Eurotrip Day 11: Onto Switzerland, Lucerne to be exact (9/25/13)

We got up early and got all prepared for our day of travels. D heads to the airport as I head to the train station to catch my train to Zurich and then on to Lucerne. The ride is extremely beautiful with the hills/mountains becoming more numerous as I approach the border. On the way we make a stop in Lindau, a gorgeous lakeside town on the border of the 2 countries; it was the only stop on the route that had a Hbf so I assume it is a decent sized town that maintains a quaint charm; I kinda wanted to get off for a day and explore but I had an itinerary to maintain so I did not. Once in Zurich I navigated the train station to find my connection to Lucerne; in the brief 30-40 minutes I was in the Hbf, I noticed that the people in SZ are freaking factory chimneys compared to the people in AS and DE (Thank goodness no smoking is allowed on the trains). The train ride is only 40 mins but is astoundingly gorgeous with the famed SZ countryside being front row center the whole time. Most of the ride (once outside of Z) is small villages on the mountainsides, with mountain peaks in the distance and lakes interspersed throughout made this one of the best travel days in my journeys. Get into L and walk my way to the hostel (Backpackers Lucerne) to check in and get my bearings before heading out to walk around the city. This hostel, as with the others I stayed in, was in a great location (it's almost as if I took this into consideration when booking my lodging :) ) as it was a short walk to the main part of town/train station and had great people working there. 

Park on the way to my hostel. Green everywhere in Switzerland. Not a bad site to have to walk by every day to and from my hostel.

I am in the land of mountains. Something tells me Ill be seeing many amazing sights in the next few days.

Lake that Lucerne sits on. Got to love the feel that this city is holding onto its past, preserving the buildings and what not. Wish we would do more of that here in USA.

Loving the sky as I walked around.

Nice relaxing way to end a day of travel. Looking at this picture, I just want to put my feet in the water and skip stones across the way. 

After talking to the people at the front for a bit and getting a map from which to guide myself around the city, I go into the city to get some money and find some dinner. After some food and drink nearby (my first exposure to the cost of living/being in SZ - no bueno compared to surrounding countries), I head back to the hostel to take care of some necessary chores (emails, laundry etc.) while hanging out with some roommates and taking it easy to try and recover from the time in M and also take it easy before exploring the city the next day.