old tiger's Blog

The Tr?chtenmuseum was bit outside Luzern..
we took one of these Swiss post buses..damn..these folks..
know HOW to drive a bus..Switserland is full of mountains..
I bet..in the winter..not easy to drive a bus in these nasty hairpin bends...
around Luzern..not to many hairpins anyway..
the Tr?chtenmuseum was run by a very old Swiss lady..
who gave us a free guiding tour even...we were the only visitors anyway..
she really knew..her subjects..these traditinal Swiss dresses..
are bit different then the dirnld from Bavaria(Germany)
this museum..was an eye opener for local tradition..
they even had a complete living room from longby gone days..
with furniture and all...all in really nice wood..
I recall that old lady..telling my wife..
yes Mam..this is an old costume from the regio Wallis..ahah..
for the rest we made a nice stroll around the lake..it's just so amazing.
in K?ssnacht..long ago..a Belgian queen named Astrid from Swedish origine..
died in a car accident...a black page in Belgian history...
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,748959,00.html
the next day...a visit to mount Pilatus by cog railway..hey..it's 2121 m..
fresh air to fill up my coalmine lungs??I'll keep you peeps busy..
Tiger

Luzern was quite a nice city on the 4 Waldst?ttersee(lake)
it's famous for a wooden bridge called Kapellbr?cke and a watertower..
this bridge dates back to medieval times...on the roof are paintings..
very colourfull..I bet more over 100 paintings could be seen..it was nice..
sad thing to tell is that in 1993 this bridge was destroyed by a fire..
most of the very artistic works on the roof were lost forever..
restoring...uhuh..in my eyes..will never bring back the real original stuff
there was a watertower as well..both monuments are very ancient...
the town itself..well..expensive Swiss shops..not for my pocket..
we also went to visit Bourbaki panorama...it's a very large painting...
by a fellow called Castr?s..about a war episode in 1870-1871...
http://travelguide.all-about-switzerland.info/lucerne-bourbakipanorama-painting-castres.html
http://travelguide.all-about-switzerland.info/lucerne-chapelbridge-watertower.html
we went back to the youth hostel..located near Rotsee(lake)
took evening food in the hostel..good food anyway..
next day..we planned a bit of walking around on the lake shore..
and visit a foklore museum called Tr?chten museum.
it was about local folkloristic clothes..dolls,hats,shoes etc...
Tiger

So...back home by plane from Valetta to Brussels..
flight went allright..it was only a matter of few hours...
I never feel much at ease flying..in fact..
I remember the airsack in India..it was like crashing..and I got very scared..
in june..my dad died from lung cancer..
I missed saying a few last words on his dying bed...
and I felt very bad about it..I went to my house doctor..
asked some anti depressiva..he gave me lexotan..
said..take a break..so I did..
in Belgium..we get 3 days from work..if a near family member dies..
I took 3 extra days..I needed it..
we booked a 4 day train trip to Luzern(Switserland)
I always felt good near mountains or lakes..
so..we went by express train..uhuh..I loved train travells..
from Belgium via Germany towards Basel(Switserland)
then Luzern..we booked 4 nights in the youth hostel..
Swiss youth hostels are spic and span..very clean..
it was a good place..bit outside Luzern..
I will report about our visit..Switserland..is just an amazing country..
it really gave my system a mental healthy kick..
we walked in the mountains near Pilatus...
steep cog railway track there..very impressive piece of engineering work..
I'll try to find a good link about Luzern..
http://www.luzern.org/en/navpage-ExcursionsLU.html
Tiger

We went for a 2 days excursion towards the island Gozo..
all I actually recall is the fact it was scorching hot..
we had to take a ferry from Cirkewwa towards Mgarr(Gozo)
the bus ride from Valetta towards Cirkewwa was not very pleasant..
the driver drove reckless like most Maltese busdrivers anyway
we reached Victoria..which is the main place for Gozo..
stayed somewhere in a small pension..don't remember the name..
the main attraction of Victoria was the citadel and a few musea..
the cathedral is worthwhile visiting..within the citadel itself were a few
very interesting musea about folklore,history,arts etc..the usual stuff..
we visited a local market..interesting..bit different then home..
Victoria was O.K.for the first day...second day we got bit bored..
but it stays an impressive walled city..no doubt about that...
next day...we just loitererd around a bit..we saw the same things then
the day before..we were travelling back to Valetta the same way as we
came..means ferry/bus..we were glad to be back in Sliema..
this was our last day in Malta..next day...back home with with Air Malta..
it had been a different holiday..very Mediteranean..but to scorching hot
http://www.holiday-malta.com/resort/gozo/index.html
http://www.holiday-malta.com/resort/...l/citadel.html

Tiger

As the heading suggests..it's gonna be blue and green clear water
the bus ride from Valetta to Zurrieq was no joke..a scenic route..
reaching Zurrieq we still had to take some cablike transport..
to reach the point where we could get into local boats..
taking us to the grottos..no need to say this is very touristical..
the water is so damn clear..green/blue colour..
the reflections of the sun are giving shades to the water..
wonderful experience...worthwhile the long haul from Valetta
we made a small boat ride into the caves..it was so bloody peaceful..
I considered this as one of the highlights of our Malta visit..
the blue shades in the water..could really be experienced..
they told us there were about 5 or 6 caves..I bet we only did 1..
back by bus to Valetta/Sliema..next day..Gozo Island..yes...by bus..
I see if i can get a link on this...click on this link..
scroll down..some pics of Blue grotto are shown..
http://www.pbase.com/zulakitten/hagar_qim_and_blue_grotto
by the way..Hagar Qim is a megalith site..did not visit..boooh..kick me