SWITZERLAND is expensive by Australian standards. And if you like to enjoy the little luxuries of dining and drinking in its prettiest locations, you will pay for it.
Lucerne - famed for The Chapel (right outside our balcony at Rathaus Quai's Hotel Pickwick) and Spreuer bridges - is no exception.
Situated on a massive lake of the same name, the unofficial capital of Central Switzerland attracts more than 2.5 million visitors each year who are willing to part with their hard-earned cash because of its beautiful waterfront location and impressive Old Town.
But I reckon we managed to uncover the city's best value-for-money tour - all free and all natural.
The Best Of Lake Lucerne round-trip cruise on the historic paddle steamer Gallia (the fastest vessel of its kind on the lake) leaves from Pier 1 daily in summer.
By showing our Eurail Global Saver Pass onboard, the cruise was free - something we only discovered by reading the English brochure the night before.
For three hours - even with the company of 900 other passengers - we were able to sit back, relax with the help of local white wines and lagers made especially for the SGV company, and drink in the lakeside and mountain scenery, resort towns and historic memorials which come with commentary in English.
Highlights included sailing through the Kreuztrichter where all four bays of the lake merge, seeing the Rutli meadow - known as the birthplace of Switzerland, and the narrowest point of the lake (214m) at Nasen.
Also during the cruise, passengers can be captivated by the workings of the 1913 as the paddle wheels swish round and round and the steamroom crew springs into action as the vessel moves in and out of each port of call from Lucerne to Weggis, Vitznau, Treib, Rutli and Brunnen. Gallia also is called upon to do a nautical loop at Rutli.
The outside decks are the places to enjoy the sounding of the paddlesteamer horn, to wave to passengers onboard PS Unterealden, PS Stadt Luzern and PS Schiller as they pass by during the journey, and listen to the traditional folk and modern Swiss music while getting some of the glorious summer sun's rays on the cruise which operates from late May to early September.
Lesson of the day: Even more things to get used to in Europe
* Double beds that are actually two twins pushed together with individual sheeting and doonas.
* Big pillows with little filling
* One person (with luggage) or two-person (without luggage) elevators that are as old as the Old Town buildings we stay in.
* Usually taking two to five flights of stairs because of scary elevators.
Hairy cow count: 3 (adding to the long-haired bull earlier)
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