Switzerland trip July 2010

   

LUCERNE / LUZERN

After being in Italy for 6 weeks we flew to spend a week in Switzerland, July 14 - 21
we arrived at Zurich airport late afternoon and caught the train that was in the bottom level of the airport to Lucerne (Luzern in Swiss German) , about an hour or two  away right in the center of Switzerland

We had booked the cheapest place we could find which was  a two star hotel that was only ten minutes walk from the railway station. It was a pleasant hotel in a nice quiet residential area and cost $102 for the night which is a reasonable  price for Switzerland.

From there we went to check out the local restaurants for dinner but found the prices to be out of our budget, and ended up having more fast food style souvlaki . We sat outside in the cooler air until a light rain forced us to a table inside .


After a great breakfast at the hotel we left our bags at the desk and went exploring

Lucerne is a beautiful city: built along the large Lucerne lake and the outflowing Reuss river, and has mountains close by

We had a great guidebook ( Rick Steves) and followed his self-guided tour of the old town. 

We started at the modern Culture and Conference center next to the Lake and the station. The architect wanted it built in the middle of the Lake, but residents objected, so as a compromise it is built with lots of water around it, and, uniquely, flowing as streams through the lobby





from there we went along the river to the Chapel Bridge which was built in the 1300's. next to the water tower from the 1200's. It is a beautiful wooden bridge that was decorated in lots of flowers with quite a few swans to add to its photogenic qualities. Under the rafters of the bridge are  paintings from the middle ages

from  the  bridge we went the short distance to the 

Jesuit church seen here in the background

The Jesuit Church (1666-1677)  is dedicated to the great missionary Francis Xavier. We saw many beautiful old churches in Italy and Austria and were surprised at the diversity of building styles.Some had very dark interiors, this one, with its stucco marble, was one of the brightest.
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after leaving the church we traveled along the Reuss river which is a lovely ,clean , fast flowing river that at one point creates rapids as it flows through the old town. The city makes use of this by having an underwater hydroelectric plant





A little way along the river you come to another old, more rustic  bridge, the Mill Bridge with its fine old 17th century paintings. There used to be 10 mills operating here.




after crossing the bridge we came into old town  much of which is traffic free and has a number of small squares  (platz) .
The buildings had a lot of character, and were often quite unique in style

 Many of the buildings throughout the old town were adorned with paintings on their facade. Some are very old, and some are more modern.

Fortunately our guide book was able to explain the meaning of the various murals

as we continued on our walk we were amazed at how much effort goes into adding to Lucernes natural beauty, such as these "flower trees"

from the old town we went 10 minutes walk to see the Lion Monument: a huge sculpture  33 feet by 20 feet tall which is carved right into a cliff face, over a reflecting pool, in  a shady park. The dying Lion pays tribute to the bravery of Swiss mercenaries who were killed or executed defending the French King during  the French Revolution

the pathos of the scupture is very moving  even if you are not a big fan of King Louis. The Lions head rest on a shield with tears streaming down his cheeks. On his side is the broken off end of a spear, which is slowly killing the noble beast. It is certainly the most memorable scupture I have ever seen. 

In the afternoon we took a two hour ferry ride around a small part of Lake Luzern. It is a very pretty lake surrounded by mountains 

after our trip around part of the lake we headed for the train station to embark on  our next adventure in the Swiss ALPS