Lucerne
Tuesday, 12th August 2008
I woke around 5.30 am and couldn't sleep. I watched the Olympics with no sound and Kitty woke at about 6.45 am. She wanted to sleep in so told me to travel alone to Lucerne. I dressed quickly, got my gear together and left. Had a quick breakfast at the station and caught the 8.10 IC to Lucerne. It cuts around Lake Geneva then across country to Bern. From Bern it goes east to Lucerne. I arrived at 11.00 am and bought my ticket for Schaan. Took a taxi to the hotel. As I was booking in I was told that the hotel reception would be closed between 12 and 3.00 pm and there was only one key. Kitty still hadn't replied to my text so I had no idea when she was arriving. This was a calamity as I didn't want to hang around the hotel till she arrived. The room was small and old style. There was no air conditioning but the temperature was comfortable. It was raining on and off and I took an umbrella with me. Armed with a map I walked to town and checked the trains at the station. There was one coming in at 1.00 pm and again at 2.00 pm. I walked over to the old wooden bridge and went across. It was very crowded because it's one of the best remnants of its type. The city had ensured that it was in excellent condition for tourists. It was decorated with flowers all along the length and had paintings hanging from the ceiling. A small chapel was built into a wooden structure that joined the bridge to the tower.
I then went back to the station to meet the 1.00 pm train - no Kitty, so I spent the next hour doing some more sightseeing. Looking down the river one can see more bridges of different styles depending on the era that they were built. There was what appeared to be a castle complex on a nearby hill and some fairly grand buildings along the river. The town is not very large and everything centres on the river itself. The modern railway station is also next to the river and the original ornamental facade has been retained as a memorial in the large square in front. The square is the terminal for buses and is very busy. It's possible to cross the square and the nearby roads underground.
I walked through little squares and around some nice buildings. The town is definitely set up for tourists with interesting statues and fountains around every corner. I thought this assemblage of bells was unique - I hadn't seen anything like this before.
I walked into a nearby Catholic church to have a look at the altar and statues. Switzerland is Protestant on the whole but the Catholic church is still prominent.
By now Kitty had sent me a text saying she would be on the 2.00 pm train. So I went back to the station, met her, told her the situation and gave her the key. We arranged to meet at the station at 4.30 pm as I didn't want to walk back to the hotel. I now crossed over the river and explored the other side of the town, checking out some of the water structures and the old town.
Karneval must be celebrated strongly here as there was a wonderful fountain with figures and a Restaurant painted with images around the Karneval theme.
I walked back to the station to meet Kitty at 4.30 and we went to see the Picasso exhibition in a nearby gallery. It rained solidly all afternoon so spending time in a gallery seemed the best thing to do. We took the bus back to the hotel and tried to get a meal but they were only serving their package deal customers. So we took the No 4 bus back to the town and found a genuinely rough pub with regulars (no tourists except for another couple from Perth). I ate Roesti which is really a form of Toch/Kartoffelpuffer/Latkies. The same dish has many names.