As Julie Andrews says (sings?), "Let's start at the very beginning; it's a very good place to start" which, in the case of our Pfingsten ferien was the drive from Heidelberg to our hotel in Milan, Italy, via the Gotthard tunnel in Switzerland.
The first time we made that drive it was pretty stressful. We new Switzerland was expensive, but did not realize just HOW pricey it was until we stopped at a restop and realized that buying even the cheapest meals would cost us about 75 Euro to feed our family of four. So we decided to hold off on eating until we made it to Italy--not realizing that the tunnel is only one lane and seemingly all of Southern Germany drive through it at the start of all vacation weeks, so the back up can be 2-3 hours long. Which meant that on that first trip through we were all hungry, in need of a toilet, and frustrated as we sat in the back-up that first trip through.
NOW we know what we are doing though, and it makes the drive fun.
We left home at 9:15--which puts as at the quick and cheap Burger King still on the German side of the border just as they start serving lunch. We arrived at 10:32 and lunch starts at 10:30--so pretty good timing.
Crossing into Switzerland, I took my first photo of the day--a silly one--of a truck we passed. It's cargo was just so German!
Shortly thereafter, the alps came into view. Driving through Switzerland in such a thrill if for no other reason than it is one of the single most beautiful places on earth. The peaks are as dramatic as the Rockies, but they rise out of the GREENest landscape and you have all these quaint little churches and farm houses scattered in and among it all.
Traffic reports were still saying the back up was over 2 hours, and we have learned it settles down after midday (Germans like to get an early start) so we pulled of the highway near Lucerne to stretch and have a little snack at a lovely lake:
Back in the car a half hour later the reports were down to only an hour wait, so we knew we were about as good as it would get and headed on up, stopping at a rest stop just before we knew we would hit the "stau." Even the rest stops in Switzerland have incredible views:
And for kicks and giggles I also snapped a photo of this VERY typical German tour group having a snack outside of their bus. Notice the tables they have set up to have their snacks on. In this case one of the tables had a big jar big pickles and one of canned sausages to munch on. It is very common to see these buses with everyone off and stretching and having a snack from the tables they set up next to the bus. Sometimes they even set up full buffet style meals. These tend to be frugal groups whom you will NOT find buying meals or snacks inside :) It is just one of those little things you see here but not in the US.
About 15 minute after we got on the highway again, we hit the stau:
As you approach the tunnel, traffic is narrowed to one lane and then spaced out in order to send a consistent stream through the tunnel. This is done with a series of red lights which halt one lane or the other for about 5 minutes at a time. I like this system, because people know they will be stopped a good, long time, and shut off their engines. It is also fairly common to see people jump out to grab something from the trunk, or switch drivers, etc in those spaces. If you are not hungry and in need of a potty break it is a pretty darned relaxing traffic jam to be in--with lovely views in all directions:
In only 45 minutes we were zipping through the 16 kilometer tunnel and once again on our way:
The views on the other side are amazing as well, but a little less dramatic and we were moving much faster, so I only have one photo for you. It is of one of the MANY waterfalls that were everywhere on the warmer, southern side as the spring runoff was in full force. In many spots you could see 15 or 20 falls going at a time:
Only in the last hour, as we skirted Milan, did we drive without the views.
Heading towards the Milan airport (we stayed at an inexpensive airport hotel), a little blue car sped past us, weaving in and out of traffic, clearly late for his flight. Sadly, we were passed by police and an ambulance about 15 minutes later and after a brief delay from the traffic jam it caused, saw that car flipped and smashed against a rail on a curve and the driver being loaded into the ambulance. NO flight is that important folks--miss it if you have it, okay? Fortunately the driver did appear to be conscious and no one else was hit by his car. Last time I was in Milan I saw a fatal motorcycle wreck--I am really not fond of the traffic in that area at all.
Anyway, thankfully we had no more such "excitement" and arrived at our little Holiday Inn at about 6:00. We went to check in, handed over our passports and then had to argue with the reception desk who kept insisting we could not be in one room all together because the kids were "over 18." Okay, yes they are tall (especially in comparison to many Italians), but the workers were holding our kids' passports and finally had to get our their calculators to determine that really and truly the kids are 14 and 16 and were within the guidelines for four in the room. It was rather comical actually.
Eventually we got in though, and settled into our room. It was small (as expected) but fine for one night to sleep and shower before heading to the ship for our cruise.
Later on we found a good local pizza parlor where we lingered over a very yummy dinner until it was more or less time to sleep (4 people awake in a small room with little to do not being a good idea).
And so ended our first day of our Legend. . . wait for it . . . of the Seas Vacation.
I'll be back tomorrow with more photos of the ship than most of you could possibly want to see (but my cruisecritic readers probably WILL want to see them!).
--Hadley
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