Europe on a shoestring - Day 2 (Luzern) [September 25, 2005]

We were up at 05:30 to catch the train to Luzern and got in with 4minutes to spare!

Passed through Zug (highest per capita income in Scheiwz – possible Michael Schumacher lives here) onto Luzern (pronounced Lut-zern) at 08:45.
Dropped luggage in lockers and went to another recommendation – Paterre for breakfast. Finally got my German kickstarted with my ‘dankeschon and enschuldeggen’ correct – after patient repetitions from Anil.
Had mix Zmorge Fruhstruke (breakfast) of ham, salami, bread, cheese, tomato, cucumber, fruits and coffee. Point to note – the best coffee is served along with a piece of swiss chocolate – just gives that extra zang to the taste.

Fruhstruke @ Paterre

On the way back saw an Aston Martin (the James Bond car) – however it would be the city of the Alpha Romeo. It was one of our several favorite pastimes while in Europe - to pick up the car of the city. In someway it was a reflection of the wealth of the place too - Zurich with its opulence had the classy Mercedes while Luzern in reflection of its place in the pecking order had the Alpha.
Walked along Kappelbrucke (Chapel Bridge) with the Wasserturn (water-tower). Went along the Rous quay and back to the Jesuit church.

Kappelbrucke with its Wasserturn

Although the bridge was nearly burnt down a few hundred years ago - it has been painstakingly restored and some of the artwork including the painting below a more recent addition. Most of it seem to reflect stories from around the area - including the famous legend of William Tell.

One of the many paintings along the Kappelbrucke (I would think this one is newer)

Our casual strolls alongside the waterfront brought us to the Jesuit church. Nothing spectacular from the outside, apart from the onion domes - though the crowd outside alongwith a full marching band drew us to it. The interior was a complete opposite of the exterior - with huge vaulted ceiling and beautiful paintings. However what caught our attention was the celebration of mass with a full attendance of the cardinal to celebrate 500 years of the formation of the Swiss Guard. From my vantage point could only see the beautiful interior and the full choir with orchestra.

The 500th anniversary of the founding of the Swiss Guards in Luzern

Moved on to Allstadt (Old town) with Weinmarkt, Kornmarkt and Muhlenplatz (old plazas where plays were held in medieval times – with buildings all painted up with Swiss social themes). Apparently these were meeting places of old - although what on earth made people paint their exteriors so nicely totally eluded me. Our guide did not give us many details of each building so we just played along with the tour groups alongside us gathering titbits describing the place.

Old Town Luzern

Walking through narrow cobblestreet paths towards the ramparts of Luzern

Moving on we trudged through the narrow cobblestone pathways onto the Museggwall – which were the ramparts of Luzern. Each of the watchtowers are very well maintained to this day and we could get a pretty commanding view of the city from there.

@ Museggwall

Walking eastwards we descended to Lowendenkmal (Killed Lion Statue), which commemorates the several hundred Swiss soldiers who were massacred in the service of the Pope. Luzern, unlike Zurich is a Catholic bastion that is reflected in the whole city. It lies amidst a pond and its a very peaceful location. Another interesting offshoot of this site is the presence of multiple Indian restuarants in the vicinity.

The slain Lion - in rememberance of the massacre of the Swiss Guards

From there we ran (literally) down the hill to the shores of Lake Luzern where we jumped on the ‘Villa and Valley Cruise’ on paddleboat steamer for two hours. This was the 'value for money' part of the trip - since the Swiss Pass covered all these oddities. On the otherhand it was a nice way to rest our legs and bask in the warm Swiss afternoon. Samir's sunscreen (smelt a lot like fevicol) provided some relief from sunburn... although I guess I didn't care as much.

A Lazy ride in a paddleboat on Lake Luzern

The Villa and Castle cruise was exactly as named - with many a pretty castle (and casino) dotting the shores of the lakes. It would seem that most cities in Switzerland were built on the banks of a river - and had a small lake for pleasure... all the better for us.

The Villas and Castles dotting the edges of the lake

It passed through Meggenhorn, Kussnatcht among other areas – and we just about enjoyed the ride – figuring out the names of the mountain peaks that surrounded us and taking delight in the antics of a cute little toddler who reminded me very much of Schuyler.

Schuyler's Swiss Counterpart

The Three Amigos... or should it be the three 'Herr...

After the cruise we went to Hofkrische (Courtyard church) that is Luzern’s oldest and primary cathedral. Very ornate gold plated figures of the ‘Death of Mary and Jesus’ and the ‘Agony at Gethsamane’ on the main altar (the church is dedicated to St. Maurice and St. Ledger – both patron saints of Luzern).

Inside the Hofkrische (principal place of worship in Luzern)

While we wandered around, Anil potted about with his camera - and produced the first of a series of self potraits ... always with the curious expression staring into the camera.... guess when you try to take self potraits you never quite know when to smile :-)

Anil's 'Look at the Camera guys' photograph

Finally we were hungry and choose ice cream – I got schillkormelle and tiramisu… and just about hopped on the train to Interlaken. Thanks for Anil for reminding us that we had kept the backpacks in the lockers – we nearly almost forgot the same.
Due to the heavy rains there had been landslides and train tracks may have been damaged so we had to get off and take the ‘post-bus’ reaching Interlaken at 18:50 with a train to Lauterbrunnen at 19:20. Reached within 20mins. Its just like I had imagined – a small village right at the base of a HUGE ‘U’ shaped valley.

The gorgeous Lauterbrunnen valley (view from Valley Hostel)

The hostel is more like a Swiss Chalet only 2minutes from the station. It full of Asians – mainly Koreans – not surprising given the hospitality and cost of the place. We got an entire room with 3 beds, a skylight and a balcony with a view to a waterfall (it was lit up at night which made the whole effect very magical).
We had a late night dinner at Hotel Oberland (our hostel didn’t have anything at that hour). It seems to be run by mainly British people – and we were catered to by a very British – and sweet Alex. I had pork steak with a bottle of Gramay (Swiss Red Wine)
Couple of oddities to note

• Water seems to be free if you buy wine – else its just as, if not more expensive
• Ketchup, mustard and other condiments cost extra.
• Most of Luzern’s buildings seem to have been burnt to the ground and rebuilt at some point of time – would seem that is it the mecca of any arsonist!