One Day in Lucerne, Switzerland

Hello! Hope you are all having a nice summer and my fellow Americans' are enjoying a lovely 4th of July weekend.  

As most of you know we were on vacation.. those who follow me on Instagram know that we were in Switzerland. We had a wonderful time.. so absolutely beautiful. 

We left on a Friday evening, I am a big fan of taking red eye flights. We try to get as much rest as we can on the plane, keep the first day light and make an early night out of it. It, to me, is better than wasting a day on travelling. 

So we landed in Zurich bright and early Saturday morning. From the airport we walked to the train station next door, bought our Swiss Travel Passes and headed to Lucerne. 

First a word about the Swiss Travel Pass. It's not for everyone but if you are doing a lot of travelling within the country then it might be just the thing for you. Before we left I calculated approximately how many trains, buses and cable cars we would have to take throughout the trip vs the cost and discounts the Travel Pass afforded us and for us the pass was extremely worth it. 

We started with the iconic Chapel Bridge. We wandered around getting a feel of the area before heading to the Musegg Wall. The Musegg Wall and its nine towers are part of Lucerne's historic fortifications. You can climb up the clock tower and walk along the walls to get a better view of the city. 

All the stairs and heat had tired us so we decided to sit down for some lunch.. and what does one eat on their first day in the country that invented fondue? 

You guessed it! We went to Fondue House Du Pont for some delicious cheese fondue. It was served with bread and potatoes and we added two sides of protein.

With our bellies full of cheese we headed back out into the city. We headed towards the less famous
Spreuer bridge. But first we had to stop and marvel at the Hydroelectric power plant built right onto the River Reuss.

The first mills on the Reuss were constructed in 1178. It was fascinating and mesmerizing to watch. For those interested you can read more about the power plant and its history here. 

Within the Spreuer bridge hung slightly violent paintings which I later learned were the Dance of Death paintings. More than sixty triangular paintings that compose the "Dance of Death" series were commissioned in the early 17th century by the Council of Lucerne to remind citizens of the ever present risk of death and to encourage a healthy lifestyle. 

We walked around a bit more but for those with limited time Lucerne could easily be seen in a couple of hours leaving you more time for the mountains surrounding Lucerne. We decided we had earned some ice cream before heading back to the hotel.

By the time we got to the hotel our bags were waiting in our room. We took a breather before heading out again for dinner.

We ate a delicious dinner at Rathaus Brauerei.

And that was how we spent our day in Lucerne. Tomorrow we were off to Mount Pilatus. Check back in next week for the details. 

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