The hits keep coming. Left Bern this morning, the rain gave way for our walk to the Bahnof. Honestly we loved the beauty, serenity, history, and charm of this city on the Aare River.
The SBB Trains are tidy, on time and the ride through the countryside is smooth. We glided through our journey dotted with rolling hills of green, pastures, beautiful farms, with an occasional baby cow, towns and mountains.
We arrive wondering where we can store our luggage until our 3:00 check in. We stop to get directions and (JEllens 🍀) a text comes in saying our flat is ready, and it’s only noon. BONUS 💥
Lucerne or Luzern is a city and a municipality in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the district of the same name.
We get settled in our cute home away from home opened the windows and had a lil lunch and chill. We made our own picnic from breakfast (Haffleys & us perfected the gathering goodies at breakfast in Iceland to eat on our picnic lunch later) We also finally found zip lock bags at the Lidl store 👍
Back to Lucerne the words stunning and charming come to mind. We are located steps from the river in the old section of town.
In 1178 Lucerne acquired its independence from the jurisdiction of Murbach Abbey, and the founding of the city proper probably occurred that same year.
Divided into two parts by the Reuss River, which is crossed by seven bridges within the town, Lucerne has one of the most picturesque settings in Switzerland. The Spreuerbrücke (1407), now the oldest bridge, is roofed and decorated with some 56 paintings, scenes from the Dance of Death, dating from the early 17th century. Until its destruction by fire in 1993, the Kapellbrücke (1333; “Chapel Bridge”) was the oldest bridge. It was similarly decorated. The old town on the right bank is distinguished by well-preserved 14th-century town walls (Musegg) with nine watchtowers, quaint alleys, and squares with medieval , renaissance, and Baroque houses.
The Reuss River runs through the city. With a length of 164 kilometres (102 mi) and a drainage basin of 3,426 square kilometres (1,323 sq mi), it is the fourth largest river in Switzerland (after the Rhine, Aare and Rhöne).
Just like the Aare River in Bern there is a swift dangerous current AND the strong swimming locals love to float the river. It was fun to watch these young women get out of their street clothes, put them in the dry bags, walk down the ramp and float away…
It didn’t take long for them to disappear down the river 👋
There are small streets and alcoves that we will explore on Thursday.
The bridges and buildings along the river are old and charming and so Swiss.
Fountains with fresh water at every turn
The river has a meddle dam or weir designed to maintain the level or flow of a river through the use of thin “needles” of wood. The needles are leaned against a solid frame and are not intended to be water-tight. Individual needles can be added or removed by hand to constrict the flow of the river, forming a sluice. Built in the 19th century and still used today…it works!!
Tomorrow we have a big day boat ride, gondola and steepest cog railway to Mt Pilatus. So we’re off to the Coop to fill our fridge with breakfast goodies and on the way we smell a fantastic Chinese take out place.
It was scrumptious and as we have missed our Wongs.
Our flat is in a small piazza and we just heard this out the window below. Hope they play well.
They’re good…🎶🎶🎶🎶
