Lucerne, Switzerland

10/1/2012

After a relaxing weekend with my parents, I woke up around 7 in the morning to catch a train to Lucerne. Just four of us went: Holland, David, and Ali. It was relaxing to travel with a small group, because we did not have to have any set plans. The train ride was between three and four hours, so we got there a little bit after 11. Right as we walked out of the train station, we saw boat rides that went around Lake Lucerne. We took a two hour boat ride from 12 until 2, which was free with our EuRail, and it was only able to cover a small portion of the lake. Lake Lucerne is the fourth largest lake in the country and it is also known as the lake of the four forested cantons/Vierwaldstättersee. Some of the views from the boat were unbelievable, because the mountains were absolutely gorgeous. The water was also extremely calm so it looked as if the lake was covered in glass. Despite the weather outside being a bit cold, it was relaxing to just sit outside and enjoy the beauty of Switzerland. We were able to see Mount Pilatus and Rigi.

View of Lake Lucerne from the Boat

On the boat

D.A.H.A on the boat!

Artsy!

Once our boat docked, we headed toward the Kappelbrücke (the Chapel Bridge). It is a wooden covered bridge that was originally built in 1333, but was replaced in 1993 after a fire. As we were walking across the bridge we noticed a series of paintings across the top of the bridge. They are from the 17^th century and depict events from Lucerne’s history. This is the city’s most famous landmark and it is absolutely beautiful. Once we were across the bridge, all of just walked around and went into random shops as we pleased. There was this one amazing candy shop that had so many fun sweets! Eventually we made our way to the Löwendenkmal, the lion monument. It is a famous carving of a dying lion, which commemorates the hundreds of Swiss guards who were massacred in the French Revolution. There was a little pond/fountain in front of the monument. Even though it is not a wishing fountain, all of us threw coins into it and made a wish. People were looking at us like we were crazy, because we were treating it like the Trevi Fountain in Rome! After some great wishes, we came across this fun store that had a lot of different cookie cutters. Ali and I bought ones that were in the shape of Switzerland and had the Swiss flag in the middle. Holland bought a Swiss Army knife with his name engraved on it! We tried to find the main part of the Museggmauer (Musegg wall), but we were only able to find a small part of it. It was still pretty as we were able to see the river from where we were standing.

In front of the Chapel Bridge

Chapel Bridge!

Chapel Bridge

Lion Monument!

Candy store

Musegg wall

Around 5 pm we ate dinner on the water at Ristorante La Terrzza. It was definitely a little bit more expensive, but well worth it at the same time. On our way back to the train station we stopped off to get gelato. We had about 45 minutes until our train left, so we went and sat by the river. It was a relaxing way to end such a wonderful day! We ended up getting back to the villa around 10PM. I was seriously considering hanging out at the villa all day, but I am glad I went to Lucerne. It is definitely a good place to go for a day trip. 

Dinner