Day 9 : Luzerne Switzerland (22 June 2008)

After walking on a Swiss Alps we drove to Lucerne for souvenir shopping.  We bought Swiss army knives and the most delicious chocolate.  At about 18:30 we walked to our hotel and had to cross over the Spreuerbrücke.  This bridge has interesting “Dance of Death” roof panels.

We were staying in the Lowengraben Jail Hotel.  It was built in 1862 and was used as a prison until 1998 and we were staying in the cells.  We ate dinner in the hotel before walking to the lake at 20:15.

The water of Lake Lucerne was clear and had a blue green colour.  There were swans swimming around the boat as we left the shore for a cruise on the lake.  We each got a drink and we decided to try a Swiss beer. 


It was a great evening with a light breeze in the air that got a little cold at the end of the night.  The lake was so pretty with the mountains all around.  At about 21:00 the sun started to set and turned the sky in the most wonderful colours.

The cruise ended at about 21:30 and we walked to the Lion Monument.  This monument of a lion is in a cliff with a small pond in front of it.  It is a memorial to the Swiss Guards who died while protecting King Louis XVI of France during the French Revolution in 1792.  The lion is huge and much bigger than it looks on pictures.  (I visited it again in 2011. Read more here.

We then walked back to the hotel in the quiet streets of Lucerne.  It was Sunday and most shops and restaurants were closed.  There is a bar in the hotel making a lot of noise. We decided to get some sleep and the noise from the bar did not bother us.

Read more of the trip to Europe in 2008:
10.        Day 5: Venice Italy Cont
11.        Day 6: Rome Italy
12.        Day 6: Rome Italy Cont
13.        Day 7: Vatican City
14.        Day 7: St Peter's
15.                Day 7: Rome Italy
16.               Day 7: Rome Italy Cont
16.               Day 8: Florence Italy
17.        Day 9: Mount Stanserhorn Switzerland
Location: Lucerne, Switzerland

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eyewitness Travel Guides – A Book Review

Image
  Last month I wrote a book review and I enjoyed it.   Today I want to share some more of my favourite travel books.   DK Eyewitness Travel Guides I bought my first travel guide in 2008. I was planning a trip with my friend Lelanie to London and Europe.   While planning the trip I bought the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Europe and I paid R 282.00 for it.   Except for my university textbooks, this was the most expensive book I have ever bought for myself.    We were doing a Contiki Tour and visited 7 countries.   I studied the information in guide the about the cities we would visit.    I made lists of places I want to see and then looked for more information about them.   In the end I did not take the guide with me (the 800 pages was just to heavy to carry along) but packed all my lists to use.  At Departures at Cape Town Airport in 2008 My second guide was for the same trip.   The Eyewitness Travel Top 10 London traveled with us.   We stayed in London for 4 da
Read more

Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê

Image
   Weather vane on the VGK Church in Carnarvon    This photo made me think of a song we used to sing as kids.    It is a traditional Afrikaans song about the rooster on top of the church. The words of the song and its translation: Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Dis die haan wat op die kerktoring staan It’s the rooster standing on the church tower Dis die haan, Dis die haan It’s the rooster, It’s the rooster Dis die haan wat op die kerktoring staan It’s the rooster standing on the church tower More about all the churches and other buildings we saw in Carnarvon in the next post.
Read more

Dutch Reformed Mother Church, George

Image
One of my favourite sights in George is the white Dutch Reformed Mother Church with the beautiful Outeniqua Mountain as background.   I have many memories of visiting this church: On a history class trip when I was about 10, for a art class when I was about 13, for my cousins wedding in 2004, for her baby’s christening a few years later and many other times.   But most of all I like seeing this church every time we drive through town.   The cornerstone for the church was laid on 14 April 1832.   Slaves were used for some of the building work like the digging of the six-foot deep by five-foot wide foundations.   Due to financial problems it took 12 years to complete the church and it was consecrated in 9 October 1842.  The church is a National Heritage Site. On 13 September 1905 disaster struck when the church tower collapsed.   The wood rotted from water damage and lead to the walls weakening.   After a lot of rain for two days the tower collapsed.   The tower was reb
Read more