Saturday, October 12, 2024

A day in Lucerne

We returned from our European cruise about two weeks ago  and have just started to get ourselves fully back into ordinary life. What a lovely time it was. I can't believe how much we were able to see and experience in such a short period of time. Our journey took us down the Rhine River from Switzerland to Amsterdam.  It has already begun to be a bit of a jumble in my head.  However, over the next few posts I hope I will be able to unpack each experience in my mind and savor the memories of each day.
 
 Tasting Europe a Viking River Rhine Cruise - Green With Renvy

Our adventure began when we flew into Basel, Switzerland where we met up with some good friends who had flown in from California the day before, We had all planned two days in country before boarding our boat. After a long flight, we arrived just in time for a quick view of the city around our hotel and dinner in one of the small shops inside the Basel International Train Station before settling down for the night.



 


After a good sleep, we headed out in the morning for the city of Lucurne. The Investigator and I had pleasant memories of having visited here in 1978, and we were looking forward to seeing it again. It was just as beautiful as we had remembered.

We took time to visit the Lion of Lucerne, a stone relief that was carved into the wall of a beautiful grotto and completed in 1821. It is one of Switzerland's most famous memorials, built to remember and commemorate the death of over seven hundred Swiss Guards who were killed while protecting King Louis XVI's Palace of Tuileries in Paris during the French Revolution.




We took a walk through the Kapellbruke (Church Bridge).  Originally built in 1408 as part of the original fortified wall of the city, it is the oldest covered bridge in Europe.  We walked the original bridge 46 years ago and remembered grieving the loss of parts of it during a terrible fire (caused by a careless cigarette!) in 1993. Thankfully, it has been restored and continues to grace the historic city.

 Only a small number of the original paintings were saved and restored to the bridge.  The rest were lost.



 

 Views from the bridge.


 


A visit inside the Baroque Style Jesuit Church which opened in 1667. 

 


 




Later in the afternoon, we found ourselves outside of Lucerne heading up the side of a mountain, first on a funiculaire railway, and then halfway up we switched to an aerial tram.

At first the views felt like a scene from Sound of Music.  Then we as we rose into the trees we could see the entire valley.
 



Soon we were heading up towards the clouds.


 A few minutes of complete blindness in the thick fog of the clouds, and then suddenly we popped through the cloud cover into bright blue skies. The clouds now below us created a billowy white carpet as the mountain peaks rose above them.  My photos couldn't begin to capture just how stunning it was.

 

We were incredibly blessed with the views that day. It was rare to have a day so sunny and clear. The ranger told us that much of the time there would be clouds, fog or rain. In fact, that was what we were expecting, so I didn't wear a hat and ended up with quite a sunburn.  It was worth it though.  God was smiling down on us and sharing his mighty handy work. I will never forget it.  All too soon it was time to come down from the peaks to the valley below,  But soon there will be new places to explore which I will save for another day.

Adieu!

10 comments:

  1. Amazing pictures!! So much to see and appreciate. We just don't have beautiful old buildings like that in North America.

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    1. Yes, I do love seeing all the historic European architecture. Each country's style is slightly different.

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  2. Wow, what stunning scenery. A fantastic start to your trip. I look forward to reading more.

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    1. It made me wish I had brought my heavy 35 mm with me.

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  3. What an amazing first day of your trip. So sweet to get the weather you did and to be able to see so much. The lion sculpture is so cool. Love the covered bridge, too. It sure does take a while to get acclimated back to real time coming home. The Jetlag struggle is real. My brain is already foggy about our time away, too. Looking forward to the rest of your trip.

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    1. I remember visiting that Lion sculpture when we came 46 years ago. It was so quiet and we were the only ones there. This time there were tour buses everywhere and 100s of people milling around. Things have certainly changed.

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  4. Happy Sunday, Glo. I was hoping to see some of your travels here eventually. Thanks for sharing! I am glad you got to go back to Europe. A river cruise sounds like fun.

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    1. Hi Cousin, I am glad you liked them. There will be more to come.

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  5. Wow, Gloria. What a fabulous cruise you had. So happy for you. Thanks for sharing the photos, too. I appreciate yoyr visiting and commenting on Writing Straight from the Heart. Love to seecyou have visited!

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  6. Your revisit trip must have been very special. Thank you for sharing your photos. I remember a postcard my late Uncle sent to us of the Kapellbruke. What wonderful memories you will have as you look back on your time in Europe! I look forward to seeing more in future blog posts.

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