After the camp in Willesau I hopped on the SBB train back to Lucerne for our last evening in Switzerland. Once again – train right on schedule and arrive back to our hotel in Lucerne.
Again, we wander around the restaurant area along the river Reuss. We decided to return to our favorite Italian restaurant on the broad cobblestone walkway along the river.
We were surprised that the area was not as busy as the previous Sunday we spent in Lucerne. However, perhaps it is the weather. It is definitely cooling and we elected to eat inside rather than an the outdoor tables. Again, we had another amazing meal.
(I have to say I still feel weird about the tipping situation in Switzerland. I have been told not to leave anything because it is included in the overall price. I feel there has to be some way to understand how this whole operation works.)
By the way $4.50 for a small bottle of coke is pretty steep – beer is generally the same price or less. (I guess I picked the wrong football vacation to quit drinking beer.)
The boss (wife) and I wandered along
the river and she took me to the amazing work of art – The Lion of Lucerne. This is a monument carved to commemorate the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution.
It is a thoughtful work of art honoring the 600 brave Swiss soldiers who either were killed defending the Royal Family of France – or in prison later.
The Lion was sculpted by Lukas Ahorn in 1820-21 and was 
described by Mark Twain as “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.”
After viewing the “Lion” and knowing the story behind it – I can see how he was effected by the monument. It truly is an emotional work.
We continued through Lucerne’s beautiful streets and got back to the hotel. We packed up and prepared for our trip 
back to Lugano and then down into Milan.
By the way – yes we did stop again and get more chocolate. Imagine that. I think we may have increased Switzerland GNP just through the amount of chocolate we purchased in our two week (ad)venture.
In the morning we got on the always reliable SBB train to Lucerne. The beautiful scenery we had on the way to this end of the country was a little different on a way out. With the sky overcast we didn’t get the views we had many days before.
After reaching Lugano we met our driver at the train station and he delivered us to a hotel in Milan, Italy. From there we could prepare for the next morning.
That trip home is an “all day sucker” and is exhausting. The length itself will get you – but when you factor in the time changes you are facing a long day!
But, the trips over and back are well worth it. Having the chance to make more friends, see more sights and learn so much more about our world and the
various cultures that exist outside of our borders – well it’s worth a little bit of suffering!
The second luckiest man in the world is so grateful for the doors that the game of football has opened for him. Can’t wait for the next (ad)venture to happen!
