Europe trip day 19: Lucerne-Liechtenstein

Thursday morning came, and even though I was still upset about the "hotel" we were staying at, I had to admit that the view was absolutely amazing.

This was the front of the "hotel."  So funny!

This was the inside of the "hotel."  It seems like it used to be a school or something?  There were empty rooms that seemed very much like classrooms.  The whole thing was puzzling.

As we drove toward Lucerne, Ben called hotels.com and complained to them about where we stayed.  Hotels.com has been really great this trip, and they ended up giving us a refund for the night.  Nice!

Our main destination for the day was Lucerne.  We got into the city and found an underground parking structure to park for the afternoon.  Walking toward the elevator, we saw this lovely advertisement.

Google translate says that it reads: I have more leakage than most mannermouse. Good, there's the swiss farmers.

Apparently it is part of a series.  The other two look like this:

My milk may contain traces of alpenpanorama. Good, there's the swiss farmers.

Sweeter, as I have only the fruits of my farmers. Good, there's the swiss farmers.\

OK, I'm a bit confused?  They are cute ads, though.

Brigham reading in Lucerne.

Our plan was to take a cruise on Lake Lucerne.

Joseph looking off into the distance at Lake Lucerne.

We didn't have to wait long at all to get on the boat.  Ben thought he might stay behind and work, but changed his mind at the last minute.  I'm glad!

View back at the city from Lake Lucerne.

Richard Wagner's house on the shore.

Look at the castle on the hillside behind the city!

I got a kick out of these Japanese tourists, engrossed in their phones as we were out on the water in one of the most beautiful places on earth.  :-)

After our cruise, we drove through Lucerne just a bit, stopping at the Lion Monument.
It commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, and was quite moving.

On the way out of the city, Ben wanted to go swimming in the lake.  So he and Mosey braved the cold water!

In the late afternoon, we got back on the road towards Austria.  But guess what little country is between Switzerland and Austria?  Liechtenstein! This made country #11 on our trip!

As we drove into the city of Balzers, we saw this castle perched up on a hill overlooking the city.

This is the Gutenberg Castle.  It was begun in the 1200's, finished in the 1500's, and then underwent reconstruction after a fire in the early 1800's.  It's not inhabited now, but is used as a museum.

Here's Brigham, my castle loving boy, in front of the castle.

The other side is even cooler, but we didn't stop for a picture.  Here's one via Google:

 And here's the castle overlooking the city by day.

There were so many places on this trip I wished we could have stopped to spend another day or two.  Liechtenstein was definitely one of these.
But, onwards and upwards.  We kept on driving back into Austria and found our hotel, Hotel Landhaus Sonnblick.  Thankfully a lot nicer than the hostel the night before!  :-)