Bauen

Today we all woke up slowly and got ready for the day. We had a good breakfast of coffee, peanut butter and banana on toast before hitting the road to Lucerne. Once again had my star navigator to get me through the city and we made it. We walked around the beautiful lake to the tourist information to suss out what activities we wanted to do for the day. We then went in search of a deli sandwich for Liisa around the old town. We walked over this wooden bridge with flowers all along which was beautiful. We did find a small bakery and Liisa found what she was looking for.
We then headed back to the lake to ride on a pedal boat! All 4 of us could fit on it. Liisa and I jumped on the pedalling first and it wasn't the smoothest process. The boat didn't handle too well at all which was a concern considering there was boats and ferries also in the lake. We enjoyed the views and the sun. We switched pedallers and I even got to enjoy my crossiant on the boat. Kate and Erin had a moment of anxiety returning the boat to the parking, however the lady on the dock kindly hooked us in. Kate said she almost got hooked...
We then returned to the car and headed to Bauen. We detoured to grab a sticker that allows you to use toll roads, but is some how managed police? Then we were back on the road without threat of big swiss fines. We drove again along the lake with full view of the mountains and after some driving through very small towns, very small roads we reached our destination. It was a small little town on a lake with quant houses. Did a 5 minute walk to see all the town, then headed for a drink on the banks of the lake. We watched the ferries come in, a highlight or lowlight depending on your perspective was watching this crewman try and throw the rope around a post. He missed about 5 times before succeeding.
We then got changed and went for a swim. The beaches were not sandy and the rocks were quite sharp. We would have looked like such tourists tip toeing our way to the water, while locals had water shoes on. The water was fresh but we all jumped under. We then had to battle our way out of the water via the rocks. Liisa led Erin out, like Erin was 90 stumbling over the rocks. I wasn't much better, hands were used during the ascent. We laid out and took in the stunning views before heading back to Zurich.
We headed back out to Zurich via the train and went to a beerhall for dinner. It was a chaotic, noisy vibe but the food and the beer were great. Heading back I wanted to go against the gps and get off at a different tram station. Kate was brave enough to come with me, but I chose wrong and we ended up running back for the train. A good burst of exercise for the gals though.
We had such a fun full first day exploring Switzerland!Read more