Luzern and Pilatus
November 14, 2019
David wakes me up at 8:00 with his cute BIG smile, a freshly made cup of good coffee and the news that our luggage “is on its way”! YAY!!! We have our coffee, get ready and pack for the day.
First on the agenda is to walk over to the famous wooden bridge and then make our way to the beautiful Sleeping Lion monument.
Lucerne is unique in that its three wooden pedestrian bridges, the 14th-century Hofbrücke (now destroyed) and Kapellbrücke and the 16th-century Spreuerbrücke, all featured painted interior triangular frames. None of Europe’s other wooden footbridges have this feature.The paintings, dating back to the 17th century and executed by local Catholic painter Hans Heinrich Wägmann, depict events from Lucerne’s history. Of the original 158 paintings, 147 existed before the 1993 fire. After the fire, the remains of 47 paintings were collected, but ultimately only 30 were fully restored.–Wikipedia
The Kapellbrücke (literally, Chapel Bridge) is a covered wooden footbridge spanning the river Reuss diagonally in the city of Lucerne in central Switzerland. Named after the nearby St. Peter’s Chapel, the bridge is unique in containing a number of interior paintings dating back to the 17th century, although many of them were destroyed along with a larger part of the centuries-old bridge in a 1993 fire. Subsequently restored, the Kapellbrücke is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe, as well as the world’s oldest surviving truss bridge. It serves as the city’s symbol and as one of Switzerland’s main tourist attractions.–Wikipedia
The Sleeping Lion Monument was inaugurated on August 10, 1821. It is a giant sculpture carved out of sandstone rock and measures 20 ft high and 33 ft long. The upright wall of rock is the remains of a quarry exploited over centuries to build the town. Though the site was originally on private property, the city of Lucerne purchased it and it is accessible without an entrance fee. (Mark Twain referred to The Sleeping Lion Monument as “the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world.”)
After visiting the monument, we stop into a gift shop and look at coo-coo clocks. They make it very tempting to buy one, but I opt to purchase a couple of small souvenir items, ($24.00 CHF), and move on to our next adventure.
As we start back in the direction of our apartment, David notices a bus stopped right in front of us, going to where we want to go. (What?! A bus right where it should be for us at just the right time?! Of course. We are in Switzerland and timing is what they do.) We hop on and we are off to see Pilatus.
Since we have the Swiss Travel Pass, our tickets for the gondola and tram up to Pilatus are half price. ($36.00 CHF each)
OH WOW! What vistas! We enjoy our lunch while drinking up the beautiful view of the Swiss Alps through the window adjacent to our table, (David can see it if he turns around). We are sharing a plate filled with different locally cured meats, a couple of large pieces of parmesan cheese, 2 pickled baby corn, 3 cocktail onions, and 2 baby sweet pickles and a glass each of a locally brewed beer. ($34.50 CHF)
The boat on Lake Luzern to take us back to Old Town Lucern is absolutely spectacular. David orders a small bottle of wine which is a delicious blend of Pinot Noir, Cabernet and something else I am not familiar with. SCRUMPTIOUS!
Off the boat, we walk past the train station toward our apartment by way of that little spot I noticed yesterday, selling freshly roasted chestnuts. They smell so wonderful so I decide to purchase a good sized bag, ($9.62). The bag is still very warm and I peel one of the chestnuts, hand it to David to try and then proceed to peel one for myself. We look at each other, mouths full and eyes big. The flavor isn’t bad, but the nut is dry and meally and begins to expand exponentially with every chew. I look at the bag in my hands, full of chestnuts, and then to David with an expression of embarrassment and disappointment, “Well, I believe I am one and done. Sigh….Oh well, it was worth a try. I will always remember the smell of chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
Back at the apartment, David scopes out a place for dinner on his computer and I check and respond to some emails. Word on our luggage is that it should be delivered this evening!
We stop into a restaurant David found on TripAdvisor with the plan to have fondue. The place looks impressive, but we learn that they will only serve fondue out side. Since it is cold by my standards, we decide to find another place for fondue. We decide to try a restaurant just around the corner from our apartment. They do serve cheese fondue inside, (and you can tell because it is quite ‘fragrant’). Now I understand why other places serve it only outside. Our fondue was accompanied with bread, boiled potatoes and a lovely red wine. Very good and very filling. ($130.00 CHF)
After dinner, it is time to call it a day so we stop back in to the hotel check-in desk to see if we have some luggage waiting for us. Mine is there, David’s is not. I am thrilled, David is not.
Back in the apartment, David proceeds to wash his clothes again for the next day and we say “good night”.
Until next time,
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