No need for concern in Lucerne!

You know you are staying in a good hotel when there is pillow origami involved.  Even more so when its stealth pillow origami.  And bonbons by the bed that just magically appeared while you were out blogging.  Result.

*happy sigh*

You know sometimes you just look around and say to yourself "Yeah - I did good" - well, I'm having one of those moments right now (even pre-bonbon).  I'm sitting in the exquisite main parlor of my hotel, perched high up on the hill overlooking Lake Lucern, and this is a pretty damn fine place to catch up on my blogging. 

Whoo-hoo!  Road (train) trip!!

Where am I staying?  Well, where else but a castle, of course?  A castle?  Hell, yeah, blogwatchers - no converted chicken coop for me tonight but a real-life, in your face, all pointy spires and towering turreted freakin' castle!!*  Obviously I'm not writing this from Evanston, but i decided to make my current work trip to Zurich a little more exciting by taking an overnight trip to the beautiful lakeside town of Luzern (or Lucerne - can't figure out which one is correct).  I have a bit of blogging to catch up on, post-Vienna, so thought my creative juices would appreciate a change of scene from the Swisshotel in Zurich.

So, tonight, Matthew, I'll be calling Hotel Chateau Guestch home for the night.  After having consulted trusty Trip Advisor, this place had very high ratings (ranked #2 in Lucerne) and looked pretty damned spectacular from their website, so I thought "why not?" and booked it.  I'd also looked at the #1 ranked place - that was just a little too pricey to stay - so I booked a massage there for tomorrow afternoon instead.  Yes.  It is, indeed, a very hard life sometimes.

It was very easy to get here from Zurich - I took the tram back to the airport, bought my tickets at the train ticket counter, walked 100yds and took the escalator down to the tracks and hopped onto the train.  Easy peasy.  I treated myself to 1st class (all in the name of research, of course) and it was very comfortable and spacious.  I had to change trains after only 10mins, then was on the second train for just 40mins or so, so in under an hour, we were pulling in to Lucern station.  

View from my train car (or carriage?) en route to Lucern

After a quick stop in the local Starbucks to buy probably the World's Most Expensive Souvenir Coffee Mug and to recharge the iPhone (damn thing, I'm a slave to its neediness), I figured I'd start out as any good tourist should, and head into the Tourist Information office to be welcomed with a smile and a helpful local, with lots of suggestions about what to do and where to go.  Hmm.  This IS Switzerland, so I guess my expectations of friendliness were a little high - i got a fairly grumpy lady who seemed to only perk up somewhat when telling me I'd missed the only guided walk around the city today and that, oh what a shame, it wasn't happening tomorrow because of the Lucern marathon that was taking place. She managed to bring herself to give me a map and half-heartedly circle a few random places on it that i  should probably see, but i figured I'd be just as well wandering about a bit and exploring on my own.   Thanks for nothing, Swiss tourist lady.

Pointy church across the lake in Lucerne plus artfully draped flag

Anyway, by this time the weather had worked itself up to a grey Cornish-like drizzle, so not too terrible, just enough moisture to make my hair pissed off, but nothing more dramatic than that.  The city is actually pretty small and the old part of town is pedestrianized, so i figured that would be a good place to start.  It was also a choice between arty culture (with the Art Gallery right next to the train station, bursting with old Masters and paintings galore) or the promise of "the longest praline-showcase in Switzerland", a real chocolate fountain and over 250 chocolate specialties - well, it was no contest, really.

Swan lake?

So, off I headed to Chocolate Land in the old town and found it very easily.  I crossed over one of the main bridges, noting the place were you could get a boat cruise round the lake in case it perked up tomorrow, and headed inside eagerly.  Well, what a swizz!  "Longest praline showcase", my arse!!  I've  had more pralines lined up on my kitchen counter when Mumsie's been visiting than I saw on display in the shop!!  AND there was no chocolate fountain either (not that I really cared about that too much as they are usually pretty disgusting and unhygienic).  There was just lots of Toblerone and Lindt, but I can get those in the airport, thanks very much, so Chocolate Land, you get an "F", I'm afraid!!

But, not to be disheartened, I struck back out into the depths of the old town, deciding to just amble about and soak up the atmosphere.  After about 5 mins, I realized that that actually was a fairly rubbish idea.  I learnt 2 things - 1) cobbled streets and roller hand luggage are not a match made in heaven and 2) number 1 is also really hard on the wrists.  

So, enough exploring - my castle awaited!  I headed back to the train station and got a cab to the hotel - just as well I did.  It may have been only 1.5km as the crow flies from the town center, but it would have been a hell of a hike uphill and it took a good 10 mins (and 30 CHF - or $35!!) in a cab to get here, so it was a good call!!  My first glance of the hotel, way high up on the hill overlooking the city, prompted an "ooOOoo" and right at that moment, I wished I had somebody to say it to.  So, I'm saying it to you now instead, blogwatchers, it was a pretty cool sight.  By this time it was about 3pm, so a respectable time to be checking in.  My room was lovely (though it didn't overlook the lake, unfortunately) so i dumped my bag and promptly headed back out to explore.  It didn't take all that long, but I had a good wander round outside, took some pics and had a celebratory glass of prosecco and a plate of fine Swiss cheeses in the very lovely drawing room.  It wasn't terribly busy (i guess its now the offseason) so I pretty much had the place to myself while I sipped, chomped and blogged.  

After a while, it was time to head back to the room and recharge - both myself and my computer, so I luxuriated in a mid-afternoon nap, while my Mac was refueling.  I'd booked a table in the hotel's restaurant for 8.30pm, so there was plenty of time to get ready for another Saturday dinner date with myself (this is becoming quite a habit - people will start to…well…. talk).  A glass of celebratory prosecco in the elegant bar (hopefully celebrating still being gainfully employed in a few weeks time) then to dinner in the cavernous restaurant in the cellars below.  

Oh my.  Dinner was excellent!  I'm not a food critic, so won't be able to adequately describe it, but I opted for the more frugal 4 course menu (rather than the full on 6 courses) and every course was delicious!  I went for all savory options and it really hit the spot.  Not sure what they used in their broth or sauces, but it was full of "umami" (or MSG?) - the mushroom soup (clear consommé style) was particularly delicious, and the pork belly on top of the ravioli was to die for.  That plus the combo of lamb with beetroot (yum!) and I was a very happy, stuffed, camper.

So, with that, I've now waddled back to my room, ditched the Spanx and am turning in for the night.  Tomorrow, the blog fest will continue over breakfast with last week's trip to Vienna, before temporarily being suspended while I go and get a massage at the Art Deco Hotel Montana (the #1 place I mentioned earlier!) in the early afternoon.  Then, back to Zurich, stopping by some old Pfizer friends and colleagues in Zug on the way back through, before another week in Paradise in the office on Monday.

So, I will leave you for this evening with the website for the Chateau and some blurb on its history - while my pics are pretty good (for an iPhone at least), the pics in their official website are simply stunning.  It was a shame that the weather here in Lucerne today was crappy and overcast, but it still looks quite spectacular anyway!  Enjoy!  http://www.chateau-guetsch.ch/home

With spectacular panoramic views over the historic city of Lucerne, the Vierwaldstätter lake and the mountains, the Gütsch is known far and wide as one of the most beautiful locations for any hotel anywhere. A hotel has stood on the site for over 100 years. 

Built in 1888 by the architect Emil Vogt as a private residence with connecting hotel and restaurant facilities. The architecture was inspired by the Bavarian castle Neuschwanstein as Vogt sought to create a true fairytale Belle-Epoque palace. 

Today, the Château Gütsch has been reimagined to honor its rich history and important standing in the history of Lucerne. Our grand public spaces have been brought back to their original scale with very careful attention paid to the historic decorative details including the plaster work, wood carving, fine parquet flooring and paneling. 

Martyn Lawrence Bullard has designed these spaces with historic integrity in mind, while adding modern day amenities and elements of luxury usually found only in Europe's grandest 5 star hotels.  

The decoration and attention to historic detail once again reinstates the Château as the jewel-in-the-crown of Swiss landmarks and provides a testament to the people who have graced its halls over the last 130 years, including international dignitaries, royalty, entertainment celebrities and most importantly the unswerving support of the inhabitants of Lucerne. 

This beloved Lucerne landmark is poised to become one of the most talked about and visited boutique hotels in Switzerland.

Why - look up there upon the hill!  Would that just happen to
be the amazing hotel I booked for the evening?  You ARE a
clever girl…. 

Historic wooden bridge (off to the right) with the alarmingly
penile tower at the end of it?  (the, um, bell tower perchance?)

Mountains in the background just starting to
peek out of the clouds 

More pointy spires and turrets! 

Selfie!  About to tackle the bridge, after Cobblegate

Nom nom nom

The only redeeming feature of the otherwise disappointing
Chocolate Land 

Lucern is lovely but the graffiti here
 is kinda outta control, to be honest 

Um, no.  I considered it for a micro-second but
fortunately the $30 cab ride to the hotel from
town took care of any thoughts of coming back
in to see this local spectacle….

Random fountain

Me attempting (and not quite succeeding) to take
a selfie with the fountain jets coming out of my ears. 

Very old wooden bridge.  Should probably look up what its
called but I'm too full and sleepy right now.

Pretty impressive - looked very much
like a real statue!  (it wasn't)

View from the bridge

Hotels and restaurants lining the lake shore

There it is again!

God only knows what this ad is - I suspect it may be for the
dating site I'm currently subscribed to….

The incomparable Hotel Chateau Guetsch

Ohhh… Segway'ers.  How I love thee.  Proof, if any more were
needed, that I was at the "it" destination 

My personal lounge saloon

View from the patio balcony outside the lounge

Huzzah! 

Teeny, tiny panoramic shot!

Stunning view of Lucerne below

Not quite sure what's going on here but it looks
a bit kinky.  

Brilliantly colored leaves in the courtyard

The (now sadly disused) station for the little train that
used to link the hotel to the town below  

Yep.  This'll do.

Time will be postponed??  Did I unwittingly walk into an
episode of Doctor Who??

Old photo of the hotel 

Main drawing room 

Twilight 

Is it me or does the light pattern
look like a snowflake?

All dressed up, ready for dinner - cheers! 

Amuse bouche - sour cream thing with pumpkin
and venison

Fois gras with potato and little apple cubes

Ridiculously tasty mushroom soup

Ravioli topped with pork belly.  YUM!

Perfectly cooked lamb with beetroot and
some green stuff

Petit-fours, just to finish you off 

Home sweet home - good night!!

* ps this is when I know that i've become (at least) partly American - the Brit part of me is letting out a big "so-what?" yawn of studied indifference (castles? yeah, we have thousands of those.  you can't move without tripping over a damn castle") while the Yankee part of me is clapping her hands in joy at the wonderful oldness of it all.  I guess I'll settle for somewhere in the middle - inwardly whoo-hoo'ing , outwardly just taking it allllllll in my stride…..