“The Beauty of Travel is that Someone's ORDINARY Becomes My EXTRAORDINARY."
Welcome back to the 12th blog of our trip to Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Switzerland
Hope you like my previous blog on "Spiez" and here we are going to continue to spread our footprints in the Suisse landscapes.
Lucerne
Known as Luzern in German, it is a city located in the central on Switzerland, in the most German-speaking part of the country. With a population of 82,000, it is the most populous city in the central on Switzerland.
Owing to its location on the shores of Lake Lucerne, the river Reuss, the Swiss Alps of Pilatus and Rigi as the backdrop, Lucerne is a very popular destination for tourists.
In the beginning of the 6th century, the Roman Empire fell at the hands of Germanic Alemannic people who later settled down in Lucerne., then went through few ups and downs again until today modernized in a neutral country. Wow, it is really such a timeless beauty in Switzerland.
Do you know (Number 8)? : Assisted Suicide (Euthanasia)Is Legal - A doctor prepares the medicine that will kill you and gives it to you. But you have to drink that medicine yourself. If Doctor puts it in your mouth, it would be murder. Just for this reason, Zurich is flooded by "suicide tourists" every year. The cost of this job was around 10,000 CHF.
From Zurich, we visited Lucerne as a day trip. From Zurich HB, we took the regional train for a scenic 1hr ride to the ancient Lucerne.
2 ways tickets at CHF54, we have to pay full fare as we have used up our STP and we are going back Singapore tomorrow.
Here are few scenic videos we took while on the ride:
Lucerne Railway Station
The ancient track dated 1856, it was destroyed by a fire in 1971 and the current building was completed in 1989.
Today, Lucerne railway station is a major hub of the rail network of Switzerland, in the city of Lucerne. It is a terminal station serving domestic and international traffic on several rail lines and is situated in a city centre and waterfront location.
Torbogen Lucerne
The very first landmark that all tourist will be greeted by who come by rail.
Located right infront of Lucerne Railway station, it was the main entrance of the Railway station during the 19th century until the railway station was destroyed by the fire in 1971. However, this gate survived the fire and been remain here ever since.
The neo-renaissance style gate has many interesting features at the top.
View before crossing Seebrucke
As mentioned earlier, this railway station is located at the waterfront and here are the pretty sights:
Seebrucke
Known as the famous bridge that connect the railway station to the old town since 1996.
At the right side, you have the sights of the lake while the left side is the river Reuss and the wonderful view of old town.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Lucerne Old Town
Once you crossed over the bridge, that's is the area of the old town that is located between city hall and Chapel Bridge along river Reuss. The old town is a beautiful part of the city which still preserves some of its oldest structures, houses and fountains.
Rathaus Brauerei
This eye-catching building is an awesome landmark of the old town.
It was known as the city hall serving the residents here and now it is an upscaled restaurant.
.jpg)
Kornmarkt
Known as the community market in the older days, this is the place where sellers brought in their stock via various carts and the locals purchase their daily kitchen needs.
.jpg)
Weinmarkt
During the old days, this place used to be a fish market.
St Peter Chapel
Simple and elegant church by the bank of river Reuss, next to Chapel Bridge, It is easily accessible and impossible to miss.
Constructed in the early 14th century, it is one of the oldest churches in Lucerne.
Lake Lucerne
This is a stunning lake nestled in central Switzerland. It holds the distinction of being the fourth largest lake in the country, and its picturesque beauty draws visitors from all around the world. The lake boasts a complex shape, with several sharp bends and four distinct arms. The surface area in 113.6 square kilometers and the deepest depth at 214 meters.
Whether you’re exploring its shores, embarking on boat cruises, or simply soaking in the serene atmosphere, adoring the views and the swans... Lake Lucerne promises an unforgettable experience.
Hofkirche Church
This is another pretty church that you can see from far, at the first few moments you crossed over SeeBrucke.
The lady from the 8th century has an special architectural design of gothic and renaisance styled.
The impressive twin towers are such an attention seeker.
It is also known as church of Saint Leodegar.
She is gracefully waiting people from everywhere for a selfie and deserve some of your time to admire her compound.
PS : At the corner of this church, the right side before the stairs, there is a souvenir shop which I forgot the name, and this is where I bought Buroin Cuckoo Clock. Some people said this clock is origin from Black Forest Germany but to me it doesn't matter because I really want a cuckoo clock since I was a kid.
Vesper Cafe
Nice and comfortable cafe that is located away from the heart of the old town.
It is located at the corner of Hofkirche so the location is still considered in the town.
The staff is friendly and having smiles on his face.
There is also outdoor seatings but it's cold, nobody will sit there at this time.
We were seated at the second level, and found the place is really cozy. Whether its couch or dining table, the air of "free" in there. Love the decor of hanging laundries around the place.
We visited on the first week of January and it was drizzling outside, when it was pretty chilly outside.
A cup of hot coffee, hide from the chill, rest our legs and having him by my side, felt so right in such a cafe in such a city.
The Lion Monument
The saddest lion in the world that has been mourning since 1821.
This stone lion sculpture is a memorial that commemorate the Swiss guards who were killed while defending the king of France during the French Revolution.
We walked back to the heart of the old town after Lion Monument, we are going to explore the bridges and the other side of the bank before heading back to Zurich.
Spreuerbrücke
Long long time ago, there were three wooden bridges in Lucerne : Spreuerbrücke, Kapellbrücke and Hofbrücke.
However, in 19th century, Hofbrücke was demolished so now left with 2 gorgeous and ancient bridge for us to learn.
Spreuerbrücke was first constructed to the middle of Reuss river in the 13th century and the extension to the left bank was completed in 1408. It was destroyed by a flood in 1566 and was rebuilt again attached with a granary.
The interior of this covered bridge is decorated with more than 50 paintings, scenes from the Dance of Death, dating from the early 17th century.
.jpg)
Today, many people come from far to visit Lucerne for the 2 famous legendary bridges from the past that set a reminder to the locals and an educational ground for tourists. The views you received while within the bridge is absolutely awesome that is irresistible to snap a picture or two at least. Though these 2 famous bridges are over Reuss river, but the point of views are totally different.
Reuss brucke
An iron steel bridge of modern designed that is allowing people to cross over Reuss River in Lucerne.
This friendly bridge was originally built as a 2 lanes road bridge for traffic, today it was re-organised in 1977 with the length of 50 meters, crossing between Krongasse and Kramgasse is more cyclists and pedestrians.
Though it is a mere 50 meters, we spent nearly 20 minutes on it, because it is so Instagram friendly.
Reuss River
The Reuss River, known as Rüüss in Swiss German, flows through the heart of Central Switzerland is the 4th longest river in Switzerland.
The starting point of this flow come from Gotthard region (mountain range in the Alps) where it flow north, towards Lake Lucerne and continue for another 160 kilometers and finally join the flow of Aare River in the region on Bernese Oberland like Interlaken.
As Switzerland is a landlocked country, it is amazing how well the irrigation system is based on my 12 days observations.
Musegg Wall
Also known as Lucerne's City Wall, it is the largest landmark of Lucerne has the length of 800 meters long is the best-preserved defensive walls in Switzerland. The 14th century wall come with 9 towers, located on a high hill, it offers a breathtaking view of the entire city.
It was closed during my visit, so we took some photos from the ground instead making our way up.
Here is the photo from google on how it looks like up there.
Known as "Chapel Bridge" in Swiss, this bridge is very much similar to Spreuerbrücke in terms of the exterior & interior.
Long long time ago, there were three wooden bridges in Lucerne : Spreuerbrücke, Kapellbrücke and Hofbrücke.
However, in 19th century, Hofbrücke was demolished so now left with 2 gorgeous and ancient bridge for us to learn.
Other than being the longest and oldest surviving bridge in Europe, it is also Europe's oldest covered bridge.
Originally built to protect the city from the enemies in 1332, it is named after St Peter Church nearby.
To keep people entertained, paintings dating from 17th century were put up on the bridge. It reflect the past events of Lucerne.
However, half of the bridge was destroyed in a big fire in 1993, the government took up a big effort to renovate the bridge while maintaining the original design of the 14th century. Paintings that can be saved were up again for display despite the remnant of burnt edges can still be seen.
Today, many people come from far to visit Lucerne for the 2 famous legendary bridges from the past that set a reminder to the locals and an educational ground for tourists. The views you received while within the bridge is absolutely awesome that is irresistible to snap a picture or two at least. Though these 2 famous bridges are over Reuss river, but the point of views are totally different.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Jesuit Church
Another attention seeking building along Reuss river, this church is located at the new town area of Bahnhofstrasse.
The onion shaped roof is so stand out that it can be seen from far.
The 18th century baroque themed church was built as a symbol of resilience of the Catholics in their movements of counter reformation against the Jesuits protestants.
 |
| The interior of the church that I got from goggle |
Jesuitenplatz
Located right outside of Jesuit Church, this area is a good place for meet up and chill.
Great scenery from the opposite banks, cute birds swarming in the river with some trying to get near you for food.
Our happy times in Lucerne shall end here as this marked my 11th day here this is also the last blog of Switzerland.
Here are the shortcuts to the blogs on our trips in Switzerland:
Well, the end of this blog meaning the start of another; coming up next will be on our day trip to Colmar, Strasbourg, and our Artic trip to Tromso please stay tune by liking my Facebook page: followblueginger
My next trip coming up is Bangkok again, but this round is a trip solely for me & Miss Piggy.
We visited Europe recently like The Netherlands & Belgium recently : Amsterdam, The Hague , Rotterdam , Kinderdijk , Naarden ,Muiden , Haarlem , Nijmegan, Brussel, Bruges
and Antwerp.
We even moved to stay in Denmark during the peak of Covid : Relocation from Singapore to Aalborg, Denmark
Feel free, you are most welcome to browse through my other blogs to France, Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia and cruises etc.
"I travel because seeing photos in books and brochures was not good enough for me, To be there, that was everything"
No comments:
Post a Comment