Darth Wey Tour Around the World: December 2013

Today only agenda was to make the drive all the way to Paris, and that's it !

600+km of traveling with nothing to see.....But, there was the optional tour to Germany Black Forest! As there was the only thing that we could do, all voted (no choice right) to go for the optional tour.

Day 9 - 9 Nov 2013

A - Hotel Postillon
B - Titsee, Germany
C - Hotel Alliance Hotel Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines

Some background on Titsee:

Titisee is a lake in the southern Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg. It is said it got its name from Roman Emperor Titus. It covers an area of 1.3 km² and has an average depth of 20 m. It owes its creation to the Feldberg glacier, the moraine ploughed up by which in the Pleistocene epoch nowadays forms the lake's shores.

Why is the Black Forest called the Black Forest?

The name Black Forest has its origin because the forest was impenetrable during night time and is total darkness until you can't even see your own hand even if the moon is up.

Black Forest region famous for?

1. Black Forest Cake
2. Cuckoo Cock

Scenery traveling to Germany

Black Forest

Finally reached the town beside Titisee lake

Our shopping place, inside got Cuckoo Clock, Rimowa luggage, Swarovski crystal, Pandora, etc

Tips:

Rimowa

If you want Rimowa, best place to get, there is an 15% straight tax rebate deducted from your purchase. Plus, the normal luggage say 30" is around $500 euro, Singapore selling for $1.3k without discount.

Swarovski Crystal

Cheapest you can find, plus you can get those member's only item as well.

A swan and clam gotten from there

Cuckoo Clock

Up to individual, you can get here or you can shop around, most shops carry cuckoo clock.

Signature move

Cuckoo Clock making explaination

The thing that make the cuckoo sound

One of the rare clock, you can see there is a water mill, actual water really runs down when it cuckoo cuckoo

Free wifi in lunch area

Lunch, included in the optional, Pork Knuckle and for dessert, Black forest cake

After lunch was free and easy, and we took the chance to explore the town. Note that the ice wine is cheap here, $25 euro and Hanuta is damn cheap as well.

Ice Wine

Hanuta is a German sweet by Ferrero consisting of hazelnuts and chocolate sandwiched between two wafers. The name hanuta is an acronym for Haselnusstafel, German for "hazelnut bar".

Titisee Lake, the wind was strong and was very chilling

A lot of ducks

Kids playing

Different parts of town

Meat........yummmmm

Before we headed out to Paris, we bought 2 cakes, one cheese and one apple flavour and that was a wise decision.

While traveling to Paris, our driver time on the road clocked 4 hours and need to rest for 45mins. Hence we stopped at one stop-over point and wasted 45mins doing nothing....hehe..Lucky for us, we got our cakes and we went for picnic.

As we headed into Paris, rain started to dizzy down. We stopped at one stop-over point for dinner and the best part was that the dinner joint was somewhere down the stop-over. As it was raining, we were told to wait for the coach. Somehow, there was miscommunication and the coach went forward without waiting for our 2nd group...Oh well, we have to walk in the rain to the dinner joint.

And finally we arrived at Hotel Alliance, as it was pretty late, we went straight into our rooms, would be staying here for the rest of the tour.....

Our room

Tomorrow would be the city of Paris...............

Lets take a look at the Bucherer gift of spoons...

Interlaken

Lucerne

If you noticed, the spoon itself got different art on them, marking it the design of the place it was given. I glanced at the Lucerne Bucherer pack of 6 spoons and it cost $21 Euro, not that cheap wor. Some of colleagues gotten 6 spoons from their trip in Europe, alas I got 2 only.

Day 8 - 8th Nov 2013

Today would be another alps and hopefully neither me nor my wife would be affected by the sickness again.

A - Hotel Minerva
B - Glaciers 3000
C - Lucerne, Lion Monument and Chapel Bridge
D - Hotel Postillon

The itinerary supposed to be Engelberg Mt Titlis but the tour manager said it was under renovation.Upon checking, it was found that the cable cars were indeed under maintenance.

After breakfast, it was luggage hauling time and all were ready to climb mountains again !!!

Time to bid forwell to Interlaken and head to Glacier 3000

If you noticed all Swiss cows got "Cow's bell" around their neck

Beautiful Swiss houses

Enjoying the trip

Scenery on the way to the mountain

Reached Glacier 3000, spotted skiers preparing to go up the mountain

Glacier 3000 (officially Gstaad 3000 AG) is a company that operates several cable cars and ski lifts in the region of the Diablerets in western Switzerland. It was created in 1997 by the merging of two former companies (Reusch - Cabane des Diablerets SA, Téléphériques Pillon – Glacier des Diablerets SA). The company is now based in Gstaad.

The main cable car was opened in 1964 and rebuilt in 1999. It connects the Col du Pillon (1,546) from the Scex Rouge (2,950 m). The company also operates ski lifts on the Tsanfleuron Glacier.

Cable car time...

The cable car

Can see alot of skiers

Finally we reached the top, note that we were around 3,000+ feet, hence all felt ok and don't have the sickness.

It was time to take the ski cable car to play with snow !!!

The wind was very strong and cold as hell...

Finally base of the ski cable car, time to play with snow.

I also attempted the slide, so kanna snow onto the camera, hence u would noticed that there were some dots in the pix..

Fun time

Noticed that there were some form of ride as well, seems like roller coaster in the sunny days?

After the snow play time, we went up via the ski cable car and prepared for our lunch.

Snow mobile

A cute beaver

Enjoying milk chocolate drink before lunch

Waiting for lunch

Lunch, same as the Jungfraujoch lunch, chicken drumstick...

After lunch, preparing to go down the mountain, last time to play with snow and ice

I look like a pro skier right ?

On the way down, can see people clearing some loose rocks

Have no idea what these were for....

One last look of the place

Time to move out and head to Lucerne

Beautiful Swiss houses

Lakes

Taking a few more shots along the way

Bye bye country side

Hotel Schweizerhof, one of the most expensive hotel in Lucerne. Min >$300 SG per night

And coming up next will be the Lion Monument of Switzerland..

The Lion Monument (German: Löwendenkmal), or the Lion of Lucerne, is a sculpture in Lucerne, Switzerland, designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and hewn in 1820–21 by Lukas Ahorn. It commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris, France. Mark Twain praised the sculpture of a mortally-wounded lion as "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.

The Swiss Guards were protecting King Louis XVI, according to tour manager story. King Louis actually flee the palace without telling anyone, hence the Swiss Guards were actually protecting an empty palace.

If you noticed, the shape encompassing the lion looks like what kind of animal. Look more closely, it seems like a boar shape right ?

The face of the lion is very sad, it seems to be mourning for the wrongful death of the Swiss Guards and the external shape seems to be mocking the King they were protecting....

We dropped at Bucherer of Lucerne to do some last minute shopping. Once tonight was passed, we would not be using Swiss Franks anymore.

The Chapel Bridge (German: Kapellbrücke) is a covered wooden footbridge spanning diagonally across the Reuss River in the city of Lucerne in central Switzerland.

Named after the nearby St. Peter's Chapel,the bridge is unique since it contains a number of interior paintings dating back to the 17th century, although many of them were destroyed along with most of the centuries old bridge in a 1993 fire.