Switzerland
Lucerne

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    • Day 6

      Chapel Bridge

      July 21 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

      We slept in today and boy did we need it. We had a great walking tour around the city! Chapel Bridge is Lucerne's landmark and considered to be Europe's oldest covered bridge. It was built in the 14th century. The pictorial panels inside the bridge, which were incorporated in the 17th century, contain scenes of Swiss and Lucerne’s history. They still have the old city wall and things left behind from the Romans. We also saw the Lion Monument and a woman who was going to surf the river. The Lion Monument (German: Löwendenkmal), commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution. Queen Victoria and Mark Twain vacationed here. Michael Jackson wanted to buy a castle and live here but they didn’t let him. Oh yeah, and you can drink the water from any of their fountains!!Read more

    • Day 41

      Luzern

      June 3 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      Nachdem wir in Frankreich noch mal beim Carrefour waren, ging es weiter in die Schweiz nach Luzern. Wir sind auf einem netten CP am See untergekommen. Alles ist recht nass, die letzten Tage hat es hier viel geregnet, auch der See führt viel Wasser.
      Am Nachmittag sind wir dann mit dem Bus (das Busticket ist im CP Preis eingeschlossen) nach Luzern gefahren (ca. 20 Min) und kamen direkt beim Bahnhof an und haben uns erst mal einen kleinen Überblick verschafft. Was wir bis jetzt gesehen haben, gefällt uns gut. Hoffen wir mal, dass wir morgen noch ein paar Berge sehen können und es nicht regnet.
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    • Day 70

      Lucerne Switzerland

      July 17, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      Located right in the center of Switzerland, Lucerne is not only a beautiful city worth experiencing, it’s also a great base from which to explore the rest of Switzerland as the city is very well connected to the rest of the country by an efficient railway system.

      One of the most famous landmarks of Lucerne is the Chapel Bridge, which was built in the 14th century and is said to be the oldest bridge of its kind in Europe. As it’s a popular landmark, there are several tour groups that take tourists on a walking tour of the bridge, complete with stories and pictures of medieval life in Lucerne. The other popular landmark of Lucerne is undoubtedly the Dying Lion of Lucerne, built after the French Revolution to commemorate the Swiss Guards who gave up their lives during the war.

      The Lucerne Lakefront district is very picturesque, situated in the heart of alstadt (old town). We sampled some of the trafitional Swiss dishes and beers here. Much of the food had a german influence and german was the predominate language of Lucerne, with eastern Switzerland speaking german and western speaking french. This was a beautiful small city and one that should not be missed.
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    • Day 6

      Jackson Yodeled and Blew into an Alphorn

      July 21 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

      We also have enjoyed the cheeses and bread here. We decided to stop in a restaurant that provides a show with a traditional Swiss dinner and it was highly entertaining! Jackson gladly partook in the activities!Read more

    • Day 154

      Luzern

      September 6, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      Ich bleibe im Zentrum der Schweiz und besuche heute Luzern. Auch wenn das Stadtbild einige Gemeinsamkeiten mit Zürich aufweist, herrscht hier ein ganz andere Atmosphäre, die besser zum ländlich geprägten Rest passt.
      Die Reuss teilt die Stadt und wird von mehreren wunderschönen Brücken aus Holz oder Stahl überspannt. Auf beiden Seiten zieht es mich in die engen Gassen und auf kleine Plätzen, die von oft kunstvoll bemalten Fassaden begleitet werden.
      Bei der Mittagspause am Ufer des Vierwaldstättersee kann ich ihn und die Berge noch einmal aus einer anderen Perspektive als bei der gestrigen Wanderung begutachten. Tolle Ausblicke bieten sich mir beim Spaziergang auf der ehemaligen Befestigungsanlage und von den den zugehörigen Türmen. Trotz einiger Touristen und beinahe kitschig schöner Sehenswürdigkeiten, fühlt sich die Stadt immer noch authentisch an.
      Etwas oberhalb des übernächsten Sees finde ich einen Stellplatz mit herrlichem Blick auf ihn und die Stadt Lungern.
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    • Day 3

      Nadelwehr e parte delle mura

      February 8 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

      Storica diga che regolava lo scambio tra il lago e il fiume, bloccando trasversalmente, ma non chiudendo mai il percorso all'acqua.
      Le altre foto sono le torri perimetrali delle mura della città vecchia, che arrivano sino al fiume.Read more

    • Day 25

      25. Lucerne

      February 29 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

      Wow, what can I say. We have found the Switzerland we were looking for!!
      We woke up today to a hazy yet warm day and quickly headed to Lucerne to explore. We were struggling a bit as we had no phone sim card sorted to plan the trip,so we followed our P4N app to a recommended car park to get the bus into Lucerne.

      The Short 20 minute drive was so scenic with the Alps peaking through over the beautiful lake next to the city. We drove through the middle of the town, which yet again was slightly stressful, but we arrived safely. We left Maddy in the van today as we weren't sure how dog friendly Switzerland is and she does stop us visiting shops together.

      We got on a very expensive bus (it was a short 10 min ride and cost us £14), we both said the bikes should have come out. Arriving in Lucerne was so exciting after the sneak preview we had earlier. The town is very old and has a 14th century wooden bridge which crosses the river. On the roof of the bridge was original paintings which were mad to see, sadly in 1993 they had a fire and 5 paintings were ruined and you could see where the flames had affected the bridge. In the middle was a tower which was used as a dungeon. This gave us a cool insite into the citys history.

      We had a bit of a wander through the colourfully painted streets and went to a souvenier shop to buy some badges and magnets for our collection. One thing we have learnt is how expensive Switzerland is , you can really tell that the wages are high here when a small sandwich is £10 and a bottle of coke is nearly £5. Mental really, so we headed to a local supermarket and brought some lunch there and headed to the Lake to eat and enjoy the view.
      As the day went on the Alps made more and more of an apperance and the view across the lake was literally amazing, the best view we have seen since our Himalayan trek.

      We got some Swiss sim cards so we can plan our trip and managed to get a fairly good deal, suprisingly. Afterwards, we headed along the lake front passing the Casino and some very posh hotels and resturants. Pasta dishes for £35 was funny to see.

      The last stop was a trip to a famous lion monument which was built for the soldiers who died during the french revolution. The sculpture is cut into the cliff and was very intricately designed. We took some photo's of us stroking him and slowly headed back towards the van.

      After letting Maddy out and sorting recycling out, we headed onto our next free park up and the route there, well we can't explain how scenic it was! This made us both realise that this was the exact reason we built a van, it felt like this was the moment we had been longing for over the last 3 years building the van, cruising through the mountains , music blasting on our soundsystem, sun glasses on. It was such a hype and we loved every second of the journey to the park up. We have found another free gem park up in Switzerland, the view from our windscreen is insane.

      We played basketball and had a kick around with the ball for a bit, Maddy decided to eat some disgusting things and we headed inside when it got dark and cooked a lovely noodle chicken dish.

      Then spent the last 2 hours updating Penguins before chilling and ready for our next day in Switzerland. Weather not looking great tomorrow, Heavy snow at times so that should be entertaining.
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    • Day 2

      Gletschergarten Luzern

      July 4 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      Auf dem Programm steht heute der Gletschergarten in Luzern.
      Schon um halb 10 Uhr geht es los, per Schiff ab Beckenried. Eine gute Stunde später haben wir Luzern erreicht und machen uns auf den Weg durch die Altstadt. Zuerst sehen wir uns das Löwendenkmal an, dann geht es in den Gletschergarten.
      Wir sehen uns auch das zugehörige Museum an und die neue Felsenwelt. Die Felsenwelt ist sehr modern mit Animationen gestaltet, aber sehr informativ und interessant. Über mehr als 100 Stufen erreicht man fantastische Aussichtspunkte auf Luzern. Wir sind sehr begeistert.
      Durch die quirlige Altstadt zurück, erreichen wir wieder den Schiffsanleger und fahren zurück nach Beckenried. Auf unserer Terrasse am Hotelzimmer nehmen wir noch einen Espresso und was Süsses.
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    • Day 1

      Luzern

      March 30, 2023 in Switzerland

      Dreimal ist Bremer Recht, also geht es nochmal los bevor ich wieder arbeiten darf.
      Diesmal weniger anstrengend mit einem Interrailticket. Hauptziel sind die Panoramastrecken in der Schweiz und dann mal sehen was sich ergibt 😁
      Von Bremen geht es über Hannover und Frankfurt nach Basel und dann bis nach Luzern am Vierwaldstättersee. In acht Stunden vom Flachland, vorbei am Schwarzwald, bis in die Alpen.
      Zum Start meiner Reise habe ich kein Glück mit dem Wetter. Es ist sehr unbeständig, es gibt immer wieder Schauer, starken Wind und zwischendurch Sonnenschein.
      Meinen Plan auf den Aussichtsberg Rigi per Schiff und Zahnradbahn zu fahren verwerfe ich. Ein Aussichtsberg bei schlechtem Wetter und schlechter Sicht lohnt sich nicht. Zumal die Rundtour trotz 50% Interrailrabatt noch 60 CHF gekostet hätte. Bei schönem Wetter lohnt sich das bestimmt. Es wird damit geworben, dass man bei perfekter Sicht 24 der 26 schweizer Kantone sehen kann.
      Den zweiten Aussichtsberg Pilatus kann man an diesem Tag überhaupt nicht erreichen. Die Zahnradbahn wird renoviert und die Seilbahn fährt nicht aufgrund des starken Windes.
      Stattdessen sammle ich über 20000 Schritte in der Altstadt und klappere alle Sehenswürdigkeiten ab. Die bekannteste ist die überdachte Holzbrücke. Das Löwendenkmal ist leider durch ein Gerüst verdeckt.
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    • Day 5

      Lucerne City Tour & Mount Stansserhorn

      July 12 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

      We started our day with a guided tour of the city. Our guide met us in the hotel lobby and proved to be a charming woman. She took us across several bridges crossing the Reuss (river), which had centuries-old paintings, commissioned by the wealthy ruling class primarily as forms of religious propaganda.
      The Spreuerbrücke's motif was death, with morbid paintings showing how common an occurrence death was in the era. Laura thinks this one gave her nightmares. We also got to hear more about the cross the Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge -- the iconic one lined with flowers), and hear how much of it burned down a few decades ago, losing many of the paintings in the blaze.

      On our walk over to the Jesuitenkirche, our guide gave us a glimpse into Swiss society by explaining their school, tax, military service, religious demographic, and Canton makeup. She dispelled the common outsider belief that Switzerland is a progressive nation, with the example that women only gained the right to vote in the 70s. Good exposure for Caty, though I'm certain Laura and I got more enjoyment out of the conversation. All in all, it was one of the better city tours we've taken.

      After a light lunch we took a bus over to Stans, and then rode the funicular and then cable car 🚡 up the Stansserhorn mountain. We spend about an hour hiking up to the summit, and then down/back-up a more challenging trail. It was a much clearer day than yesterday, even with some periodic light sprinkles of rain, so we had terrific visibility. The view in all directions was nothing short of spectacular. We also enjoyed the sound of cow bells jangling resonating up from various herds located further down the mountain. No luck getting Caty to jodel, unfortunately.

      After we got back to Lucerne, Laura and I braved the rain in search of a pre-dinner cocktail. We shared the hotel's umbrella that was advertised to us as "quite large". Maybe something was lost in translation, as we really had to glom together and still could only keep 80% of ourselves dry. After a martini (which is locally called the American drink, much to the offense of some Canadian customers) and a Moscow Mule, we paid our tab and went back to pick up Caty for dinner.

      Caty will be a guest author covering our fancy dinners... as soon as we can get her to prioritize it...
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Luzern, Lucerne, لوسرن, Горад Люцэрн, Луцерн, ལུ་ཛེར་ན།, Lucern, Lucerna, Люцерн, Λουκέρνη, Lucerno, Luzerna, לוצרן, ルツェルン, Canton Lucerne, ლუცერნი, 루체른, Lüzerna, Liucerna, लुत्सर्न, 6000, Lucerni, Łuxerna, לוצערן, 卢塞恩

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