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Post by chech on Jul 10, 2015 11:32:18 GMT
You can find the travel tale here: wp.me/P4wi9z-1IeAll the photos are on my flickr page here. Enjoy! Views = 4014/4201/4216/4225/
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Post by tiffany on Jul 10, 2015 11:54:32 GMT
Have fun! I should be done reading your other tour tale by the time you get back, and ready to read something new!
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Post by bet on Jul 10, 2015 12:23:47 GMT
Bon Voyage Chech, looking forward to this one when you get back.
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Post by 1jhwks on Jul 10, 2015 12:26:01 GMT
Have a great trip! Can't wait for your tale and pics!
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Post by Boop on Jul 10, 2015 20:47:02 GMT
Have a great time Chech!!
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Post by plane2catch on Jul 10, 2015 22:01:13 GMT
Have a blast and don't eat too much Lindt chocolate. Looking forward to your pictures of any ice caves you visit. Have fun!
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Post by chech on Jul 11, 2015 13:22:12 GMT
The Lindt chocolates will have to wait a day. My flight out of St. John's was cancelled due to fog. Knew I should have went to Toronto last night! I'm rescheduled for the same flights tomorrow. Now, to twiddle my thumbs for a day. <sigh>
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Post by chech on Jul 11, 2015 14:43:06 GMT
So, I have to make my own way from the airport to Lucerne. Anyone ever take that train? I see there are direct times once every hour. Is first class worth the extra $30 for the 1 hour ride? Is there a better side to sit on? Oh my...yup...twiddling my thumbs. Nice part is that since I had the TD's email, I was able to contact him directly. He gave me directions and his phone number so I can track them down on arrival. I'm guessing I'll get there too late to go up to Mt. Pilatus. So, next question...should I do it on my own? Compared to other mountains we'll be visiting, is it worth the effort? Or should I use the afternoon/evening to visit the old town and walk to the Lion Monument? Back to twiddling thumbs.
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Post by purvis on Jul 11, 2015 15:41:36 GMT
Sorry to hear that your flt. was cancelled due to fog. Here in Alberta it's smoke which is hard on the eyes. Mt. Pilatus is well worth seeing . I did both both Pilatus and Mt. Stanserhorn and preferred Mt. Pilatus by far. Looking forward to your tour tales and photos. Have a great tour. Purvis
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Post by bet on Jul 12, 2015 7:08:49 GMT
My 5 cents worth might be a bit too late. Easy to catch train to Lucerne from Zurich airport, the station is underneath, first class not worth the extra francs, 2nd class is excellent. Hotel is a 5-10 min walk from Lucerne station. I agree with Purvis & Mt Pilatus is the best option. If you have time then go but if not then other mountain trips you'll do will make up for it. Walking around Lucerne's old town and seeing the lion monument won't take long.
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Post by chech on Jul 12, 2015 10:58:29 GMT
Thanks guys. It looks like to see Pilatus on my own, I go up one way and come down another. I can take a boat to the cogwheel and then take the gondola down and it looks like the gondola comes down not far from the hotel (short taxi or bus #1). I should get into Lucerne no later than 11:30 in the morning. Half hour to change...that gives me from noon to 9 pm (sunset) to do Pilatus and explore the old town and visit the Lion. Sound doable? PS Boat rides is about 90 minutes. How much time on the mountain is necessary to see it reasonably well?
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Post by bet on Jul 12, 2015 13:00:32 GMT
Sounds good, glad your not missing it and your doing the better route as well with the cogwheel up and the gondolas down. Roughly 2 hours is around enough
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Post by chech on Jul 12, 2015 13:16:54 GMT
And I don't get rushed by the TD! I'll have to skip the carriage optional and may not make the optional dinner...but I'll happily do that to get time up on Pilatus on a sunny day and 23+ degrees. Flights are on schedule today. Apparently, the Instrument Landing System has been down for the last couple weeks as they are renovating a runway and without it, there's no landing in our fog. The guy at the counter smiled and said he's seeing all the same people today.
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Post by bet on Jul 12, 2015 13:40:55 GMT
Good choice, I'll pick Mt Pilatus over the optionals any day, although I did enjoy them as well and even better with no TD hurrying you along.
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Post by Boop on Jul 12, 2015 17:35:41 GMT
And I don't get rushed by the TD! I'll have to skip the carriage optional and may not make the optional dinner...but I'll happily do that to get time up on Pilatus on a sunny day and 23+ degrees. Flights are on schedule today. Apparently, the Instrument Landing System has been down for the last couple weeks as they are renovating a runway and without it, there's no landing in our fog. The guy at the counter smiled and said he's seeing all the same people today. Good choice! Most of the people that did the carriage optional on my tour (which weren't many) agreed that it was not a favourite and were somewhat disappointed.
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Post by tiffany on Jul 13, 2015 11:49:23 GMT
I don’t know if your carriage option is the same as the one I did on my Austria and Switzerland tour, but if it is, I really enjoyed this optional, especially at the end when we got to enjoy homemade cheeses and pastries at a local farm. That’s just my opinion though.
I hope you have good weather when you go up Mount Pilatus. When we went, it was so foggy we couldn’t see anything. That was one optional where we wanted to be rushed to get back to the city, as having to spend an hour on Mount Pilatus when you couldn’t see anything was a waste of time.
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Post by purvis on Jul 14, 2015 3:38:54 GMT
tiffinay: The only time I went up Mt. Pilatus the weather was excellent. The second time I was on a Trafalgar tour and the trip up the mountain was offered I opted out as the weather was questionable and it seems once one got to the top of the mountain it was so cloudy that nothing but white showed up on pictures so I e-mailed a family of 5 from California my pictures so they would have some idea what they missed and also they wanted to show their friends what beautiful views one could see from the mountain top. The views from this mountain top are some of the best I have seen in all the nine tours I have taken in western Europe.
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Post by chech on Jul 14, 2015 5:22:50 GMT
Made it! Finally. Yesterday was a long day....landing, catching up with the group (I got up to Mt. Pilatus before they did) and I went with them from there. Missed the Lion Monument and didn't have time to go between the carriage ride and the cruise. Clear skies for the most part...cloud came and went on one side. The folklore show dinner was a hoot! And I just got 8 hours of sleep!!
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Post by tiffany on Jul 14, 2015 11:31:01 GMT
tiffinay: The only time I went up Mt. Pilatus the weather was excellent. The second time I was on a Trafalgar tour and the trip up the mountain was offered I opted out as the weather was questionable and it seems once one got to the top of the mountain it was so cloudy that nothing but white showed up on pictures so I e-mailed a family of 5 from California my pictures so they would have some idea what they missed and also they wanted to show their friends what beautiful views one could see from the mountain top. The views from this mountain top are some of the best I have seen in all the nine tours I have taken in western Europe. We saw post-cards showing the beautiful views from Mt. Pilatus, and it’s a shame that it was foggy when we went. We all signed up for the optional at the beginning of the tour, and didn’t know how foggy it would be until we got there. It was actually quite clear down below, and didn’t get foggy until we got off the train and onto the lift. At least if was a nice clear day when we went up the Matterhorn.
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Post by plane2catch on Jul 14, 2015 12:13:11 GMT
So happy for you Chech. I've been checking the bulletin board on and off hoping that we would get word that you were reunited with your group. Glad your having fun and it seems that you definitely had a full day yesterday. The Lion monument is nice but I don't think that missing it will in anyway affect your over all impressions of the beautiful country of Switzerland. Glad you had fun at the folk show! Enjoy the rest of your trip!
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Post by chech on Jul 14, 2015 19:55:20 GMT
We did get some blue sky on Mt. Pilatus. the high cloud was on the south side of the mountain but the north end was fairly clear. We're in Montreux now and I asked to change my lake view room for one facing the street...guess why.
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Post by Boop on Jul 14, 2015 21:46:26 GMT
We did get some blue sky on Mt. Pilatus. the high cloud was on the south side of the mountain but the north end was fairly clear. We're in Montreux now and I asked to change my lake view room for one facing the street...guess why. mountain view?
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Post by 1jhwks on Jul 14, 2015 23:32:56 GMT
Glad you made it there!!
It was also foggy up on Pilatus when we went. We had to wait in the hotel before they got word that was clear. However, when we got to the top it was too foggy to see anything.
Hope the rest of your trip is a sunny one!
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Post by chech on Jul 15, 2015 5:55:26 GMT
Yup...we had to wait to wait for a break in the fog to see west but the other side was clear. Mountain view? Nope.
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Post by Boop on Jul 15, 2015 6:15:44 GMT
Yup...we had to wait to wait for a break in the fog to see west but the other side was clear. Mountain view? Nope. People watch......
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Post by chech on Jul 15, 2015 6:29:38 GMT
Nope.
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Post by Boop on Jul 15, 2015 17:07:04 GMT
Nope. final guess...........water phobia LOLOL!!
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Post by chech on Jul 15, 2015 19:52:04 GMT
LOL....nooooo. Montreux is famous for its Jazz Festival. Guess where the stage is set up? The funny part...the TD had upgraded me to the lake view to make up for missing the bit on the first day...and he facepalmed himself when he found out they'd put me in a room above the stage (he thought it'd be on the other side of the hotel). Seems I still got an upgrade cause this room has two rooms with couch and all. Very cozy. And quiet. Well, quieter. I still needed earplugs last night. So, imagine what it would have been like right above the stage. LOL
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Post by purvis on Jul 15, 2015 21:00:08 GMT
Chech: I'd move also. This happened to me on a Trafalgar tour to Niagara Falls, room lovely but too noisy when one has to be up and bushy-tail in the morning. The last one needs is a band playing into the wee hours keeping you awake.
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Post by Boop on Jul 15, 2015 21:27:09 GMT
LOL....nooooo. Montreux is famous for its Jazz Festival. Guess where the stage is set up? The funny part...the TD had upgraded me to the lake view to make up for missing the bit on the first day...and he facepalmed himself when he found out they'd put me in a room above the stage (he thought it'd be on the other side of the hotel). Seems I still got an upgrade cause this room has two rooms with couch and all. Very cozy. And quiet. Well, quieter. I still needed earplugs last night. So, imagine what it would have been like right above the stage. LOL What a nice, crisp, clear picture! Lovely......... ....ear plugs or not, it would still keep me awake, I'm such a light sleeper....but enjoyable all the same!
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