Lucerne – 20-21 Oct 2017

This morning we arose early, had a quick breakfast and checked out of our hotel for the 3 block walk to the train station.  We had bought our tickets yesterday (good for any train to Lucerne today), so all we had to do was find the right track for our train and board.  By 8:04 we were on our way to Lucerne.  Train travel in Switzerland is easy, efficient, and relatively inexpensive (compared to all other prices in Switzerland).  By 8:45 we were in Lucerne.  A short 2 block walk and we were at or hotel – Lucerne Renaissance.  Of course our room was not ready, so we stored our luggage, had a quick conversation with the check-in clerk who showed us were we wanted to go on our walk, and then started our walking tour of Altstadt (Old Town) Lucerne.  Our hotel is located about one block from the Reuss River around which the Old Town grew.  Our first stop was to Franziskranerkirche, a Gothic Franciscan Church built in the 13^th century—it is the oldest building in Lucerne.  We walked inside, which was beautiful, but a service was in progress so we quietly snuck back out.  Walking to the river’s edge, we came to the Jesuit Church of St. Francis Zavier.  Built in 1666, it was the first Baroque church in Switzerland.  Although the outside façade is plain, it is framed by two tall towers with onion-shaped domes.  Inside the church was stunning with pink marble columns and altarpiece.  The painted ceiling (done in 1749) depicts the Apotheosis of St. Francis Zavier, the patron saint of the church and co-founder of the Jesuit order.

Walking along the river’s edge we passed by an iron pedestrian bridge.  Located at the narrowest crossing spot of the river, this bridge was the location of Lucerne’s first bridge in the 12^th century.  Just passed the bridge we came to a spiky fence that partially dams up the river.  These spikes are part of the Ruess River Weir System.  The Ruess River flows out of the lake.  The lake’s main source of water is snowmelt, which trickles in from streams coming off the surrounding mountains.  The water drains out of the lake here on its way to the Rhine.  Lucerne is responsible for controlling the flow of water and preventing the flooding of lakeside villages by maintaining the lake level.  In the mid-19^th century the city devised and built a simple yet ingenious extendable dam (Nadelwehr, “spiked weir”).  When the water is highest (in the spring), they remove spikes to open the flow; as the summer wears on and the water level drops, they gradually broaden the dam to keep the flow steady.  In the winter, they close the dam entirely to keep the lake level high enough for boats.

Just passed the dam, we came to the Spreuerbrucke (Mills Bridge), one of two covered bridges crossing the Reuss River.  Built in 1407 and restored in the 19th century, this wooden bridge contains panels hanging from the ceiling that were painted in the 17^th century.  One side of the panel features a legendary and formidable giant, a favorite icon of Lucerne.  This big boy dates back to the Middle Ages, when mammoth bones discovered locally were mistakenly identified as the bones of a 15-foot tall human.  Also included with the paintings are the blue and white city and cantonal banners under the double eagle of the Holy Roman Empire – a reminder that the emperor granted free status to the city.  The reverse side of the panels shows Judgment Day, with some going to heaven and others to hell.  Its gables are painted with the Dance of Death, a mural by Kaspar Meglinger dating from the 17th century. Each painting includes a skeleton, as a reminder that no one can escape death.  The mural commemorates a plague that swept through the city.  The paintings run in sequence from the north bank and culminate with Christ’s triumph over Death at the south bank.  In the middle of the bridge, we saw a small chapel that was built in 1568.  As we approached the other side of the bridge, the bridge widened. This was done so that it could accommodate wagons that were delivering grain to be milled. At one point, three mills churned here – this was the medieval industrial center of Lucerne.

Leaving the bridge we walked to the Weinmarkt (Wine Market), passing a statue of the Swiss Marilyn Monroe on one of the buildings.  The Weinmarkt is a wonderful little square with buildings covered with colorful murals, signs and flags.  During the 15^th – 17^th centuries, people from all over Europe came for the passion plays staged here.  On the building at the top of the square is a mural that many associate with the Last Supper, but it is in fact a painting of the Wedding Feast at Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine.  We also saw the building of the Mullersche Apotheke (Wine Market Pharmacy), a drugstore built in 1530.  Although the pharmacy no longer exists, there is a writing on the façade that says “Amor medicabilis nvllis herbis” (No medicine can cure a broken heart).

Leaving the Weinmarkt we walked to the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall).  Built in 1602, the town hall has impressive masonry, a tremendous roof, and a tall rectangular tower (the only remaining part of the original town hall) and was once used to store grain.  Unfortunately, there was nothing to see on the inside.  It was just a large empty room that was being set up to house some sort of exposition.

From here we trudged up a long, high hill (this little fact was missing from our downloaded walking tour) to walk along the remains of the old city walls and fortification.  These fortifications date from the 14^th century.  Today only about 930 yards of the northern section of walls remain.  Of the watch/defensive towers, only 9 are still standing.  The wall appears to be well maintained, but it was difficult to get a clear picture of the wall and tower as a lot of trees and plants have grown up around them, and homes have been built on both sides of the wall.  I did climb up and walk that part of the wall that was open (Bill opted to walk along the lower path).  You got a nice view of Lucerne, but again, there was a lot of haze in the air so the view was not very clear.

We then continued to walk down from the wall (much easier than the walk up).  At the end of the street that runs by the city walls, we came to the Bourbaki-Panorama.  This is one of the largest canvases in Europe (10,861 square feet).  Painted in 1889 on a canvas that curves around in a circle, it depicts the bloody retreat of the French army into Switzerland during the Franco-Prussian War.  It commemorates an incident in the war where the defeated French forces of General Charles Bourbaki (1816-97) fled out of France to surrender to the neutral Swiss to avoid annihilation by the Germans. In Switzerland, the starving, diseased, and disorganized French forces were disarmed by the Swiss army, then welcomed into homes throughout Switzerland for rest and recuperation from the brutal winter.  Once returned to good health, they were sent back to France along with a hefty bill for their stay.  Before the Swiss returned the weapons collected when the French surrendered to them, they insisted that France repay them $12 million dollars.  Today, the event is hailed as one of the finest acts of humanitarian courage in Swiss history and the first test of the fledgling Red Cross.   

Not far from the Panorama is one of Lucerne’s most loved monuments and the oldest preserved figurative monument in the country – the Dying Lion Monument.  It is a large lion carved into the sandstone cliff above the town and overlooking a reflecting pond. The monument was created to commemorate the regiment of the Swiss Guard that was massacred in 1792 at Tuileries Palace in Paris during the French Revolution.  King Louis XVI moved from Versailles to Tuileries and during the 10^th August Insurrection the revolutionaries attacked the palace.  The royal family escaped thanks to the Swiss guardsmen who held off the revolutionaries, although the guardsmen were outnumbered and running out of ammunition.  Six hundred Swiss troops were killed either during the battle or after surrendering, and an additional 200 died in jail.  It portrays a dying lion with a spear embedded in its left flank and its right paw protecting a shield embroidered with the fleur-de-lis.  His head is cocked to one side and a tear flows down his cheek.  During his grand tour of Europe, Mark Twain called the "Dying Lion" of Lucerne "the saddest and most poignant piece of rock in the world."

By now our feet were definitely not made for walking and our stomachs were beginning to make weird noises, so we found a nice little restaurant near the Dying Lion Monument.  It was nice to sit quietly for a while, sipping our beer and wine and enjoying a nice lunch. Food is extremely expensive here in Switzerland.  Most main meals, including lunches, ranch from $35-$50 a course.  In the little Mexican restaurant next to the hotel, a hamburger costs $35.00!  We have started to just order a pizza to share and a nice glass of wine or beer (both of which are surprisingly cheap) for our lunch.

Once lunch was over (and our feet rested) we continued our walk to the last church – Collegiate Church of St. Leodegar.  Named after the patron saint of Lucerne, this is the most important church in the city.  It was originally built on the site of a 750 AD monastery, with the present Gothic-Renaissance building dating from the 17^th century.  The inside of the church is magnificent, with a beautiful black marble high altar and a stunning organ.  In fact the organist was playing the organ while we were inside the church.  Leading up to the church from the street level is a huge monumental stairway and the church is surrounded by cloisters which contain the tombs of the old families of Lucerne, most adorned with potted flowers.

Returning to our hotel, we walked a little around the shores of Lake Lucerne and finally reached the last site on our walk – perhaps the most famous and most photographed attraction in Lucerne – the Chapel Bridge.  This has become the symbol of Lucerne.  The oldest wooden bridge in Europe (built in 1333), it is 558 ft. long and crosses the river diagonally. It's one of the best-preserved wooden bridges in Switzerland, and was used originally for defense. The window openings facing the lake are smaller than those on the inland side, giving defenders more cover.  There's also an octagonal Wasserturm (Water Tower), built around 1300 AD, that joins the bridge near the center of the river, and was used variously as a prison, a torture chamber, lighthouse, and an archive.  The bridge was also known for its 122 paintings that hung from its arched roof. Some of them were done in 1599 by Heinrich Wagmann, illustrating the daily activities and dress of the people.  The bridge was damaged when a leisure boat, moored under the bridge caught fire in 1993 and two-thirds of the original paintings were destroyed or severely damaged.  Lucerne city officials directed that copies be made.  After a $2.1-million reconstruction, this landmark bridge was reopened in the spring of 1994.  Today the bridge is strictly non-smoking and boats are not allowed under the bridge.  The coats of arms on the paintings tell you which aristocratic families sponsored them.  The swans seen swimming around the bridge are supposedly a gift from French King Louis XIV (or so the residents say), in appreciation for the protection he received from the Swiss Guards.  Today the children of Lucerne make sure the swans get their daily feedings of bread.

It was quite a walk, but Lucerne is an easy city to walk around.  Unlike Zurich, there is not as much traffic and a lot of areas are pedestrian zones.  It is also surprisingly quiet.  While in Zurich, you heard police/ambulance sirens hourly, especially at night (it didn’t help that our hotel was next to an rescue station or that a large police station was located at the main train station).  We have not heard one siren since we have been in Lucerne – the only noise has been the chiming of the several church bells.

The Lucerne Renaissance Hotel is quite unique.  It is 168 years old and designated as an historical building.  As such there is no much the hotel could do with the structure of the building.  Therefore there are more twists and turns in the hallway leading to the rooms (especially on the 6^th floor where we were).  And our room was very different.  It was not a very large room, but it had 3 doors leading out to little balconies.  There was an arched hallway leading into the bathroom which was more like a long corridor.  First you had the sink, then a very large walk-in shower, and finally the toilet area with a door leading out to a balcony.  The whole bathroom was about 5-6’ wide but about 20-25’ long.  And the walls all sloped inward.  You really had to watch your head.  And of course this is considered the winter time so the air conditioning system was turned off and the heating system was on.  With the temperatures in the 60s, the 6^th floor was like an oven.  They did give us a fan and we kept all the doors open.  Unfortunately, because it was one of the smallest Renaissance hotels, it did not have an Executive Lounge.  But the front desk personnel were wonderful – some of the most friendly and helpful people we have met.  We really did enjoy our stay there.

Today (Saturday) was a wonderful day. We had booked a Golden Triangle Trip through Viator Tours that included a lake cruise and a trip up to Mt. Pilatus, which is located 9 miles south of Lucerne.  I had thought that it would be a tour lead by a tour guide, but it turned out to be a self-guided tour with all the necessary tickets paid for by a voucher.  We were free to start the tour at any time and to either start with the lake cruise or a bus trip up to mountain.  We started with the lake cruise which turned out to be the best option.  Lake Lucerne is the jewel in the crown of the city of Lucerne.  It is the 4^th largest lake in Switzerland.  Our cruise started at 9:30 and took about an hour to reach the dock where the cog railway took us up to Mt. Pilatus.  The cog railroad is the steepest in the world, built between 1886-89, – the tracks are still the original tracks built 128 years ago.

Mt. Pilatus is about 7000 feet above sea level, not high by our Rockies, but a magnificent mountain just the same.  Its German name derives from an old legend.  During medieval times, it is said, the city fathers of Lucerne banned travel up the mountain because they thought that its slopes were haunted by the ghost of Pontius Pilate; they feared that Pilated would be angered by intrusive visitors and cause violent storms.  For many years after the ban was finally lifted, only a few souls were brave enough to climb the mountain.  Queen Victoria made the trip in 1868.  Today, the ascent is one of the most popular activities in Lucerne.

At the top we were rewarded with spectacular views of Lucerne and the snow-covered peaks of the Alps.  And we had a perfect morning.  It was not too cold and the sun was shining – not like the rain and partly cloudy forecast we had expected.  At the top is a small hotel and restaurant, and there were two groups of performers dressed in Swiss costumes playing the long horns Switzerland is famous for (alphorns).  Looking down at the top of one of the out-croppings, we saw an Ibex grazing on a small patch of grass.  And just to prove that it is indeed a small world, I passed a young man wearing a “Go Buffs” t-shirt and met a couple wearing LSU sweatshirts!

Leaving the top of the mountain, we road on our third type of transportation of the day – the gondola.  Although Bill does not like heights, he did amazingly well on the tip down.  At the base of the gondola, we boarded our last of four different transportations – the city bus that would take us back to our hotel.  It was a very memorable morning.  The views were stunning, from Lake Lucerne to Mt. Pilatus.  And what could be more Swiss than hearing the clanking of cow bells from the cows grazing on the green fields beneath our gondola.  I’m just glad we are staying in the city – I don’t think I could take hearing those cow bells all night long!