Day 9 - Sat 06 Sep 25: Lucerne to Flüelen to Lugano

September 06, 2025

Sat 06 Sep 25: Lucerne to Flüelen to Lugano

We woke to a clear sky but quite a mountain-like fresh 11 degrees. Today was another cruise through Lake Lucerne, this time on a paddle steamer for almost 3 hours to Flüelen, then we boarded the Gotthard Panorama Exress train to Lugano, a picturesque lakeside town in Italian-speaking Ticino region of Switzerland. After breakfast we checked out (after I complained about the terrible state of our room - shower post was loose and fell out of the wall, no shower screen, no hot water in hand basin, hand basin tap fell off, hair drier bracket hanging from the wall with exposed wiring; otherwise the bed was comfortable). The young man at reception told me it was being renovated and that we were the first couple to stay in the room - to see how it would be he said...He now knows exactly how it went. We then caught a bus from around the corner just 4 stops to the railway station, and waited at Pier 1 for our steam boat to Flüelen to depart at 11:12. Here we were able to check our baggage in all the way to Lugano. It was more like a ferry dropping off and picking up passengers at different points along the way, which explains why it took so long to get to Flüelen. Nevertheless, it was a very pleasant cruise with stunning scenery, and the weather was almost perfect (just a bit hazy). We arrived at Flüelen and walked a very short distance to board the Gotthard Panorama Express train. The scenery was great but we were seated on the sunny side of the carriage which had a lot of glare. That didn’t really matter for Noel though, because she didn't see much of the trip at all. Unfortunately, she spent most of her time in the toilet with vomiting and diarrhoea. We suspect it was the wrap she ate on the boat that she bought earlier in Lucerne. All in all, it’s safe to say our Gotthard Experience was not as enjoyable as we had expected. On arrival in Lugano at 4:45pm, instead of trying to find the right bus, we caught a taxi straight to the hotel (Hotel Zurigo), and checked in for the night. By now Noel was feeling somewhat better, so we went out and she bought a bread roll for dinner, and went back to the room, while i wandered off to explore as much of Lugano as I could in the dying daylight. On the way back to the room I grabbed what turned out to be a very tasty take away stirfry with rice for dinner in the room. It's been a long day, and expect we won't have any trouble sleeping tonight.🤞🤞

Tomorrow will be another long day of Bus and Rail travel on the Bernina Express via Tirano to St Moritz.