Final portion of our Switzerland adventure

We returned from Switzerland last week after a wonderful visit to this Alpine country in the heart of Europe. It takes awhile to get there, and to get home, but it was worth it. Last week’s newsletter was about our stay in the charming, Italian-centric city of Lugano, in the extreme south of Switzerland. This week, it’s about our post-conference visit to Engelberg, right in the midst of the Alps.

            We departed Lugano on the morning of the 25^th, once again availing ourselves of a leisurely ride on the train. Joining us for the leg from Lugano to Lucerne was Maurus Lauber, the CEO of Swiss Railway System, who told us of the line’s colorful and innovative history, going back to the 1880s. Our ride was about 3 hours long but the time flew by, with Herr Lauber himself serving us delicious hot chocolate from the dining car!

            Engelberg is a charming town of less than 4000, nestled in a valley at the base of Mt. Titlis. We checked into the historic five-star Kempinski Palace Hotel and accompanied our guide, Claudio, on a walking tour of the town. We visited Kloster Engelberg, a monastery that opened in the 12^th century, and a cheese shop that provided us with delicious samples. After dining at the hotel’s Cattani Restaurant, we relaxed for the evening in anticipation of our journey up the mountain the next day.

            Tuesday the 26^th dawned with gorgeous views of the Alps, but as we prepared for our excursion, word came that high winds at the summit would keep us from going all the way to the top at 10,623 feet, which meant we wouldn’t be able to experience the rotating gondola that lifts skiers and hikers up the final few thousand feet. But we were able to take a more traditional gondola all the way up to 5900 feet and the Berghotel Trubsee, a charming boutique hotel and restaurant with easy access to the ski slopes. A number of skiers were already there, many of them children, and we couldn’t resist snow-tubing down a short slope (a couple of times) and a ride on an electric snowmobile.

            It was an exhilarating day, but it wasn’t over yet. That evening, Claudio took us to what he described as a “rustic” restaurant, and he wasn’t kidding. A van picked us up at the hotel shortly after sunset and we proceeded up onto a mountainside, along a narrow, switch-backed road—with no guardrails—to Bergrestaurant Fluhmatt, nestled into the side of the mountain, a small chalet operated by the lady who lives upstairs. I had the specialty of the day: Alplermagronen mit Apfelmus, which is a dish with penne pasta, cheese and fried onions, with apple sauce on the side. It was delicious. My husband Dave had the Wildbratwurst mit Zwiebelsauce, which is a wild game sausage (venison, mountain goat and wild boar) with a red onion sauce, and French fries. A glass of red wine during the dinner really hit the spot, and we chased it all down with shots of Luzerner Kirschbrand, a Swiss cherry brandy. As Dave, the German speaker, said, “Ihren Mahlzeit war ausgezeichnet!” (“Our meal was excellent!”)

            Our final full day in Switzerland was in Lucerne, a leisurely half-hour train ride from Engelberg. We joined a new guide for a walking tour of the Old Town district, and then inspected the Mandarin Oriental Palace, another five-star hotel where the couple we were traveling with, Sandy and Mark DeGonda, would be staying for a couple of nights after departing Engelberg the next day. We had a sumptuous lunch in the hotel restaurant and then availed ourselves of some shopping, in spite of the chilly and rainy weather. Dave was on the hunt for a Swiss army knife, and he found one for himself and another for our grandson.

            The highlight of the Lucerne visit came later in the afternoon, when Claudio took us to Max Chocolatier, a genuine Swiss chocolate factory. Our hostess explained the process to us and served up samples of the best chocolate I’ve ever tasted. We had a delightful time touring the factory and watching them make chocolate Easter bunnies.

            Back to Engelberg on the train, we retired early so we could rise before dawn and catch our ride to Zurich, an hour away. By nine a.m. we were in the air, and by nine that night, Wisconsin time—nearly 24 hours after our alarm went off in Engelberg—we were settling down for the night at home. Our transatlantic flights on Delta, both ways, were about 8 hours long but more than tolerable, thanks to our seats in the Premium Select section of the plane. I highly recommend it for your own travels to Europe.

            We enjoyed Switzerland tremendously, and we already miss the gorgeous Alps. Want to see them for yourselves? Give us a call, and “Gerne organisieren wir Ihre Reise!” (We’ll be happy to arrange your trip!)