tuesday, july 3, 2007

we arrived in zurich at 8:30 in the morning, grabbed our suitcases, and went though customs. i was really excited for a switzerland stamp in my passport, but didn't get it. what is the point of all those blank pages if they aren't going to stamp? then we met up with our tour guides who shuffled us onto our buses, and we headed to downtown zurich for some lunch and a few hours of sightseeing. right is a picture of me standing in the courtyard of some church downtown. we walked on the south side of the river that runs through the city toward lake zurich, then crossed over the river and headed back to where our bus was parked. we ate sandwiches from a deli, then boarded the bus for the hour drive to lucerne (luzern). the drive was so amazingly beautiful. everything was lush and green. there is no way to describe the countryside, so i will settle for a picture. this is what switzerland looks like from the back of our tour bus. we passed so many small farms with gardens, goats, sheep, cattle, and i even saw a few llamas. what a life.

we arrived in luzern in the afternoon and walked around downtown for a few hours because we couldn't check into our hotel yet. right is a picture of me, my step-uncle roger, and my cousin lauren. in the background to the left you can see a wooden bridge that crossed the river that cuts through town. they love their covered wooden bridges in luzern. i bought a few postcards and looked around at the shops, then stopped for a rest at a cafe called cafeteria emilio for some hot chocolate. turns out that it is cold in switzerland, even in the summer. it started raining while we were outside enjoying our beverages. the rain itself wasn't bad, but the clouds do tend to obscure the view of the alps that surround the city.

after check-in at the hotel astoria, we had some time to rest. at 6:30pm, we headed over to the grand casino where there was a dinner for all of the choir groups participating in the luzern music festival. dinner was really good, and the entertainment was even better. an old man with a santa claus-beard played the alp horn, which is just a long horn made from the wood of trees that grow at least 1700 meters up in altitude. i guess the altitude affects the quality of the wood. then a lady came and yodeled for us, which was so amazing. that's her, doing her thing in the picture at right. next to her is the man who played the alp horn, and on the far right is a man who played the accordion for us. after the yodeling the old man got out a broom and "played" it by hitting it with a dowel in time to music played by the accordion player. in the picture to the right you can see half of the board used in a contest to see who could come closest to hitting the bulls eye with a toy bow and arrow. the bulls eye was an apple perched on top of a boys head a la "william tell." they love william tell in luzern because he was a war hero in switzerland and luzern has a part to play in the legend, but i am not sure what part that is. then they played some polka music and people danced and everyone had a good time.

after the dinner i went outside and took some pictures of lake luzern (right), and then we had to board the bus to go back to our hotel. it was just in time too, because as we were getting on the bus, it started to pour. buckets and buckets of rain. no wonder it is so green here.