Lucerne in the rain and snow

Leaving Lauterbrunnen in the Alps

Hello Lucerne

The Bourbaki  Panorama 

Swiss Lace 

Hof Church in our neighborhood 

Swiss Christmas decorations 

Snowy days in Lucerne sight seeing 

The Rosengart Art Collection 

St.Peters Church. Lower left is St. Klaus the only Swiss saint. The statue has Klau's clothes on!

A few sights around the city. 

Our walk following the fortified wall around the city.

The Rathouse Brewery recommended by Rick Steves. 

He was right about the Swiss mac and cheese. 

The bridges in Lucerne. 

Exhibits in the History Museum.

More in the history museum. A note written by President Obama when he was in the King David Hotel and prayer cards of JFK. 

Rain and snow on the bridges. 

Christmas Day in Laueterbrunnen, Wengen and Grindelwald, Switzerland

Christmas dinner in Lauterbrunnen. Check out our new friends we had dinner with!

A mountain church in Wengen.

Yup, he has a whiskey barrel.

Scenes in Lauterbrunnen. This church was a block away from our hotel and we heard the beautiful church bells on Christmas eve and morning. 

Clouds rolling in to bring snow. 

Selfie on the train. 

Great idea for Christmas decorations. 

Interlaken and Lautenbrunner, Switzerland

Fondue - great memories of many Christmas Eve's in Kenosha.

This river runs along the city of Interlaken. 

Ice skating maze with a view from an 18 story hotel. 

Our hotel, The Continental Central.

 It was a very interesting old place with a great location to the train station. 

Flowers blooming in December on a beautiful sunny day. 

More views of Interlaken from the 18th floor of the hotel. 

Lautenbrunnen - We stayed here three nights. 

The main street and views from the train. 

Three gondola rides and a train to get up this high. 

Just breath  taking views. 

Christmas Eve Dinner in a Swiss restaurant. Check out that boot of beer - 1 liter! 

Basel, Switzerland - More Christmas!

The sky is blue and the market was not crowded and was lovely. 

Last day of the Christmas Market Cruise - Riquewihr, France

Scenes from this adorable town of Riquewihr with only 1500 inhabitants. It is a very beautiful village and appears unchanged from what it looked like 400 years ago. It largely escaped damage during WWII.  Many of the houses date back to the 16th and 17th centuries. 

More architecture and alley ways. 

This is a statue made by the same person who made our statue of liberty and the Eiffle Tower in Paris.  This statue stands in the middle of a round about in Colmar, France where Eiffle lived. 

Decorations onboard the ship. 

Picture with Santa with my new friend Debi.  The last night the staff on board the ship, sang us Christmas Carols and Santa gave out Santa ornaments. 

Heidelberg, Germany and Strasbourg, France

Heidelberg Castle ruins are one of the most important Renaissance-style structures north of the Alps  The castle was destroyed in the 17th and 18th centuries.  It is an amazing view overloooking the red roofs of the old town and the Neckar River. 

"I remember that dog."

Views from the castle

Old wine casks in the castle ruins. 

Our guide in Heidelberg. She was full of tidbits about this charming city. 

The copper stones in the cobblestones are where Jewish people lived when they were taken by the SS during WWII and exterminated. There are over 400 in the city.  Heidelberg Univeristy was founded in 1386 and is still thriving today. 

Old Town Heidleberg is a UNESCO Heritage Site. 

A view from the castle. 

A view from the stone bridge with the castle behind us.  

Yup, it was chilly. Four layers and long underwear. 

Strasbourg, France. 

City Map of Strasboug - a beautiful old city. 

The Cathedral in Strasboug and the astronomical clock.

Faces and figures on the clock from the film we watched about the clock. 

Scenes in "Little France island" in Strasbourg.  Lower right is a WWII Memorial. 

The canals and rivers in Strasbourg. 

There were 11 Christmas Markets in the city. 

We ate lunch at this typical charming restaurant in Strasbourg. Tom had Spatzle and chicken and I had sausages and sauerkraut.