Where in the World is Sharon Daugherty2: Lake Lucerne,Switzerland

On our way to Lake Lucerne, Switzerland. We took the train from Bologna to Milan, changed and the ride from Milan to our next change is beautiful.

Mountains

and lakes

Arriving at Arth-Goldau train station where we pick up our last train into Lucerne

more lakes and fields on the last short rail leg into Lucerne

Our first look at Lake Lucerne as we walked across the bridge from the train station to our hotel

Lots of swans on the lake and river

view from our room balcony. We went cheaper and got the city view of rooftops. The back of the hotel looks out onto the River Reuss

Kapellbrucke (Chapel Bridge)

Constructed in first half of the 14th century as a part of the city's fortifications and named after St. Peter's Chapel, which is located nearby.

The symbol of Lucerne, this covered wooden footbridge crosses the Reuss River, leading to the south bank. Built in 1333, the bridge is 170m (558 ft.) long and crosses the river diagonally. It's one of the best-preserved wooden bridges in Switzerland, used originally for defense. There's also an octagonal Wasserturm (Water Tower), used variously as a prison, a torture chamber, and an archive. The bridge was always known for its 122 paintings that hung from its arched roof. Some of them were done in 1599 by Heinrich Wagmann, illustrating the daily activities and dress of the people.

It is right in front of our hotel which is the one with the flag and the older smaller building on the right

looking up the river

We wonder who plants these flower boxes with pretty geraniums

attached to both sides of the bridge

The paintings that were added in the 17th century illustrate scenes of Swiss and local history, including the biographies of the city's patron saints, St. Leodegar and St. Maurice.

On the other side of the river we walked up the street to recross the river at this newer bridge

looking back to the Chapel bridge

Terry and her very touch selfie stick. It only works about half the time. She gave up and just let me take the picture of her and the STUPID STICK.

My favorite picture the long shot

finally you get that dreaded selfie closeup of every wrinkle on my person. Ha

One of many restaurants along the river which empties into the lake just past the Chapel Bridge

we walked back up and had a glass of wine at our hotel restuarant on the river. Our view

Our wine. Don't we look happy and it was almost five o'clock.

We walked on down to the lake and strolled

along the shore

a game of Bocci

the lake

beautiful flowering trees

and restaurants

and more lake

a bright red boathouse

the tree shaded promenade

beautiful gardens

and sculptures

Monument in honor of Carl Spitteler who was a Swiss poet. He won the Nobel Prize for iterature in 1919.

Poppies

Ended up going back to our hotel for dinner, which was very good

and watched this big old swan preen around looking for handouts

The clock tower

Day two

This morning after breakfast, we walked along the river toward the old city walls.

Frescoed buildings abound in the old town - this is the Guildhall on the Kornmarkt Square

Spreuerbrucke (Mills Bridge)

Built in 1407 and restored in the 19th century, this wooden bridge spans an arm of the Reuss.

The water moves very fast under this bridge

Its gables are painted with the Dance of Death, a mural by Kaspar Meglinger dating from the 17th century. The mural commemorates a plague that swept through the city.

the "needle" dam where the water levels of the lake are regulated. A needle dam is a weir designed to maintain the level or flow of a river through the use of thin "needles" of wood. The needles are leaned against a solid frame and are not intended to be water-tight. Individual needles can be added or removed by hand to constrict the flow of the river, forming a sluice.

From the river we headed up hill toward the old city walls. "The Mussegg Wall" with its nine towers forms part of Lucerne's hisoric fortifications. The Clock on tthe Zyt Tower dates from 1535 and is the town's oldest. This strange rock formation was on our way up.

Views of the city as we climb

and climb

Finally the "Clock Tower". It has the privilege of chiming the hours one minute before all the other clocks in the town.

This was inside at the foot of the tower. As we climber the tower

more parts of the operation are exposed

the stone pendulum

from the tower walls

We walked a little of the wall

and then headed back down the hill

Coming back down the hill, we came across a bunch of kids dancing in the street. One of them talked to us and said they were celebrating the last day of school. The song they were dancing to was "YMCA"

A gorgeous flower garden

Looking from the train station across the river

The Lucerne Cultural and Convention Center next to the train station. We had a rest and a coffee here overlooking the lake. After our coffee we headed back to the hotel to get our walking shoes. We wore sandals this morning and now our feet are tired, so we need our other shoes.

Once in our old standby shoes, we headed out to find the Lion Monument. We just strolled through the squares and little streets of the old city.

Hrschenplatz (Stag Square) is filled with restored buildings, many of them with painted facades and wrought-iron signs. In 1779, Goethe stayed at the Goldener Adler, which is located here.

Lowendenkmal (The Dying Lion) Monument

The monument commemorates the Swiss mercenaries who, serving the French King Louis XVI, lost their lives during the French Revolution at the Tuileries Palace in Paris . Many were killed during the invasion of the Tuileries on the 10th August 1792 while others were guillotined on the 2nd and 3rd September 1792. The inscription above the Lion reads "Helvetiorum fedei ac Virtuti" which translates as "To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss." A fitting tribute.

Carved into the cliff face, the monument measures a staggering 10 meters in length and and six meters in height. Captain Carl Pfyffer von Altishofen commissioned the Lion Monument which, in turn, was designed by the Danish classicist sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsenwhilst in Rome in 1819. Lucas Ahorn, a stone-mason from Constance in modern day Germany, carved the sculpture out of the limestone cliff face in 1820 and 1821.

At the time of the French Revolution, Swiss Mercenaries, along with agriculture and town-crafts, were an important and gainful trade during the Ancient Regime, with as many as 40,000 serving under foreign banners when the French Revolution started in 1789.

The Monument was inaugurated on the 10th August 1821 and was purchased by the town of Lucerne in 1882.

After this we stopped and got a little lunch in a department store close to the monument, then wallked back and did a little shopping. On our way back to the hotel we stopped for a rest and a much needed glass of wine.

After dinner this evening we went down to have a glass of wine on the river when we noticed a group of men and a few women coming across the bridge with Alphorns. We stopped to see where they were going.

They set up right on the square at the end of the bridge and began to play. (See video on facebook)

The alphorn has long been a tool used by shepherds. It was used to call the cows from the pastures and into the barn at milking time. An engraving from 1754 shows a shepherd using the alphorn to motivate the cows to cover the last steep stretch on their big climb up into the Alps. A glass painting from the Emmental Valley dating back to 1595 shows the alphorn being blown, probably to pacify the cows during milking. The blowing of the alphorn in the evening is also a traditional theme in art. This sound served as an evening prayer, and was mainly practiced in the Reformed cantons, while in the German-speaking Catholic cantons in Central Switzerland, the call to prayer was preferred. The main function of the alphorn was, however, for communication with the herdsmen on the neighboring Alps and with the people down in the valley below.

Day three

A shepherd and his sheep couldn't find anything on this about the artist or what it represents other than the obvious.

Lucerne's Jesuit Church is the first large baroque church built in Switzerland north of the alps. First and foremost is an expression of the Catholic Church's 17th century struggle to regain spiritual leadership in the counter-reformation At the same time it does show, that the Catholics then refused to accept any discussion on major points of criticism by the protestant churches. Instead, baroque architecture displays power and glory and emphasizes exactly those parts of Catholic tradition (especially the veneration of saints) and visual culture (as opposed to the protestant emphasis on the word of the biblical scriptures).

There is perfect logic that Lucerne, seeing itself as the capital of the Catholic fraction of Switzerland in pre-modern times, should have constructed this building. Today, Jesuit Church is a major tourist attraction and serves as a concert hall while it has become almost irrelevant to local church life from a religious point of view.

There was a half hour musical service scheduled for today at 12:15. We went back to see it. The service was conducted in mostly the German language with a young woman accompanied by a pianist. Although we did not understand the spoken word, music is universal and it was lovely. A perfect end to our touring of this city.

As we sat down to dinner the clouds started to move in. The mountain looking a bit misty.