[EUROBOUT CONTINENTAL CAROUSEL - 1984] DAY 4

Travel Notes
August 14, 1984 - Day 14
GERMANY - SWITZERLAND

Mannheim - Triberg, Germany

We arrived at Triberg for lunch and shopping, right in the middle of the Black Forest.  With all the local restaurants crowded, Ma and I headed for nearest grocery store and loaded up on fresh fruit, ice cream and cookies.  All of this made for a fine meal eaten al fresco, with the scent of the pines heavy on the occasional breeze.

Scored an interesting victory at the souvenir shop, where Ma got a certified Black Forest clock, I got a teddy bear for DM12.  Teddy was supposed to cost DM12.25 with the “Tour Director” discount, but I only had DM12.22 to hand.  I guess it must have been something in my face when I offered to put back the bear, because all of a sudden the saleslady took off the .22!  This produced smiles all around, and I have come up with Teddy's full name : Earl Edward Martin von Schaffhausen-Schwennigen!

This grand list of names for such a tiny creature comes about in this manner:
== “Earl“ - after the tour manager : without discount, Teddy's list price was DM13++
== “Edward“ - full Christian name of “Teddy“
== “Martin“ - for Martin Nievera
== “Schaffhausen“ - the first town after Triberg
== “Schwennigen“ - a place that we've seen on every Banhof sign from the start of the Black Forest boundary, but that we've not seen so far

So.  I have a mascot!

Lucerne, Switzerland - Hotel Alpina

We had a photo stop at the Rhine Falls, located near Schaffhausen.  Spectacular views, and there was actually a stairs for people who wanted to get up close and personal with the rushing waters.  Unfortunately, there was no time for any of us to try it out, so after taking pictures and having our oohs and aahs lost in the roar of the water, we set off for Lucerne, with a brief nod to Zurich along the way.

We arrived in Lucerne after banking hours, and since Feast of the Assumption is a bank holiday (fancy that, it's just an ordinary day in Manila), we changed money at the Banhof station.  Then Earl took us on a walking tour of Lucerne (or Luzern, as the locals spell it).  I managed to have quite a nice chat with Earl as we crossed the famous covered bridge, the Kappellbrucke, over Lake Lucerne; he moved us down various side streets and we then ended at the Bucherer store, which would be staying open till midnight.  Many women were mightily pleased at this information - you could see people calculating budgets in their heads.

Ma and I headed straight for the top floor and Ma got herself a watch; I was too busy enjoying the sight of the merchandise to think about getting anything for myself.  Eventually, Ma, Truding and Josefina wanted to leave before the rest of the group, so Bart deputised me as assistant guide back to the hotel.  Not that it was going to be a complicated matter.  The directions were easy enough to follow, all straight lines for the most part - straight down the bridge, down two corners, turn left, straight down the street, and there you go.

This hotel has *small* elevator : maximum of four people!!  Probably one of the smallest on tour to date.  One thing about traveling in Europe, you never know what the hotels will offer from one destination to the next!