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Monday, June 10
No alarm clock set for this morning, but I still got up about 7. It's overcast again this morning, but the clouds don't look as threatening as yesterday.
We went downstairs to breakfast and Faye and Walt (from Calgary) were down there eating. We wound up joining them. Then, when they left, we sat and watched the world go by - it was a window table. We saw Faye and Walt take their transport to Zurich. It was early, which is a good sign for us when we leave in two days.
The sun came out for a while. We would wind up getting rain in bands off and on until we gave up about 1:30 when we returned to the hotel to dry off...
Back to what we did get done this morning. First, we walked over to the train station and visited the information center to pick up a sightseeing map.
The photo on the left is now a monument. Once upon a time, it was the main entrance to the train station, but that station burned down, leaving only this one wall. The new train station is located about half a block behind where I'm standing and is very modern. The lake boat area mentioned below is just the other side of this monument.
From there, we walked over to the lake boat area and checked out the excursion prices. We decided the clouds were getting thick again, so we headed back to the hotel for raincoats... Good idea.
So, we set off again. This time for the long wooden bridge (Chapel Bridge) which we crossed more slowly than we did on Saturday with Christian.
The photo on the left shows another view of the Chapel Bridge and one of its towers. The center photo shows the petunias in planter boxes that line the outside of the bridge (and some of the hotels along the river). The photo on the right shows me shooting something (probably the former train entrance below) from the bridge.
The photo on the left shows the former train station entrance from the Chapel Bridge. To the right of the old entrance is a large building with gray walls and lots of small windows. That's the new train station. The large building behind the old entrance (with the turquoise roof) is an art museum. The center photo shows the Hotel des Alpes, which consists of three or four older buildings, now under one management. The photo on the right shows one of the many highly decorated buildings in the old part of Lucerne.
We found our way to the Musegg Wall – the old town wall with watchtowers along it. This involved winding through the old part of town and consulting the map many times.
We got rained on as we walked along this scenic route. We passed on going up into the top levels of the towers as the stairs were steep, narrow, and didn't have hand rails.
The photo on the left above shows three of the nine towers along the Musegg Wall and the tourist walkway that connects them. The second photo shows another tower from ground level. The third photo shows another tower and the walkway along the outside of the wall. The photo on the right shows part of the eighth tower along the wall with the Gutsch Hotel high on a hill across the river. From here, the walkway descended steeply to the river.
We came back off the wall when that path finished and continued along the outside of the wall to the river tower. It was a nice walk but it would have been better if it hadn't been drizzling/light rain showers the entire time.
The photo on the left above shows the eighth tower (and part of the seventh) in the Musegg Wall. The center photo shows a Scottish Highlander cow that was waiting out the rain. There was a demonstration farm just outside this wall and the cows were part of it. The photo on the right shows the ninth and final tower in the Musegg Wall, which has its foundations in the river. We would continue our journey by passing through the arch just visible on the left of this photo.
The photo on the left shows the Chaff Bridge from downstream. This bridge is the oldest in the city.
The photo on the right shows me taking the photo on the left....
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The photo on the left shows the Gutsch Hotel. This used to be a castle, but was sold to a private entity on the condition that it be restored and used as a hotel and restaurant. At the lower left, you can see a funicular, which is one way to access this hotel.
The photo on the right is me shooting a vertical of the Gutsch Hotel...
We walked back along the river to the mill race and crossed that wooden bridge (Chaff Bridge).
We saw more of the Needle Dam and saw sections waiting to be inserted, so Christian's explanation made more sense.
The photo on the left shows some of the buildings along the river downstream from the Chaff Bridge. The final tower of the Musegg Wall is visible from here.
The photo on the right shows the view upstream from the Chaff Bridge. The church with two steeples is the Jesuit Church. There's another foot bridge visible in front of it. The waterway directly in the foreground is a lock that also leads to the millrace. At the end of the right edge of the lock is the Needle Dam. The components that are waiting to be added to the Needle Dam are just visible on the right edge of the photo - they look like a stack of pallets.
The photo on the left shows the view along the side of the Chaff Bridge.
The photo on the right shows that the Chaff Bridge, like the Chapel Bridge, is decorated with historical paintings.
The rain got heavier and I saw lightning and heard thunder, so we decided to make our way back to hotel. We only missed one turn on the way, but found the right street and were soon in familiar territory. We were both very wet by then.
The photo on the left shows some ceiling detail on a cover over an alley that we ducked into to get out of the rain for a while.
The photo on the right shows an almost deserted street that we took back to the hotel. Very wet!!!
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The photo on the left shows the view along the riverfront. The tower that looks like it's rising from the middle of the river is the one by the Chapel Bridge.
The photo on the right shows the view directly across the river from where we took shelter for a while. We were under an awning... The three towers rising in the background are part of the Musegg Wall. The Chaff Bridge is in the middle left of the photo.
We got back to hotel and changed into dry clothes. The wet stuff is now hanging in the shower. Wonder if it will dry before we need it again... We also discovered that the hotel had a bucket full of umbrellas to borrow. We'll grab one tomorrow.
We wanted to go down to the hotel restaurant for some tea/coffee and a snack, but it's a holiday and they're closed until dinner (6 pm). So, back upstairs and we used the machines in the room to make tea and coffee. There was an electric tea kettle and a Keurig espresso machine. I think we'll stay in most of the rest of the afternoon.
I spent the afternoon working on labeling photos. I got some of them ready for posting on Facebook, but the internet connection in the room kept dropping out. So, on a chance, I took the elevator down to the Lounge and tried from there. Excellent, very high speed connection. The photos were quickly uploaded. Then I checked email and returned to my tea in the room.
About 6, we went down to the restaurant and got dinner. It's a Mexican restaurant in Lucerne. Go figure... Carl had their chicken enchilada and I had the shrimp fajitas – non-lactose style. It was served with a sliced avocado instead of guacamole and a lactose free cheese that actually tastes like cheese – namely mozzarella. I asked the waitress if she knew what it was. While it's a Swiss product, she did copy down the brand name. Maybe Amazon has it??? (Later edit - nope) I also tried a tequila based mojita. Not bad!
Then it was back to the room for coffee/tea. We'll call it a day early tonight, too.
Carl had the tv on most of the afternoon. One movie was The Big Country dubbed in German??? Since we know most of the dialog, it was a bit funny.