Interlaken to Lucerne via Golden Pass Scenic Route

We had our lunch at Migros in Interlaken and then set off for Lucerne. We had reserved seats on board the Golden Pass Panoramic train from Interlaken to Lucerne. The view was impressively fantastic and different from the views of the previous train trips as this stretch gave us the view of the magnificent landscape of the Lake Region.

We reached Lucerne, which called out for attention the moment we rolled into the station in the middle of town. From the train station, a short walk took us to the pier. From there, the leisurely refreshing Lake Lucerne Steamer (SGV) brought us to Hertenstein. It was a lovely 25 min cruise from Lucerne to Hertenstein Lake Lucerne is beautiful!

Our hotel, Wellness Hotel Graziella, was a short but uphill walk from the Hertenstein ferry station. We were very happy with our stay at Hotel Graziella. The hotel is situated just a stone's throw away from Lake Lucerne and our room’s picture-window-and-door gave us a clear, uninterrupted view of the lovely lake. For two nights, we watched the sunset right from our bed as sunset came late, as late as 9pm. It was truly spectacular as we woke up and went to bed with the fantastic view of the mist-shrouded lake and the mountains at the horizon. Sunsets were very dramatic and intense, right out of the novels of Jane Austen

I think the we got a good deal for the hotel was reasonably priced at 180 fr per night (200fr on Saturday night) and it came with a good breakfast spread, bathrobes and bottled sparkling and still mineral waters in our room, a variety of teas and fruit in the lobby, free internet access throughout the hotel. We could also have free access to the sauna, whirlpool and a number of other stuff which we didn’t use as we were more interested in what was outside the hotel. The hotel clients were mainly German speaking but they were friendly and we had our international language of SMILES and everyone understood what ‘Good Morning’ and ‘Hello’ meant. We learnt "morgan" and "merci" meant "morning" and "thank you".

The hotel staff spoke good English though and they were friendly and helpful. Of course, we had a really great stay there - a place to look forward too after a hard day out in the town or eating up the trails. It seemed all our stay had been great but what can I say – it had been great, great, great so far. But I wish everything wasn’t so expensive! Nevertheless, if you have to choose a country to visit, choose Switzerland! You wouldn’t be disappointed!