One Day in Luzern, Switzerland


I arrived in Luzern on a Saturday morning in late March. It was Easter season and the farmer's market was fully of flowers and decorations. Fresh vegetables, eggs, pasta and dried sausage were also to be had. Here, as you walk the markets and streets you are walking through hundreds of years of history.


Chapel Bridge, Luzern



Luzern sits on the shores of Lake Luzern where the River Reuss meets the lake. It is the most populous city in central Switzerland. Mount Pilatus and Mount Rigi stand sigil over the city and its population of near 82,000.


Spring

Fresh pasta, cheese, and dried sausage.


One of these is now hanging in my house.



There's a ton to see and do in the Lucern region. I only had a day or I would have taken advantage of going up into the Alps. Instead I wandered the town and took a leisurely boat trip on the lake.

I dropped my stuff at The Tourist Hotel, where I'd spend the night, I wandered the neighborhood around the hotel. It sits right near one of the access points to the Museggmauer (Musegg wall), a 14th century series of ramparts and towers. It was closed for the season but still interesting to wander by.



Musegg Wall

Wandering


I then headed down into the Aldstadt (Old Town) to investigate the medieval architecture. As I wandered I saw a wonderful sign that said "Sweet Milky Tea". That's all I needed to get me to head into the Queen Camilla Tea House. I literally had a bowl of that sweet, milky tea. It was accompanied by an osterfladen, or traditional easter cake, filled with apricot jam, and a green tea cookie.


Part of the Old Town

Enjoying a beautiful day in March


A better look at the Wasserturm


Fortified with caffeine and sugar investigated the Kapellbrucke (Chapel Bridge). It is the oldest covered bridge in Europe, dating back to the 1300s. The tower, the Wasserturm, predates the bridge. Through the centuries it was used as a prison and a municipal archive. Now it is...a gift shop. The interior paintings date back to the 1600s though most are now recreations as the bridge partially burned down in 1993.



Discovering the birds. I'd also watch horned grebes swimming underwater here. The water is very clear.


Here there be dragons

Then I discovered the birds. There were swans, coots, mallards, pochards, horned grebes, and greylag geese everywhere on the river and lake. I spent a lot of time photographing them.

I also spent a lot of time wondering why there were so many bicycles thrown into the river.

I then took a nice cruise around part of lake Luzern, marveling at the mountains, and just enjoying a beautiful day in Switzerland.


Out on the lake.

A hint of mountains.

The lake in the late afternoon.
























































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