The Wiley Way: Luzern: Traditional Swiss Cuisine...

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY LISA LOU! LOVE YOU LOTS!

Now, I have a lot of food to describe for you and it has been 48 hours since I last wrote you. Phew. Let’s get down to business.

After our model photo shoot on Thursday evening, we got up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Friday morning to leave Murren. We were literally in a cloud so we could not see the Eiger well enough to bid it a fond farewell. For this, I am rather thankful because I think Petey could have sat next to the Eiger for the entire vacation and skipped Vienna/Budapest.

We traveled by train, gondola, train, and another train before we arrived in Luzern. For lunch, we picked up some cracked pepper turkey, swiss cheese, little rolls, and pretzels to eat on the last leg of the train ride. This was the epitome of backpacking through Europe. It was such comfort food and SO CHEAP! Amen, because the cost to visit Switzerland is outrageous. We arrived in Luzern around 2 pm and found out we got an upgrade to a new hotel. Sweet! The hotel looked like a room in which Christian Grey might stay. Ahem.

Luzern looks a little like Venice as most of the shopping sits on either side of a river and two famous bridges pass back and forth between the two sides. We took a stroll down the two sides and I ended up feeding a giant posse of swans, ducks, and strange looking phantom puffin-type birds some carrot cake. Pictures below.

Are we psyched for Luzern? YES WE ARE!

It is here that I also had another traditional Swiss meal: Alpermagronen, or Alpine Herder’s Macaroni! This is a rich combination of swiss cheese, cream, potatoes, noodles, sometimes onions, and baked apples on top. The starch of the potato impacts the flavor in addition to the tartness of the apple laying on top. It comes in a big pot, see below. It was beyond creamy, strings of cheese cascading past my fork, and it was a dish I needed to share with someone else! Petey had Pork Schnitzel, a thin pork chop coated in bread crumbs, flour, and cheese. Delish combination with the macaroni and cheese.

I happened upon my first cupcake shop of this journey, a shop called Maison Gout. I selected the Vanilla cupcake and the Rock Chocolate cupcake. Vanilla=real cream used for icing… way too intrusive on my tongue. So thick and too rich, not downright Betty Crocker sugary enough for me. Rock Chocolate, however, was phenomenal. Chocolate chips were on the bottom, followed up by a moist chocolate cake, thick, dark chocolate icing, and a chocolate ball on top. Well done, Maison Gout… 4 out of 5 stars.

I pondered purchasing this cupcake for my home... but could not find a way to ship it there...

We retired early because it began to rain in Luzern and we had to prepare to get up at 3:45 am to catch our train, flight, and train to Vienna. This morning’s train ride was out of control. The college kids in Luzern stay up until 4:30 or 5 am on Friday nights and ride the trains back to their homes at this time. This just so happened to be the train we needed to catch. Ugh. But we survived. The flight was smooth as well and we arrived in Vienna today around 1 pm. I have indulged in two unbelievable desserts this afternoon and for them, I shall dedicate an entire entry. So, read on and prepare to salivate while clutching your stomach.