#5 The rest of the days in Switzerland

We spent the night at the same place our son was for camp. They happened to be the only school there...all 9 students and two teachers, at the time, so there was plenty of room. This camp holds up to 180 students at its peak time. My children will go there for summer camp this year also!

The views the camp rooms had out their windows was spectacular...mountains capped in snow, valleys turning green with spring.

After breakfast we started out again as a whole family. It felt good to have our son back with us, though it was a special time to be with just our daughter also. Our son is not one to give many details, but throughout the rest of the trip, he kept coming up with little bits and pieces of what happened on his trip, so that's when I know it made an impression and that it was good!

Our first stop was to go to Interlaken. The roads were windy up and down the mountains, with beautiful villages along the way. As we arrived in Interlaken, the sun was shining and the hotel was perfect.

Above is the view from our hotel room...just so pretty, isn't it?!

We strolled around the cute, quaint streets while looking in shop windows and admiring the scenery all the while. The snow had melted down in the valleys, but there was still quite a bit up the mountains. We took a train ride up to Grindewald First and strolled there amongst the skiers, snowboarders, shops and restaurants. We went to one of the mountain top stops on the cable car and had a beautiful lunch with the sun shining brightly but still snow all around!

The next day, though we didn't want to leave, we had reservations for 2 nights in Luzern. So, off we loaded the car again, and drove through the winding roads of Switzerland, looking for our next location. Funny thing is...when we got there, I had booked the room for 2 nights...but the wrong 2 nights! They seemed a bit upset, but relaxed when I said, in my so relaxed vacation mood voice... Well, if you need to charge me, that's fine. Just let me know if our room is still available and we can stay in it until Saturday! They relaxed a little...and even gave us an upgraded room with a river view! Wow, I need to remember to stay calm a little more!

Here is our hotel

and a few views of The Chapel Bridge from our room.

Luzern was pretty, and a much bigger city than Interlaken. It was bustling with workers and what seemed like mostly locals, though there were quite a few hotels, so I'm sure there must have been some tourists mixed in. We decided to go to another mountain top experience and rode a train and ski lift up to Mount Titlis.

The snow was deep and seemed a little more solid here than at Grindewald, and there were, again, a load of skiers and snowboarders trying to cram their last days of winter bliss into their schedules! Check out this guy with a baby on his back! I used to walk with our son in a backpack like this...but skiing down a huge mountain? Wow, impressive!

One of the funny highlights I have from Luzern was a place called La Spaghetteria. Now, my daughter spotted this Italian restaurant right outside our hotel. I thought, well...the name is a bit off, but by the time our stomachs were grumbling and evening was upon us, we said, why not, let's give it a try! Well...

it turned out to be a small family run business that had the best gnocchi pesto, minestrone soup, rucula salad with delicious parmesan cheese slices, lamb, panna cotta, etc...

The parents were from Italy and Portugal, the daughter was one of the waitresses...

and we ended up going there both nights in Luzern! It was such a find, and we are all so happy that our daughter spotted the sign for it, and trusted her!

so, after three days together as a family, driving around for a total of 7 days,

we headed to Zurich to drop off the car, and start on our train journeys.

Coming next, Paris!