The weekend after our trip to Madrid, we decided to take our first trip to the Alps with Kevin! We drove to Luzern (or "Lucerne" in English), Switzerland, a charming, midsize city situated where the Reuss River and Lake Luzern meet. We arrived on Friday night and stayed at a nice little hostel...
On Saturday morning we were up bright and early, ate a breakfast of rolls, jam and cheese, and headed out to see the city.
Impressive Swiss homes...
Ornamental Window Nook
On our way to the city center, we came across this old church...
Most of the churches have these heavy curtains at every door...so as not to let in the draft? Not quite sure, but it made for a fun picture.
Next stop, Luzern's famous wooden bridges. There are two main bridges, the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrucke) and the Mill Bridge (Spreuerbrucke). In the next picture, Matt and I are standing in front of the Chapel Bridge that was built at an angle in the 14th century to connect the town's medieval fortifications. In 1993, a boat parked under the bridge caught fire, causing damage to part of the bridge. It had to be repaired, and as a result, boats are no longer allowed to pass under the bridges, they are smoke free, and tiny security cameras are also in place. In the background of this picture, you can also the octagonal stone Watertower (Wasserturm) that predates the bridge by a century.
Chapel Bridge and Watertower
This is the Mill Bridge (an original)...
Both bridges contain 17th century paintings overhead, depicting scenes from the town's history and folklore (they can be seen more clearly by clicking on the picture below). As these bridges were at one time part of the city's defenses, the window openings facing the lake are apparently smaller than those facing inland in an effort to give defenders more cover.
Bridge Paintings
Bridge Window Openings
According to our guide book, locals say that these swans were a gift from a French king for the protection his "Swiss guards" gave him.
Bottoms up...
Lake Luzern's main source of water is snow melt from streams running of the surrounding mountains. The water drains from this lake to the Rhine River, and Luzern is responsible for controlling water flow and preventing flooding of lakeside villages with these water spikes.
Lake Luzern
Water Spikes
Also located along the water is the Jesuit Church (Jesuitenkirche), built from 1666-1677 in an effort to maintain a Catholic presence in Central Switzerland during the Protestant Reformation. This was the first Baroque church built in Switzerland.
Jesuit Church (Jesuitenkirche)- with the tops resembling green hershey kisses
Alter- Jesuit Church
Ceiling Decorations- Jesuit Church
This famous lion sculpture was carved into a cliff face as a monument to Swiss mercenaries who were killed defending the French king in the French Revolution. The inscription reads, "Helvetiorum fidei ac virtuti" - "To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss."
Lion Monument (Lowendenkmal)
The lion is 33 feet long by 20 feet tall, with his paws resting on a shield and tears running down his face. He is slowly being killed by a broken-off spear in his side.
This sign caught our eye: The red circle around this dog's head indicates that dogs are not allowed in the park where the lion monument is located. Not only is this a funny looking sign, but we were shocked to see that dogs were not allowed, as dogs are allowed EVERYWHERE in Germany!
And another pretty church...
Matt and Kevin waiting for me to descend from the church...
Next stop- Interlaken, Switzerland.
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