Lu-Gerda's Travels

I got married on Saturday 21 April 2012. Now we are on honeymoon in the Eastern Cape in South Africa. Will be back in middle May.

At about 12:25 we walked from the Hofkirche with Löwenstrasse.   We stopped at a shop or two before reaching the Lion monument and Glacier Garden L ö wendenkmal or Lion monument This is a huge monument of a dying lion with a spear in his side was carved out of the cliff.   It commemorates the Swiss Guards of Louis XVI of France who died while defending the Tuileries palace during the revolution in 1792. Most of the Guards who survived were captured and executed. The Latin inscription HELVETIORUM FIDEI AC VIRTUTI means “To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss”.   The names of the guards are also listed engraved on the cliff. Even on my second visit to the Lion monument it was still amazing to see.   The huge Lion carved out of the cliff as if it belongs there.   There is a great atmosphere in the area around the monument. Next we walk to the Glacier garden.   We could enter for free with our Swiss Passes (Normal price is CHF17) and de...

The next stop on our walking tour of Lucerne was the Hofkirche. The original monastary was destroyed in a fire in 1633 and only the twin towers remained.   The current church was built between 1633 and 1639.   It is named after the patron saint, St Leodegar.   The main enterance has a beautiful wood door with   the two patron saints of Lucerne on each side. The interior is built in a rennaisance style and is mostly originals from 1630’s an 1640’s.   The interior is decorated with dark wood and dark paintings with white ceilings.   The windows are plain but the beautiful golden altars makes up for that.   NAVE AND PULPIT PEWS ORGAN WITH 2826 PIPES CEILING The Death of the Virgin altar, showing Mary on a bed surrounded by disiples, was amazing.   It dates from the 1500’s and survived the fire in 1633. DEATH OF THE VIRGIN ALTAR At this altar we bought a candle and read a beautiful prayer from a pamplet.   ...

Friday 15 July 2011 was another long day.   We went to Lucerne for the day.   I visited Lucerne in 2008 on a Contiki tour and loved it.   I was very happy to go back to see more of this town. We got up at about 7:45 and walked to the station at 8:30.   We finally realized we don’t have to get to the station an hour before the train departs.   At 9:00 we were on the train to Lucerne.   The train ride takes about 1 hour and it goes by quickly.   The landscape is flat now that we are father away from the Alps.   There are lots of fields with sunflowers and wheat (I think) We arrived at Lucerne station at about 10:00.   We went to the McClean bathroom on the station and had to pay CHF2 (about R17 in SA) each to use it.   Then we got a map at tourist information and followed the walking tour on the map. We found a bench next to the lake and sat to eat our breakfast.   The moment I took out our bread a swan came storming out ...

After a day of sightseeing in Bern on 14 July 2011 we went back so Sonja's apartment because Sonja was making a Swiss dinner for us. After Sonja got home we helped her to get ready for the dinner.   She was sleeping on a mattress in the living room and my mom and I was sharing her room.   We carried the mattress to the room and helped to set the table. We washed potatoes, peeled carrots and cut mushrooms. We were not quite sure what Sonja was making but kept following her instructions.   Erik arrived and went downstairs to fix a tire on Sonja’s bike. At about 19:00 Sonja’s mom and sister arrived.   We had some wine and talked.   English was a second or third language for all of us but we still had nice talks.   Then it was time for dinner, “Gschwellti” . “ Gschwellti ” is small potatoes cooked in their skins.   We ate the potatoes with about nine different kinds of cheese and salad.   It was fun to try the differen...

We walked around in the old town of Bern on Thursday 14 July 2011.   We walked to the Waisenhausplatz (Orphanage Plaza) and found a bench.   We sat to eat a snack while looking at the Meret Opperheim Fountain. Meret Oppenheim Fountain Artist Meret Oppenheim created the Meret-Oppenheim-Brunnen in 1983. The column at the center of the fountain is covered in plants and grass. Old Orphanage House We walked pass the Old Orphanage House built in 1782.   It is now used for a police office. Kunst Museum Next we visited the Art Museum.   We had free enterance with the Swiss pass and first walked through the permanent displays of the museum.   The museum had an exibition of art work by Ernest Biéler called “Dreamt Reality”.   We did not know him but decided to go see the exibition.   We loved it.   Ernest Biéler was a Swiss painter who lived from 1863 to 1948 and painted a lot of beautiful paintings. Bundesplatz After vis...