What a way to kick off 2013

Okay, well sorry KATY. This is probably be a long one.
So since the kids had their winter break I was feeling a little wanderlusty and decided to do a solo trip. This is something I knew that I wanted to accomplish while in Europe and I figured now was as good a time as any.
It is so wonderful that Germany is in the middle to Europe that trains are an easy alternative to flying and a cheaper one at that. I spent probably 2 days doing research on Swiss cities and train fares and finally decided on Lucerne, Switzerland and then a stopover in Tuttlingen, Germany to see my old au pair, Heike!
New Year's Eve I went to stay with a new friend in Bonn and we went to a private party in Köln. It was a really great time. At midnight here it's a big thing to light off fireworks so everyone went outside the bar and put fireworks in empty champagne bottles and lit them off right in the street. It was one of the craziest things I have ever seen!

This is me and Fenja at the party.

Me lighting my first firework!

The night was a lot of fun and I'm sad that I missed celebrating with the kiddos but I got to meet some great people and I had a blast. We didn't get back to Bonn until about 8am which left me with just 2 hours to sleep. Of course, I missed my alarm, the bus to the Hauptbahnhof and ran up the stairs to the platform AS my train was pulling away to Switzerland. It was just about the most dramatic thing that could have happened, very much so out of a movie. The awful thing about Deutschebahn is that if you miss your train, you have to buy a whole new ticket, which was awful so I had to spend an extra 64 euros to get another route that put me through 2 transfers and got me into Luzern almost 2 hours after originally scheduled. 

After that chaos, I finally got on a train that was a few hours to Mannheim. It was actually kind of nice to have the stopover because I got to wake myself up in the bathroom, put in my contacts, and get something to eat. This train was of course late so that was pretty much the story of my day. 

This train was a few more hours to Basel, Switzerland. I met a nice guy on the train who was living in Geneva but was from Madrid and we bonded over the mutual drastic change in surrounding that we shared. I had to run in Basel to catch my train to Luzern and only had 2 minutes so of course missed it and caught the next one. 

I met a guy on that train who was utterly confused when I told him we were headed to Luzern since he thought he'd gotten on a train to Milan. That was funny.

Anyway the theme of my day was referring in my head back to an article I found on Rick Steve's website written by a woman who often traveled alone, "there's always another train or plane or bus so don't worry if you miss one, just enjoy the journey and remember that is why you went on your trip". This was certainly something that calmed me all day. 

When I got into Luzern I had to figure out where the hostel was which was a journey in itself. I hopped on the bus and once I got off I had to ask 2 people directions but I did so in German and was so proud that I was brave enough to give it a go. I met a girl in the lobby from Malaysia and she had been there a couple days and after talking for a little she offered to venture out to find something to eat with me. Apparently we were roommates! funny. So we went out and got something to eat and had nice conversation. I certainly learned a thing or two about Malaysia. She was really sweet and it was crazy to hear about her life. She was 21 and was living in Poland doing a volunteer internship with an organization that helped disabled kids make art. It was 2 months long and afterwards she was moving back to New Zealand where she had lived abroad previous to Poland. So cool. 

When we got back we met our other roommates, both American who were really cool. They were both East Coasters who were studying in the UK, Annie in London and Kathryn in Glasgow. We seemed to click pretty fast which was cool. 

The next day I got up and had breakfast at the hostel, packed a little sandwich for later which of course was reminiscent of my study abroad trip last December. I headed out and caught a boat cruise across Lake Luzern to Vitznau, about 45 minutes, which was beautiful since the sun was shining and It is surrounded by alps. 

This was on the boat.

View of Pilatus from the boat. 

Once there, I was to catch the longest cog wheel train still running, up to Rigi Kulm, the top of Mt. Rigi. This was a pretty cool ride as well seeing as most of the track was on a 45 degree angle. Lots of skiing spots which made me wish I had known how so that I could have gone. 

Once I got to Rigi Kulm, I had about an hour to walk around and hike around the top to see the views. It was beautiful. It was pretty cloudy which was a big bummer because the view of all the alps from there would have been magnificent but was blocked by the clouds. 

This was one pretty cool view off the side. I love the way the clouds are reflected in the small lake there. 

Also from Rigi Kulm. The woman who took this photo was awesome. She noticed I was alone and we chatted a little. She was from nearby and liked to come up to the mountains to chill with her camera and enjoy the views. 

After I left Rigi Kulm, I took the train back down to Rigi Kaltbad and there were the mineral baths I had been so excited about. It was absolutely wonderful to go there. I didnt take any pictures there which was a bit of a shame but for most of it, we weren't allowed to. So this is the website of the place I went if you do want to see pictures. 

http://www.mineralbad-rigikaltbad.ch/index.asp?kat=galerie

Of course it looked a bit different than in the pictures because it was winter but it was awesome to be in the mineral pool and see all the mountains. It was also really wonderful after being so cold all morning on the mountain in the wrong clothes. I met up with Karthryn and Annie there and we all took the cable car, and the boat back to Luzern from Weggis. That night we went out to dinner at Restaurant Fritschi which was delicious. Of course, ridiculously expensive but we all had some soup and then split cheese fondue. It was a really cool building and the food was delish. It was also cool to hear about their backpacking adventure and what they were up to in life. Like I said before we seemed to get along really well and I am so happy that I met them. 

Our cheese fondue

the front of the restaurant we went to. 

Afterwards we walked around a little and found ourselves in a few cool old wooden bridges and then found our way to a British pub called Mr. Pickwicks. We had a couple ciders and then walked back to the hostel. 

The next day I got up really early and had breakfast and set out. I had fought the Tell Pass which was 2 free days of excursions so I needed to make use of it and decided to go to Mt. Pilatus. I had to get new hiking shoes since the ones I had were awful so I found a huge after Christmas sale and found some great new winter boots that will last me a long time. I felt really confident navigating my way around at this point which is always really cool in a new city. I hopped on the bus, walked up to the cable car spot and hopped in one. It was about 30 minutes to the top and it was so pretty. It was a lot higher than Rigi and since I went earlier in the morning, a lot clearer. The sun was shining and once I got up there I just walked around and enjoyed the amazing views. I wanted to go hiking to the other side but because of all the snow, they had closed the trails. 

Cable car route

selfie at the top

lake Luzern at the bottom there

tons of alps. I loved it

where I chilled and ate my snack

There was a man playing this too which was awesome. I talked to him for a couple minutes. This photo just looks so cliche alps.

At around noon the clouds rolled in and I decided to go down. It took about an hour to get back to the Luzern hauptbahnhof and when there I walked around the city a little bit. Went to a bakery and got a coffee an chilled on the river. It was a great day. 

The river with the famous Kapellbrücke and Rigi in the back. 

An awesome wooden nativity scene. Apparently there its traditional to have really ornate ones. 

Then I met up with Annie and we went to the Rosengart gallery where much of Picasso's late work is housed along with some impressionists and some other good stuff that we both really enjoyed. 

Then we met up with Kathryn at Starbucks, enjoyed the free wifi for a little and walked around some more. We then decided to go back to Mr. Pickwicks as there isn't much nightlife in Luzern and we knew it and how to get there. We sat down and soon met some locals that were very nice. They were 3 guys that were from all over but had worked together in Luzern, one was from Brazil, moved there but was studying abroad in Alabama, another was from the Phillipines, moved to Australia, and then to Luzern and I'm not sure about the other one. We enjoyed a couple local beers and chats with them and then headed back to the hostel. 

Me, Annie, and Kathryn in front of Pickwicks the last night. 

We all headed out the next day, them to Zürich and me to Tuttlingen to see Heike. 

She picked me up from the train and we drove around then went to her house which is lovely. I got to met her boyfriend Peter and her awesome 5 month old baby, Paul. Sooooo cute. We had some raclette for dinner and afterwards drank some red wine and looked at her photo albums from her stay with my family when I was 5. She saved everything so it was really cool to see and to hear about now having the experience of being an au pair. The next day we woke up, had breakfast and coffee and went to Konstanz to see the lake and walk around. 

Heike and I at Lake Constance

We took the ferry across the lake to Meersberg and walked around which was so cute. I think it would be absolutely lovely in the summer. 

Heike and Paul on the ferry. 

We headed back and had some cake and coffee and then they had some work friends over for a small party. It was nice to meet all of them and see Heike's life now as she has a family and has settled down. We went on an awesome walk the next morning and then I was on my way back home. 

It was a lovely trip and I'm so very happy that I decided to go. It seems that if i just listen to my inner wanderlust I will not be disappointed. I was nervous about traveling alone but it was awesome. It was great to meet new people that I very well may not have met had I been with company. You put yourself out there more as a solo traveler and I think you're more willing to approach and become friendly with new people. 

All in all, Awesome trip and start to 2013.