DAY 6: LUCERNE/LIECHTENSTEIN/HOPFGARTEN

Monday, July 31^st, 2006

That morning, we had breakfast (which was really good by the way; hot chocolate, bologna, oatmeal, and oj), and drove to Mt. Pilatus, the highest mountain in Western Europe with fantastic views of the Swiss Alps. We took gondolas (shown below) to the top. The gondola ride was about 45 minutes and it was fantastic seeing the brilliant views! I really love the mountain countryside. All of the tall tree forests reminded me of where I used to live in southern Washington State. On top of Mt. Pilatus, we could see the Swiss Alps perfectly! They were truly amazing views because it was such a clear day. Just breathtaking. Plus, it is the coldest place we have been so far on the trip. It was cold enough to have a sweater on, but really pleasant. The air was so clean too because of the altitude.

We visited Liechenstein, the third smallest country in the world, for about two hours. I had the most delicious chicken burger ever and bought 3 Swiss chocolate bars to fulfill my chocolate craving (I have them all the time, not just when I’m next to the country known for its great chocolate)!

On the bus ride to Hopfgarten, we were surprised and told we were going to stop at the Swarovski factory! Swarovski is a famous jewelry store known for its crystals. I had never heard of Swarovski before because again, I’m a cheap girl and know nothing about expensive jewelry. We were left in the store for about an hour to look around and buy whatever we wanted. Once I got into the store, I was amazed with all the shiny stuff! I decided it was a special place and bought my mom a necklace, sister a ring, and a necklace for me. My dad doesn’t wear jewelry…so I didn’t feel bad not getting him any. J

After that little adventure, we came to Hopfgarten, my favorite place on the whole trip. It was pretty similar to Lucerne, but I think it had more of a really really small town feel. I like those kind of places. Everyone knows everyone. We had dinner, which our Tour Manager and Driver helped make! In Hopfgarten, Contiki has what they call “Contiki Villages”, which is where Contiki employees stay for a lot of the year and only Contiki travelers stay there. The rooms were quite nice with a spacious room, couch, separate bathroom and shower room. Back to the dinner….sooo good. I had vegetable pea soup, chicken, potatoes, salad, and apple strudel. Yum.

Then, one of the Contiki staff taught us that one of the traditions in Austria was to take a shot with your thumb on the top of the glass and your pinky on the bottom. When it turned midnight, they switched their fingers, taking a shot with their pinky finger on top and their thumb on the bottom! I thought that was very interesting and am still wondering how that tradition originated. If anyone can help me out, that would be awesome.