Our second day in Lucerne we decided to head up to Mt Pilatus. On our last visit in 2006 we stayed at a hotel on top of the mountain and even though it was June the place was covered in snow and the train up was cancelled because of it. This time around the mountain was clear of snow and we took the cogwheel train up and had lunch at the restaurant before coming down via the two gondolas.
Cogwheel train
4 Likes
View from Mt Pilatus.
Was a bit cloudy up the took but it cleared on and off. Mt Pilatus has several trails that appear to lead nowhere and Locals have said that there is a military installation inside the mountain. There certainly is plenty of military looking radars etc up there so who knows
5 Likes
In Boston at the moment. What a great city. Loving my time here.
Spent a few days in Chicago before coming here. Enjoyed that as well. A bonus was the air show was on over the weekend.
2 Likes
From Mt Pilatus back down you can go back via the cogwheel or take two gondolas. The first gondola is a bigger one that takes on the biggest climb/descent and then you change into the individual gondolas for the remainder of the journey which takes about 15-20 minutes.
Was a fairly big day so we had an early dinner and my wife returned to the hotel while I went to the soccer. I’d found out during the day that Lucerne we’re playing Olympiakos in the Europa league qualification round and picked up a ticket for a decent price. Olympiakos led 4-0 from the first leg so it was a fairly subdued crowd. Lucerne went 3-0 down in this leg aswell but managed to score 1 late which atleast got the locals excited.
4 Likes
Next on our list was a little town called Wengen high up in the Jungfrau region. It involved taking a couple of trains to Lauterbrunnen and then a slow cogwheel train up to Wengen which is a car free village. The scenery through the whole area was stunning and our Hotel Caprice room had stunning views over the valley.
6 Likes
Really enjoying your posts & pics Aceman. Looking to do something similar in the next couple of years so will revisit here when planning. Did you do all the bookings yourself or thru a travel agent?
Enjoying reading your posts! Have recently returned from UK & Ireland. Cliffs of Moher worth a visit and/or Sky Rd Clifden - stunning views. Both are not too far from Galway. Gorgeous countryside everywhere.
1 Like
I saw the Cliffs of Moher in full sunshine back in 1989. None of my Irish mates had!
I was on a Europe tour in 1989 as well. When we got to Lucerne, our PITFA Kiwi announced that Queenstown was nicer. Having started in London, we were all heartily sick and tired of him by then and told him to shut the ■■■■ up about NZ.
All the 36 Seppos on the tour were nicer than him and his PITFA wife.
1 Like
I do everything myself. I have a really good family friend who is a TA and she has given me all her logins and access to airline data and specials. We tend to be impulse vacationers and if we see a price too good to refuse we usually grab them on the spot. We are Platinum Accor members and they have some cracking 30% rates at times or 2 for 1 deals so they are our choice in the Cities. For homestays, B&B’s or small towns I’ll log into our friends Expedia site for good rates. Lastly we organise internal transport such as rental cars, smaller flights, trains etc
2 Likes
Thank you. Great you have inside info! Am also with Accor but only silver… obviously need to do some more holidaying!! Hope the rest of your time is just wonderful- thanks for the great info & pics.
Read your post on game day thread- glad you’re having such a great time! Dingle peninsula worth a trip if you have the time. Dingle is a cute village and the drive out to the peninsula is beautiful. At the very end you can park & walk out to the tip-(also a Star Wars filming location!) enjoy!
1 Like
Dingle Peninsula is also where Ryan’s Daughter was filmed.
1 Like
So, what’s the easiest less expensive option for having access to cash OS?
In the past I just use an old ATM and cop the bank/conversion fees.
Will be in Japan where I’m told cash is still pretty important outside the major hotels.
Get yoself an ING account
1 Like
All the ATMs at 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan accept Aussie Bank ATM cards (Cirrus/Maestro). Use your CC at hotels, restaurants, etc that accept them (which most do these days) & when you need cash, pop into a 7-Eleven & withdraw it. Easy, peasy, Japanesey. NB: Cheaper to do it this way than convert cash at a bank/airport prior to arriving.
1 Like
Pretty much that, in my opinion.
At least in Japan you can take out large amounts and not have to worry about petty theft (which is non-existent).
Only issue in Japan is that very few banks accept foreign cards. Need to keep an eye out for Japan post ATMs (which are conveniently in 7-11s).
1 Like
28 Degrees credit card.
And for cash Citibank Plus debit card.
Both have no annual fee, no currency conversion fees, no transaction fees and convert at the day’s rate.
Tried & true best options.
4 Likes
Did the Ring of Kerry today. We didn’t leave til about 11.30am as it was raining and we couldn’t makeup our minds if we should to go or not.
Eventually the rain eased off and we decided to go. The weather stayed overcast and drizzly. We decided to add in the Skellig Ring Route as well. It was miserable, really low clouds and drizzle. At one point we had to go up a big hill into the clouds for a few kms, which was a bit scary, but worth it when we got to Ballinskelligs, had some late lunch, checked out the beach in our jackets😀 then back onto the Ring of Kerry. Was amused that even though it was 14 degrees and overcast there were some kids swimming at the beach🙂.
We did not do the Cliffs of Moher yesterday as there was a grid lock at the car park and cars banked up 2kms each way. We decided to keep going onto to Killarney.
Hopefully if we get to Ireland again we can go then and also to Dingle. Heading back to Dublin tomorrow, then flying to New York the following day.
@Alan_Noonan_10, love that movie Ryan’s Daughter.
2 Likes