatre that was across the lake.

Before leaving the hostel, i had a peak around looking for information about the museums and checked if perhaps there were some coupons or discounts I could use with my Eurail pass because the admission to this huge museum, apparently was a bit pricey.
Well! After I peaked here and there, turns out that big museum i was hoping to check out was the Museum of Transportation! Boring...

Don't get me wrong, all museums are interesting in their own way, but I was hoping to look at more than just transportation stuff. I wanted to check out lots of things!

When I had first arrived in Lucerne and came out of the train station I had noticed that across the street was the KKL Lucerne Museum of Arts. So, I changed my plan and decided to head that way instead.

The building was very beautiful in a modern and architectural way. It was a large, all glass building with part of it jutting out and held up by two large pillars, between the pillars - a large round water fountain.

When inside, I found that the museum was only one level of the building on level K. I jumped in the elevator and made my way upstairs, bought a ticket and to my surprise, I had to put my purse in a locker.

I grabbed my phone and iPod, putting on some RJD2, Emancipator and Röyskopp for a mellow cruise around the museum. As I head through the glass door, I took a right into the first room where I stood looking at photography that some woman took of her covered in mud attempting to blend into a large tree.

Okay....
I keep walking...

Room 2 is full of projectors and televisions showing videos. One video, literally a surveillance tape of a restaurant kitchen, another a girl painting on the bones in her arm, on her arm (then it was start over and repeat).

By this point, I'm recalling an article I had read last night that my friend ha posted on Facebook. It was about how the author, Glen Coco, was sick of pretending, he just didn't "get" art. After attending many, many art shows in his career he thought it was hilarious that we all stand there, staring at an art piece trying to find some greater meaning to it when really your looking at a potted plant on a post.

So I'm walking through this museum, with this article in mind just asking myself "what is considered art?" and "why are these people famous and considered true professional artists when I could've taken the same picture with my iPhone?" On that note, I probably could've taken a better picture on my iPhone -- look at me, I'm an artist! Even based on the many principles of design I've learned over the years, some of this "art" was really just crap.

Please, let's do an experiment. Let's take these 'works of art' and tell these artists to pretend they are students for a day. Have them present in front of my teachers and then sit back and watch as they get torn apart for work that looks like a child got a hold of a disposable camera.

... And really, a surveillance video in a restaurant kitchen? Common. If that's all it took, security guards would be raking in the cash!

I walked around the museum for about an hour or so, until I got to the last room - tables with table cloths that had crayon drawings on them.
I'm done.
To put it bluntly and with some sort of comedy to it: this museum was wack! Hahahaha
Okay, I promise, I'll never say wack again. That felt weird coming from me. Lol

Anyways, I ended up heading out of the museum with a whole day ahead of me and suddenly blue skies! I decided it would be nice to just walk around town for a few hours, see where life would take me.

Well it took me to H&M. Dammit. Soooo many cute clothessss!!! Why was H&M America not as cool as it was here??! After about a solid 30-40mins, I ended up finding a few really, really unique finds and was absolutely thrilled about them! Bring on that cruise! This girl's got a brand new wardrobe! (okay well not a whole wardrobe.. But still!)

After browsing around a little longer I decided to grab a sandwich at a neat little place called Bachmans and then grabbing a small ice cream and walked along the lake.

It turned out to be, really, quite a beautiful day! This may sound funny, but it was like Lucerne was in high definition. The air was crystal clear, the lake so clean, the sky so, so blue, snow-covered mountains in the distance but still reflecting onto the lake and tons of swans hanging out by the shore. Everything was so saturated in natural colors. It was extraordinary.

It was around 5 when I decided to head back to the hostel. I received a message before from that ropes course instructor Kevin, who invited me out for a casual drink by the train station. I thought it would be a nice way to learn a little more about the city and a good way to end Switzerland. So we planned to meet at 8 at the large archway that sits in front of the main station.

I got back to the hostel, read a book for a while, just chilled out, then headed over to meet him.

When I arrived, he greeted me in typical European fashion with a cheek-to-cheek kiss on both sides and then we went into the station to buy two beers at the store.

With beer in hand, we walked along the lake to the park that was right by my hostel and parked it on a bench. Our conversations were pretty hilarious, most involving a lot of hand gestures to help with the German-to-English language barrier.

He had told me that the indoor skate ramp his friends built was right around the corner, to which I thought would be fun to go see! We walk about 5minutes to a garage right beside he train station and as soon as we get close I can hear the sound of skateboards zipping back and forth on a ramp.

The place was really cool! It was a small ramp from wall to wall, with pipes along the edges to grind on. There were drawings all over the walls and music blasting. I met a bunch of locals who showed off their skills while sitting on the above landing with my beer and enjoyed some conversation with one of the guys that had built the place and competes with Kevin. He had to have been like 45 and he skated so well, almost better than the rest of them that we're there! It kind of made me laugh that he was still killin it at his age! Good for him!

We hung out there for about a half hour before making our way to a nearby bar in a hotel on the other side of the train station. It's strange that they play so much American music at the bars, restaurants and shops in Europe. I've noticed it everywhere I have gone. It almost ruins the experience a little bit. It's hard to emerge yourself in a culture when an American top 40 song is playing in the background.

We had a few drinks and danced, a few of Kevin's friends also there and socialising, then he very kindly walked me back to my hostel around 1am where I immediately crashed out with my alarm set for 6am!

Tomorrow: I head to Milano!! :)

KKL Lucerne Museum of Art: Paper Rings?

KKL Lucerne Museum of Art

KKL Lucerne Museum of Art

Lucerne!

Skateboarding Mini Ramp

Day 10- Fear is a state of mind.

May 8th, 2012 ---

Last night was my first night in a hostel. Backpackers in Lucerne is a cute little place with kitchen, common area, rooms very much resembling dorms lining one side of a hallway. The opposite side with bathrooms and showers and an open area of sinks and make up tables. Quite comfortable and a great place to stay, especially for having never stayed at a hostel before.

I set my alarm this morning for 9:45 so that I could quickly get ready and get on with the big day I had planned. Mind you, it's not as big as my Montmartre/ Louvre/ Black Seeds day in Paris, but it was definitely an extraordinary day none the less.

I started by walking the 10 minutes back in the direction of the train station along the lake. It was a nice morning, nothing special really, 68 degrees, a bit of overcast but with the blue sky peeking through here and there. I stopped at the train station momentarily because the smell of a hot dog/ sausage stand was enough to get me in there! Haha As I ordered my sausage with mustard, I couldn't help but laugh as I watched this man beside me whip out a Swiss army knife and cut up his sausage. He did it like it ain't no thang! Am I the only one that thinks that's really funny?? Swiss army knife... Switzerland...for a sausage...? I mean I know we have Swiss army knives in North America but I don't think I've ever actually seen anyone use one especially as casual as he did! No? Not that funny? Hmm.. Okay well i thought it was hilarious! -- Tough crowd.. Haha ...Moving on..

So after enjoying some lunch I went down to the ticket booth and bought my ticket to Mt.Pilatus! I was told to take the #1 bus, which I confused with platform #1 which is how I ended up on the wrong bus.

I knew something wasn't right as soon as I got on it. Just as the doors were closing I ran up to the bus driver, ticket in hand, "I don't think I'm on the right bus!" He looks at me and chuckles, looks at my ticket and tells me I most definitely am not and that I have to go to the platform across the street! Phew! That was a close one... Who knows where I would've ended up!

As I'm walking over to the platform, I notice the bus has already arrived and about to leave. So I make a run for it and jump on!

I arrive at my stop approximately 10 minutes later. Confused on where to go, at first, I look around for signs to the mountain. I notice a woman with a large hiking backpack, heading in the general direction that seemed to be the way to go, it also seemed like following her would be my best bet.

Minutes later I find myself behind a church, in a cemetery. Son of a -- ! Hmm.. Okay.. But then! As I take a peak around - a gate! Ah ha! As I watch her go through the gate, I tip toe behind and keep following at a distance. Such a creeper... Haha But! The gate led to the road to Mt.Pilatus! Wahoo! After walking up a small hill I see the gondola station for the mountain.

I go up to the ticket booth and exchange the ticket I purchased at the train station for a mountain ticket and jump in a gondola, solo.

The ride takes about 15minutes and it's absolutely breathtaking. How could one city be so beautiful?! From the gondola you could see a large portion of the Swiss Alps, a panorama view of the entire city and of course the glistening lake. Incredible.

Now, I've always believed that fear is just a state of mind and it can be overcome. (Except for spiders - pshhhh! I will always battle some sort of anxiety attack and find the most creative ways of killing them while screaming or whimpering in the process. #ThanksMom -- And Kirby/ Noora, if you are reading this... You both know exactly what I'm talking about. #BathroomMirrors #AboveDoorways Haha)
Back to the topic, if I had any fear of heights before... I'm pretty sure I conquered every single one of them today.

When I arrived at the hostel last night, I decided to scope it all out. I had grabbed my keys and my phone and went off to find the lounge, ya know, see what that's all about and who might be there. I was lucky enough to meet a few people from Michigan and one from New York, Buffalo - to be precise. Of course he knew exactly where Kitchener was (my hometown in Ontario for those that don't know) and proceeded to ask me if I owned a pair of Birkenstocks. My response: "Hahaha whaaaa?!"
I had seen my younger couzin wearing Birkenstocks but I did know it was the latest "thing" back home and our city apparently had a reputation of always wearing them... I must add, my couzin is the only person I've seen where them... Shrug. Whatever.
I explained I owned no such thing and continued to chat with them a bit. They were talking about Mt.Pilatus. I overheard them talk about some ropes course but didn't really know what they were talking about. When I asked, they told that Mt.Pilatus had a huge ropes course on top of he mountain! Coooooooool!

Back when I was 13, all the eighth graders go on a leadership/ religious retreat (to my friends reading: ya, I said it! I did a religious retreat! Betcha never coulda guessed that one!) Part of the retreat was to Mt.Mary (not exactly a mountain, more like large hill) and the other half was to a lake around Camp Wabanaki (I believe? Could be wrong about that one..) But at the lake, there was canoeing, kayaking, rock climbing... And a ropes course! At 13, the thought of being suspended high in the air, suspended by a rope and walking across a wobbling log - well it wasn't exactly my idea of fun. So I ended up skipping that part. To this day, I still regretted not trying.

So as soon as I heard about the ropes course on Mt.Pilatus, my ears perked up.
What's that you say?...Ropes course..??! Hmm.... !

When I arrived at the top of the gondola, the landing before taking the second to the very tip top, I saw the ropes course to my left.
Hmmmmmmm.....!!!!
... Well maybe I'll just see how much it is.....

I get to the booth and a very nice guy named Kevin comes out and I ask him how much it is to do it.
27 Swiss Francs.
Reasonable... Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...!

Screw it. I'm doing it.

I look at Kevin, "Okay. I wanna do it."
He looks at me, "Wait, just you?You do alone?!"
"Ya! No wait, hell yeah!!"
"Wow! Okay!"

I pay, he gives me a harness, helmet and pair of gloves then goes through all the safety procedures and instructions of what I have to do. Red tape = safety wire to clip onto; Blue tape = Zip line. Sweet.

(Insert nerves and deep breathes here.)

I'm okay, I'll be fine.

You can do this, Jessica. You got this. Ain't no thang!

(deep breath)

I walk up the first little log ladder.

Holy crap!!! Ahhhh!
(I'm only like 4 or 5ft off the ground- haha)

An older gentleman comes over to me, he tells me his name is Freddy and let's me know he'll be here to help if I need him! Nice, nice guy! Funny too! He offers to grab my camera and take photos for me, cracking jokes along the way.

I can't remember which obstacle was first but I believe it was just flat wooden planks suspended by ropes, of course.

Eek! Here it goes!

Step. Step. Step. Step. And I'm on the next platform.

Okay, okay, this isn't so bad...

Wait. You want me to walked across a tight rope now?! You have got to be kidding me. Ahh!

After conquering the tight rope like a boss, I get to the platform with nothing but a wire to the next.
Blue tape.
Crap.
"FREDDY!!!"
Freddy, standing just below me, starts to laugh.
I ask him to make sure I'm clipped on right - I'm not prepared to break any bones by zip line today. He assures me I'm good and tells me to take a seat on the platform and the inch my way off while he takes a video. Haha Good man.

By this point, there's a woman sitting with her kids watching and cheering me on. And by the way, I'm quite a bit higher at this point.

I take a deep breath and launch! I fly down the line, slowing myself down with my gloves hand on the above wire. Landing on the next platform, the mother & Freddy below - both with big smiles, are clapping and happy for me!
I'm stoked!

I'm come down the steps, "alright Freddy, where to?!"

He shows me the next ladder up to a platform of higher difficulty. Small logs hung by ropes that begin to sway as soon as you step on them. Awesome.

About 20minutes later, I had accomplished about 3/4 of the entire course! It was a breeze! No problem! Tires on ropes, rolling logs, hanging poles with little pegs to jump from one to the next, high tight ropes.. Felt like an acrobat! ...Please excuse my informal attire, Freddy, my circus costume is at the dry cleaners!

As I was approaching one of the last platforms in the course. Freddy came over to the vicinity. (German accent..) "You ah very guud!"
"thanks Freddy!"
"Now you have option to take exzeet or keep going"
"keep going where?"
"Up derh!" He points up. "18 meters!"
Uhh....
"You take ladders to first platform. Den second ladders to top!"
Hmm... That's really freakin high...
I analyse it for a moment...

If I don't go up, I'm gunna feel like a wimp. I will also probably regret it just like I did the first time back when I was 13.

"Freddy, I'm going for it!"
"Wowwww! Guud for you!"
"yeah!"
"I warn you, when you get to top, you have to jump."
"what?"
"Jump."
"What do you mean jump?"
"No line, no zipping. Jump!"
"Jump?"
"Yes, jump." By this point, he's laughing.
"But..."
"Jump."
"Hoowwwww..???!!"
"You see rope hanging?"
"Yes." Looking up at the little log jutting out from the tree with a blue pulley-rope hanging off it, with a clip to hook into.
"You attach harness to zat and you jump! It bringz you down slow"
"oh.. Okay....."
"Sure you want to do?"

Hmm....jump, huh?...

"Yup."

After nervously climbing to the first platform, then to the very top - with Freddy calling up to me, telling me to take my time. When I get to the top, the view is freakin awesome! So worth that climb to the top. I snap a few pictures and sit on the platform enjoying the view for a few minutes -- also avoiding the fact that I have to jump off this damn tree very shortly.

Finally, I clip myself onto this blue cord. Freddy yells up again, "Sit on the ledge! Take your time!"

Ahhhhh!!!! This is crazy!!! I'm 18 meters off the ground having to jump off the ledge.

Remember that song Third Eye Blind, "Jumper"?
"I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend..." --- theme song for the next few moments.

Heart racing. Starting to sweat. Hands getting shakey.

"It's okay! You can do it!! Just jump! We are cheering for you!" .. Oh Freddy - you cray.

Okay, here it goes. AH----- Nope! I grab the ledge so fast, I don't move more than a few inches. No way, no how. Where's the emergency exit?!

Deep breath. Just breathe, Jessica.

I tug on the rope to see if it slows down when I pull. It doesn't.

"Freddy! I thought you said this thing slows you down??!"
"It does! It does! After you jump! After one zecond!"

Of course, it's after I jump. Ugh...

Attempt #2 through 4 are pretty much the same, except add Kevin, crowd of teenagers on field trip and a couple others watching.

"Just look straight ahead! Don't look down! 1, 2, 3, Go!" --- Freddy, you're not as funny as you were before.

I take another deep breath.
I gotta do this. I CAN do this.

Deep breath. GO.

I hurl myself off the platform, almost pee my pants. The rope make a jerk stop and slowly brings me down to the ground where I just sit, heart racing and taking deep breathes. Phew!

"See! You do it! And you will always remember!"

Okay, Freddy, you're right. Touché my friend. Touché.

After catching my breath, I decide to do one more course then head out. As I'm handing my stuff back to Kevin, he chats me up asking me where I'm from etc. I tell him I live in California. He's stoked! Apparently he's some sort of competitive/ pro skateboarder and has a competition coming up somewhere in California!
Cool! He asks to exchange information that way when he comes to Cali if I want to, I can bring some friends out to his competition and come watch. I say sure, thinking that's be super cool and then head on my way up to the next gondola.

This one was rather large, myself and about 5 or 6 others were inside all standing. The gondola starts to head up the mountain and we are approaching a cliff that you can't see over. The view already spectacular.

We get over the cliff and all of a sudden we all feel a bit of a falling feeling as we tip just slightly forward (of course I was standing at the front window, preparing to have my life flashed before me.) Everyone in the gondola lets out a little sound of anxiety. The gondola operator doesn't seem phased at all - clearly a normal reaction on our part, I suppose. We level out and I'm just blown away by the view. All of Lucerne and all of the Swiss Alps in sight!

As if it couldn't have gotten any better, we get off the gondola and I head up the stairs to the main area atop Mt.Pilatus. I can now see all the Alps which were on the other side, to the south.

I may have thought I was on top of the world when I reached the top of the dome at the Sacre Coeur, looking over all of Paris... But this... This was something completely different. Mind blowing, to say the least.

I climbed up a small hill with rocky stairs and was at the very peak of the mountain. Absolutely outstanding. There are literally no words to describe how incredible the view was. It's amazing an area so beautiful exists in this world. It's something everyone should experience in their life at some point.

I stood up there snapping a thousand pictures, enjoying the views and picking out lines that would be really cool to snowboard. Also wondering if anyone has snowboarder down here just to give it a whirl.

After a little while, it was approaching 5pm, the last gondola down at 5:30. I decided to head back down.

I hopped on the same bus I took there and made my way back to the main train station where I decided to wander around town and find somewhere to get supper.

I ended up finding a little place called Grendel 19 across the bridge. By far the BEST white wine ravioli of my life. Take note Italy, because I sure hope you can beat that!

As I was leaving, it had begun to rain and I had forgotten my cute little raincoat. So I grabbed what turned out to be an expensive can ride for such a short distance and then headed back to the hostel for a shower and bed.

Zzzz....

Going up Mt. Pilatus in the Gondola

Ropes Course!

THAT is what is I have to use to jump down?

Swiss Alps! Bird: Straight Chillin. haha!

Day 9: Lucerne, I love you.

Day 9:

May 7th, 2012 ---

Having set my alarm before falling asleep last night, I made sure I up and at'em by 9:45. I showered, did hair & makeup, dressed then quickly finished the last of my packing. While I was getting my stuff together, Janis was kind enough to make me breakfast one last time - some wicked scrambled eggs, complete with peppers, veggies, spices and sausage I think. Personal chef Spogis in tha house! Haha thumbs up all around.

We left the house shortly after 11 and hopped in a cab over the train station, making a quick stop at Starbucks when arriving.

After writing all about the "love locks" on the bridge last night, I decided that before I left Cologne, unsure if I would ever make it back - I wanted to put a lock on that bridge. I may date people, I may have casual or serious relationships, who knows - maybe I'll marry one day... But what I do know is that no matter where I end up, I'll always be where I am with myself and after 23 years of working on me, and of course many more to go... Right this minute: I like who I am. Heck, I love who I am.

We all have flaws, we make mistakes or have disappointments along the way, but the one thing I've learned - in an artsy sense, you are your own masterpiece and you decide who you are. If there is something about yourself or your situation, only you have the power to change it or overcome. There are always supporters or people in the world/ your life that will be willing to help, but you are solely based on your own decisions.

So when it came to reaching the bridge, I just happened to have a small lock in one of my bags, I grabbed a sharpie and on the front o the lock I wrote "Me" framed inside of a heart. Hey, you gotta be able to love yourself before you can love anybody else and no matter where or who I end up with, I'll always have a some love for me. And not in a selfish, self-absorbed kind of way.

On the back of the lock I wrote "JPond" and the date, put a few x's and o's on the sides and then fastened the lock to the bridge. With two sets of keys in hand, I walked over to the side of the bridge and chucked them into the rushing Rhine below! The keys plunked in the water and I walked away, happy as a clam!

Janis and I walked back to the train station, making a quick stop for a postcard and a cute pair of earrings to replace a pair I had already lost somewhere between the train from Paris and the Black Seeds concert on Thursday.

Janis led me over to the platform, my train already awaiting. We said our goodbyes, thanking him a million times for such a fun weekend and hopped onto the train to head to my next destination: Lucerne, Switzerland! :)

The first train I took was a four hour journey from Cologne to Basel, Switzerland. We would go through tunnels, which from sitting in the opposite direction from the way the train was going, when we came our the other side I realised we were going through hills and sides of smaller mountains. It was really neat!

Arriving in Basel, I had 15 minutes to grab my bag, jump off and figure out where to catch my next train! I saw a train next to us with a sign saying Lucerne but there was no train number... I walked up stairs, luggage in tow, and did a quick once around looking for any sign with information.
Nothing.
Hmmm...

I decided to make the executive decision to go back downstairs and just hop on the one that said Lucerne and see what would happen.

Made it to Lucerne about an hour or so later. Coming into the city, I became a bit nervous. It looked sort of dull and uninteresting. I'll be here for two and a half days, what would I do?!

And then I stepped off the train.

Right off in the distance, I could see snow covered mountains. I melted. To me, there is nothing more beautiful then snow covered mountains on the horizon. I was arriving early evening so the sky was saturated with pale pinks and oranges.

I started walking over to the hostel I had booked, just a short five minute jaunt away. I walked along a paved pathway along the edge of the lake, going through a large park. Within a few minutes I could see more mountains on the horizon. I've travelled and seen many places, driven through and snowboarded in mountains... But never have I breathed such clean, crisp air. It was refreshing to just take a deep breath and enjoy it.

Once I arrived at the Backpackers Hostel, I checked in and went to my room. A small dorm with two twin beds, one for me and one for another girl who I have yet to meet. I threw down my stuff, locked up my suitcase, grabbed my headphones and camera and went out to walk along the path some more.

With the sun setting, the colorful hues reflecting on the lake, mountains in the background and flowered trees lining the entire sidewalk - I don't think life could've gotten any better. I could smell the flowers and nature all around me. It was incredible.

I walked along the path for about an hour, with it still be light out. So far I've found that people are incredibly friendly here. One gentleman saw me trying to take a picture of myself with everything in the background and offered to take it for me. He chatted with me for a few minutes... though it seems people also overstay here welcome a bit because it he just kept trying to make conversation until finally I said thank you, nice to meet you and walked away.

As I kept along the path, people were jogging by, others sitting on benches or riding bikes. Along the shore of the lake, swans lie and walk along the waters edge. I noticed a young guy walking in my direction. With my headphones still on I stopped with my back turned to him to take a picture, hoping he wasn't about to try and talk to me.

I heard someone say something behind me, I knew it was him. I took my headphones off and he asked me something in German. Thinking he was a tourist like myself asking for directions or something, I apologised and told him I spoke English. And that's when he asked where I was from and would not stop talking.

He told me something about seeing my picture on yahoo? And that I was "so f***ing beautiful" (excuse his French) and then carried on rambling for about 10mins. I thought maybe he was mistaking me for a celebrity or someone famous he knew. He was very kind...at first... but then he began to get uncomfortably close, then trying to put his arm around me, even kiss me. I had enough. I was done being polite. I put my arm out to block him from getting any closer. I saw three young guys walking towards me, as I turned towards them I gave them an "I'm uncomfortable" look and they slowed there pace but still walking. I noticed them standing not too far behind him trying to see what was going on.

I told the guy that as nice as it was to meet him, I was going to leave and keep walking. I started to walk away towards another person sitting on a bench very close by, someone who saw what was going on. He followed me and started saying something about walking with me, wanting to sleep with me that night. I started to get nervous but with people around I knew I could ask for help if I needed to.

As I picked up my pace away from this guy and closer to the person by the bench, he started calling out my name. I told him to back off and that I was going to go do my own thing and he should leave, I would not be walking in any direction with or near him.

Finally, the three young guys came back closer and yelled at him to leave me alone. To move on. He yelled something back and then said "f*** you to me" and walked away.

I walked over to the three an thanked them, they assured me it was nothing and then I walked straight back to the hostel.

Crazy guy.

(Dear Parents: I know you're freaking out reading that, but seriously, it was okay. I found people around and could've ran or calls for help of I had needed. It wasn't as scary or bad as I'm sure you're making it seem in your minds right now. Don't worry, I being smart and safe!!! Haha love you!)

Anyways, when I got back to the hostel, I came to realise I was quite hungry so I decided to head to the little restaurant called Cafe Seepark next door. It had a beautiful, but simple atmosphere - dimly lit, dark wood and leather chairs, candles on the tables. After a long day I opted for a glass of wine and with it being rather chilly outside, an amazing tomato soup and house salad.

Now, I'm sitting in the lounge of the hostel, met some Americans, chatting and almost ready for bed.

Putting my love lock on the bridge!

The view from the train station in Lucerne!

The lake

Lucerne!