Day 9-10 Sightseeing and Shows

Day 9 started early as we boarded busses at 8am to head for Mount Pilatus near Lucerne.  This is the home of the world-famous cog train, that is really a national treasure.  We took the train up, about 15 minutes, with a vertical rise of about 7,000 feet - the steepest angle being 48 degrees.  Really a marvel.  And all the nostalgic elements to boot - hikers, cows with bells tinkling away, and the mountain chalet (been in service since the 1880s).  At the top we enjoyed amazing vistas, hiked to various points and then took a andrenaline rush of ride down in the 40 person gondola!

Afterwards we spent some free time in the town of Lucerne, which is a beautiful lakeside resort, with lots of historical importance and well preserved buildings.  We then returned to Basel and performed an excellent show at the Tattoo - more and more people are commenting on how well our kids are doing and the discipline they are exuding.

Day 10 found us out early again, but this time as pedestrians.  Our students have been immersed in the walking culture that is the European way.  We have probably walked 4-5 miles a day, just back and forth to our hotel, rehearsal and performance locations.  Today though we took a train out of Basel up river about 20 miles or so.  Here we visited the Roman ruins of Augusta Raurica, established about 2000 years ago.  With the help of four fine tour guides, we recieved an extensive tour of the site.

We had a rehearsal for a few hours in the afternoon to review our field show, and we added a few extra twists - we found ourselves very tired by the end of today and performing took everything the students had.   They did an outstanding job, and earned a well deserved late start tomorrow morning!  Enjoy the pics! (Sorry about the delay for the pics, internet a little fussy)