4 Days in the Swiss Alps
We chose Lake Lucerne to visit before starting on an 8-day Rhine River Cruise. Getting there was easy in that the cruise line handles all arrangements to Basel Switzerland. From the Basel airport we grabbed a taxi to the train station. The train ride was a 1 hour and 15 minute ride through the Swiss countryside. Amazing and beautiful. We arrived at the Lucerne station which is convenient and downtown.
Million Dollar View
Another quick taxi ride to our hotel. We decided to stay at the Art Deco Hotel Montana because of the location and view. Checking in we were shown to a wonderful room on the 4th floor with a balcony and million dollar view.
We also had a panoramic view of the entire region from our balcony.
We made reservations for 4 hours later for dinner at 7pm in the dining room. Once our heads hit the pillows getting up for dinner in 4 hours was our last thought. We woke up the next morning kind of in a dream. We had left the windows open for the lake breeze (Brrrrr) but in the morning we could hear Jamaican steel drums playing. Where were we ? Was Switzerland a dream ? After getting ready to head out and find food, we discovered the Hot Bananas playing in the street.
Today was the 10th annual Swiss City marathon and the runners ruled the streets.
A short brisk walk found us passing a plaza with a 17th century landmark church, the Hofkirche St. Leodegar known for its twin spires.
Off of the plaza we stumbled hungerly upon the cute little courtyard restaurant in the Hotel Hofgarten. Delicious breakfast and strong coffee.
Swiss Chocolate and the Chocolate Waterfall
Having satisfied our hunger, we then started out for our real objective today, exploring the Altstadt (old town). A short walk down the Haldenstrasse (the main drag) we came to the Schwanenplatz. The Schwanenplatz is the main transportation circle and a gateway into the old town. Even though we had just eaten, we felt our energy waning when we discovered Bachmann’s chocolate shop and bakery. They even have an entire wall that is a chocolate waterfall. Willy Wonka has nothing on this place.
Entering the old town, the streets narrow and become exclusively for pedestrians. For a Sunday exploring the old town seems to be a popular pastime. To access the true old town, there is a shopping district we passed through.
Altstadt – The Old Town
Lucerne is known for its medieval architecture, sits amid snow capped mountains on Lake Lucerne. To the north of the Altstadt is a 870m Museggmauer (Musegg Wall), a 14-century rampart. A remnant from the cities past as a walled-city.
Many of the buildings in the Altstadt have elaborate murals and art decorating their walls. We are sure the below example tells an interesting story, but we were unable to find a guidebook to help us understand it.
In addition to the murals, there is an abundance of interesting medieval architecture and other more modern sights like this door. Coming home every night and being greeted by a door like this would be fun.
Having made a complete loop through the Altstadt, we cross the Reuss river which runs through he middle of the town. Waiting for us on the opposite bank is the Jesuitenkirche, a 17th century baroque church.
Next to the church, we found a 4′ by 4′ detailed steel relief map of the entire town of Lucerne. This was fun to get our bearings and see where we had traveled and where we were going next.
The Chapel Bridge
Coming up was the Kapellbrücke, or Chapel Bridge, a 1300s landmark wooden bridge. Our hotel is in the distance high up on the hill in the background. Surprising how far we have walked. The octagonal stone tower stands 113 feet tall and is called the Wasserturm which translates to water tower. It is called this not because it is a water tower, but because it is standing in the water. The tower was built about 30 years before the bridge and had previously be a prison, torture chamber and later a municipal archive.
The Kapellbrücke is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe. It is also the world’s oldest surviving truss bridge. The bridge has 1700s are work decorating the inside.
Wrapping up our first full day of exploring, we head back to the hotel. From street level on the Haldenstrasse the hotel has a private electric funicular railway built in 1910. This is the shortest funicular railway in the world arriving in the hotel lobby from the lakeside promenade in just 60 seconds. We’re happy to be home.
We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the hotel’s main formal dining room making up for missing our reservations the prior evening. The view was spectacular and the food excellent.
The Lion of Lucerne
Our second day starts with a walk to the famous Löwendenkmal (Lion Monument) also known as the Lion of Lucerne. The Lion commemorates the Swiss Guard massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution. Lukas Ahorn carved the monument 28 years later in 1820-21. The sculptor wasn’t paid for his work so he carved the opening surrounding the Lion in the shape of Pig. This was a statement about the swine that hired him. Mark Twain had praised the sculpture of a mortally-wounded lion as “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.”
The day started late with skipping breakfast. We stopped at the Palace Hotel lakeside for an early lunch before heading to our next stop. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch in the lobby overlooking the lake. The hotel had vegan options that were very tasty.
After lunch we strolled along the promenade. The lake is very serene and peaceful. To our surprise there was a swimmer in the water despite the temperature was in the low 50s.
We came across this boat house all by itself. We wondered who it belonged to. Most of the small boats were in a marina back near town.
Swiss Museum of Transportation
About a mile down the promenade is the Swiss Museum of Transportation. Out front there is a drilling blade for digging tunnels through the mountains. The size of it is tremendous. A life-sized mural of the actual Gotthard tunnel helps to add perspective.
The museum exhibits provide a historical perspective from the mail being delivered in the 1800 through the alps by horse drawn carriage to space exploration.
The museum has a wall to show the 35 mile twin-bore Gotthard tunnel, the worlds longest and deepest tunnel ever bored. The wall shows a time line and geological issues encountered during the almost 20 year long project. Riding the trains in Switzerland gave us an appreciation for the Swiss’s ability to tunnel through impassable mountains. The exhibits around this highlight the Swiss’ world-class skills helping us to understand just what an amazing feat it is. Given Switzerland’s geography of mountains and the Alps, without these engineering marvels, there would be no way for the people to move around.
Also interesting on display were all means of transportation. This is especially a kids wonder play land (big kids to). Not pictured are examples of Swiss boats and also space exploration. There are fighter jet simulators inside the air and space building that are really cool.
Back to walking around the town and civilization, sort of, we saw this tractor driving down one of the main streets in the business district.
Getting Our Hygge On
Strolling down one of the side streets, we saw this restaurant and the chairs. What a great place to relax, enjoy and people watch. Many of the places we saw around Lucerne had tables and chairs outside with throw blankets on each chair to make for a cozy experience. The Danish call this cozy experience Hygge (HOO-ga), and this place had Hygge all over it.
We heard visiting the Lion monument at night was romantic. Along the way, Barbara got into a fight with a different Lion. You just can’t take some people anywhere. The small park the Lion monument is in is very romantic at night. Highly recommend seeing it both day and night if time permits.
As dusk set in and the lights came up, the town became magical for an early evening stroll. Lucerne is such a beautiful town.
The view from our balcony of the lake and surrounding Alps is amazing.
Looking in the other direction is Mt. Pilatus or dragons liar. Venturing to the top of Mt. Pilatus is our plan for tomorrow, our last full day in Lucerne.
Venturing into the Swiss Alps
To access the mountain involves riding the world’s steepest cogwheel railroad that climbs literally straight up the mountain. There is a link at the bottom of this page to our story on our Mt. Pilatus adventure.
Returning to Lucerne by train after our day on Mt. Pilatus, we discovered a giant shopping complex under the train station. We were tired when we first arrived in Lucerne and completely missed it.
Lucerne is a beautiful town with wonderful sights in every direction. Walking back to our hotel, we got a sense of just how walk-able the town is. There were people out strolling everywhere. During our 4 days here, we’ve walked, rode the bus, a train, a funicular, a taxi, and the world’s steepest cogwheel railway.
There were also ferries always running around the lake. We intended to go for a cruise on the lake but never made it. Sounds like a good reason to come back.
Our final evening enjoying Lucerne. We’ve loved our visit to Lucerne so much, we don’t want to leave. Actually one of us wants to move here. We spent our last evening in the jazz lounge in our hotel drinking champagne until almost midnight. Great jazz music, small intimate crowd, and a carefree feeling that time is non-existent. There is no place to be, nothing to do.
Saying Goodbye to Alpine Dreams
Here we are on our final morning on the train ride back to Basel to catch up with our ship for the Rhine River Cruise. The trains are fast, easy, and amazing. So clean and comfortable. We bought the 1st class tickets and had the entire 1st class car to ourselves. For the few extra euros we recommend 1st class.
We are going to miss Lucerne.
Follow this link to read about our adventures on Mt. Pilatus.
Follow this link to read about our adventures on Rhine River Cruise.