Room 118, Hotel Seehof, Lucerne
Despite the lousy weather, our journey to Lucerne was more interesting. Firstly, we passed by many waterfalls snaking their way down from the mountaintops, ending in little white streams or huge foamy rushes of water.
Then we entered the St. Gotthard Tunnel, which is slightly less than 17 km long - making it the third-longest tunnel in the world.
When we finally exited the tunnel, we were in the German-speaking region of Switzerland and the rain had stopped for a little while.
We continued past very blue lakes bordered by very green hills full of very pretty houses owned by very lucky people.
But thanks to the slow traffic at some points of the ride, we arrived at our small hotel a little too late for a shower. So we all trooped into the restaurant for yet another group dinner.
We were disappointed that the hotel was 15 minutes from the city centre. However, we finally got to see the area after dinner when we set off for optional excursion #5: "Swiss Folklore Evening".
The bus passed Lucerne's old Chapel Bridge and we saw the British flag waving in front of good old Hotel Pickwick, before we drew to a stop nearby and shivered our way up the cobbled street into the (thankfully) warm Restaurant Stadtkeller.
For the next two hours or so, we were kept entertained by displays of traditional Swiss dances and music - everything from yodelling and ringing bells to playing the Swiss accordion and the musical saw. At the same time, we enjoyed boiling pots of cheese fondue and a drink of our choice (in my case, a glass of white wine).
The drinks helped get everyone into the spirit, as members of the audience were called up to try yodelling and blowing the Alp horn, whilst everyone else clapped along, snapped photos, took videos, and laughed as a big costumed cow nuzzled its way down the tables.
But all good things have to come to an end, and we got up and shivered our way back down the street to our coach.
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