Day 5 - Wengen to Lucerne, Lucerne to Rapperswil

Day 6 - Wengen to Lucerne - 9/14/2016

We were out so late last night wandering around Lucerne that by the time we made back to our hotel I was just a bit too tired to write. So now I am putting together two days of riding and experiences into one entry. 

We started early on Wednesday morning as we had to take two trains to get back down the mountain from Wengen to Interlaken where we had stored our bikes. As we descended into Lauderbrunnen we were treated to spectacular views of the flowing waterfalls from the cliffs surrounding the valley.

Once again we had perfect weather - how lucky! The ride description included a 400 meter climb over just 5 miles, much of which was on gravel path. All of us but two of our riders decided to skip that part of the ride and take a train that started pretty much after that little jog. 

We still had plenty of climbing and 58 miles of riding. Much of which were on the gravel trails. While the distance doesn't seem like much, riding the gravel takes a great deal of concentration and skill as there are some potholes and areas of deeper gravel. Definitely a challenge. 

Using the Garmin and following the well marked bicycle road signs is the key to staying on course!

We rode along side many small rivers and canals and around Lake Lucerne (Luzern)

Farmer Steve was beside himself with joy when he saw a John Deere truck and was jumping up and down with excitement as these rolled by. It takes so little....as Steve says, he is a simple man. 👌

Th highlight of the day was when we met up with these two folks on a very rural gravel path along our route. They had just arrived and were unloading these from their vehicle as we passed by. We all skidded to a halt as they delighted us with their music. 

They even let our very own David Wheat take a turn and he did a pretty good job. What great timing to coincide our passing by with their practice session.

In Lucerne we enjoyed an interesting meal at a local Rathskeller. Many of us had the pretzel sandwiches and beer of course! . Mine had smoked salmon and a dill mustard sauce. - yummy! 

Others joyed the sausages and sauerkraut. We were all pretty full after all of that. So of course we had to do some walking. 

We wandered through the city (it was now evening) and visited the two famous bridges. The Kappellbuke (chapel) burned down and was rebuilt in 1993, the Spuer Bridge is original and was built in 1408 (really). The roof panels depict how the plague affected all levels of society. 

We  also met this ambitious spider on the bridge.

Here's a parting shot of our lovely hotel in Lucerne. I loved this city and definitely could come back again, so little time and so much to see.

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Day 7 - Lucerne to Rapperswil - 9/15/2016

I hope I am not boring you, so I will make this one short. Bottom line the weather forecast called for rain and so it did. However, it did not last too long and for the most part it was a light rain. 

We picked up ur bikes from the Velo Station where we had safely locked them up the night before. It is a parking garage for bikes, hundreds and hundreds of bikes. As you can see bicycles get a lot of respect here in Switzerland. 

Because of the forecast and the fact that we wanted to arrive a bit earlier at our destination today some of us once again took advantage of the train system. However, it is not the easiest to figure out and we had backtrack a bit after taking the wrong train. Gotta love the signs - what???

We also got turned around a few times on the roads. So we arrived in Rapperswil a bit later than anticipated. Key learning of the day, when all else fails, follow ROUTE 9!

In the morning we make our sandwiches from the breakfast buffet. We took a quick break and had our lunch and finally fulfilled David Wheat's dream of having a beer on the road. Bob, PLEASE NOTE,  I only have a small one and Sandy stuck to the H20. 

Rapperswil

There have not been any laundry facilities for our entire trip so each night after riding we store our bikes and wash our cycling gear ad any other laundry that needs doing. Sandy and I have this process down to a science!

Then it is time for beer and catching up with friends.

I also made a new friend at our restaurant . His name is Karl and from what I could determine, he and his friends were from Germany and were Camino hikers that were doing a special hike in this area. They only spoke German and somehow we managed communicate. They all sang me their hiking song and we are now fast friends and created mutual memories. What an night!

And how about a small gelato to cap off the evening?

Abbey in Einsiedeln

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