day seventeen: Munich to Lauterbrunnen

Everyone was pretty tired/hungover on the bus the next morning, but Jase only let us sleep for a little while. We were on our way to Switzerland and he said it was the best scenery, so he tried to make everyone stay awake after lunch.

We had lunch in the tiny country of Liechtenstein (actually, in its capital, Vaduz, which is really more a small town than a capital of an entire country). It was by far the most boring place we visited. The only thing to do there is get your passport stamped and use the ATM to get Swiss Francs. Unfortunately, while I was at the ATM, someone (probably my stupid waitress) stole my sunglasses that I had just purchased the day before. I left them on the table next to my mostly finished pizza and when I returned both my food and the sunglasses were gone. I asked the waitress if she had seen them and she pretended to have no idea. Whatever. They weren't worth anything, but it still pissed me off. So anyway, after that, we hopped back on the coach and made our way into Switzerland.

The drive was absolutely beautiful. I am so glad that I was awake. It brought a whole new meaning to the word "scenic". We stopped for a couple hours in Lucerne.



Lucerne is famous for the Chapel Bridge which was very bridge. Part of it burned down in the 1990s, but it was rebuilt and looks just like new. We spent some time just walking around town and by the lake. We also stopped at this big lion monument to remember the Swiss guards that died in France. We also looked around the obligatory Swiss army knife and watch shop. Luckily I didn't buy anything because I didn't need either of those things.



After Lucerne, we got back on the bus for some more awesome scenery and finally got to our place in Lauterbrunnen, located in the Jungfrau region of the Swiss Alps. Our lodge was next to a picturesque waterfall and a great view of the Alps.





This was a view out of our window. We couldn't have asked for a better location.

That night at the bar (called the Bomb Shelter since I think that's what it used to be - at the very least it was a big basement that was overcrowded and too hot) we had a bunch of these shots called Flugels. They come in a little bottle and this is the way you are supposed to drink them: first, unscrew the cap and lick it and stick it on your forehead; then put your finger over the top and bang the bottle on the table a bunch of times; then, everyone takes the shot and then puts the cap in their mouth and tries to spit it out and hit someone with it. It was lots of fun. And they tasted pretty good too.

next day...