Honeymoon in Switzerland

Kelly and I decided to hit Switzerland for our honeymoon. Initially we were pushing for Italy but the plane tickets were much cheaper into Zurich and Rick Steve's said Switzerland was the bomb. First up was three days in Luzern. Luzern has a really cool part of town called "Old Town" were there are tons of overpriced shops and really cool architecture. Kelly and I quickly found out that Europe was not a cheap place as we forked out nearly $30 US dollars for lunch at McDonalds. We also quickly found out that morning sickness (Kelly's prego by the way) would play a big part in our trip. Kelly was craving chicken McNuggets but once she took her first bite she went running to the bathroom to spew chunks for about five minutes. Reason number 23 not to go to McDonalds for me. They also have some ridiculous burgers over there. So ridiculous that I can't even remember them. I believe one was a burger with a chicken patty on it. Who would have thunk it?

One thing Kelly and I noticed in Luzern was that there were very few overweight people. If anyone can tell why this is please comment. I believe that it is because restaurants are two to three times more expensive over there. That or everyone seems to ride a bike or walk. I saw very few runners though.

Since hotel prices are no joke over there and my retirement plan of winning the Powerball has yet to come to fruition Kelly and I stayed in a converted jail that is now a hotel. Sounded fun when we booked it but probably the least romantic place we could've stayed. We made the best of it though, the price was right and we were close to all the action.

In the morning I went for a run around town. Running on vacation is always an adventure. Goal #1 don't get lost. This was made easy by me eventually running in a figure eight pattern. It did have some great hills and got my legs moving. Goal #2 scope out the town. This was pretty easy and I did find some cool places for Kelly and I to visit. The bonus was that Kelly doesn't feel well in the morning, hence the morning sickness, so she doesn't get going until 9 o"clockish. Perfect for me to get in a little training on our vaca.

The best part of Lucern was a walk we went on. It required a boat ride and a very sketchy rail/cable car ride up a very steep mountain. We then spent the afternoon on a breathtaking off the beaten path adventure. Once past the main tourist area we only saw a couple of other hikers. Then we had a lovely lunch overlooking the area from an incredibly amazing view from our table. Another kicker about the German part of Switzerland is if you don't each lunch or dinner at there designated times (I don't know what they are as we rarely hit them) hello sandwich because that is all they will offer. Just as well for me as the price was right and I brought my own supply of Cliff and granola bars.

Next up was Gimmewald. We were both super stoked for this part of the trip because Rick Steve's rated it as one of his top three places to visit. I would have to agree. The town has about 75 people and there is only one or two small cars that reach speeds of up to 150 KPH as they scream by you on there 75 meter drive from the local Hostel Bar. Everyone in town seems to have a room for rent or own a hotel and the views are amazing.

The next day after a morning run we planned to go up to Murren where they had a pool where I could get in a quick swim and mountain bikes to rent. When we got up there both the pool and mountain bike shop were closed....bummer. So we went down to Interlochen to catch a boat ride. Unfortunately the boat gods were not on our side this day either. No more boats were leaving for the day. I don't know if the Swiss just don't like to work past 4 pm or what but Kelly and I were reduced to another gorgeous walk along the shore of the lake next to the city.

The last stop on our trip was Lugano. Lugano was in the Italian region and we were greeted with temps in the 80s which was a nice change from Gimmewald and Luzern where it was in the 50s. There was a lake a block from our hotel to go along with an gorgeous outdoor 50 meter lap pool. I was like a kid in a candy store. The next day we went to the Belenzone Castles or Castle as we only made it to one. This was by far the coolest day we had on our honeymoon and if you have yet to see a real life middle ages castle I highly recommend you see one. This thing was hunourmous! I felt like I was Link in the Adventures of Zelda video game. We took tons of video and photos and hopefully I can get some posted.

After that we had one day in Zurich before our flight home. We hit the town and walked along the river and ate some of the most overpriced Mexican food ever. It was awesome, maybe the best Mexican food I've ever had, but still overpriced. Especially if you throw in the terrible service and the 45 minutes it took to get our food after we ordered it. What do you expect when it takes them 15 minutes to bring you a $5 bottle of water. I guess customer service over there is even worse than here. That or they just don't like Americans. Either way they can survive because it's all tourists and there is no repeat business anyway.

The flight home was way worse than coming over has we had to fight to stay awake. Kelly also was not feeling well which only made things worse. Kelly and I had a great time but we were definitely glad to be sleeping in our own bed. Despite Kelly's raging hormones from being pregnant as well as traveling together for eight days we still managed to get through it without wanting an annulment.