Does the sun always shine on Lucerne?

September 20 - Lucerne was much less crowded today than yesterday.  Obviously, a day trip to Lucerne on a sunny Sunday is the thing to do in this part of Switzerland!

Me enjoying breakfast at the hotel

The Dying Lion of Lucerne

After a lovely breakfast on the balcony overlooking the river at our hotel, DH and I walked to the Lion Wall monument (the Dying Lion of Lucerne) which is in memory of the heroic death of Swiss mercenaries at the Tuileries in 1792.  We met a family from Sri Lanka who asked us to take pictures of them with the lion in the background.  We told them we had eaten Sri Lankan food just the other night.  They’ve travelled much in the US and have been to San Diego, the Grand Canyon, and Disneyland.

Along the Swiss "riviera"

We opted for a two-hour cruise from Lucerne to various towns on the lake.  We pulled away from the dock at noon with the church bells ringing.  There are large hotels in each of the towns along this part of Lake Lucerne which is sometimes called the Swiss Riviera.  I loved the town of Weggis.  Once again, we enjoyed gorgeous views of the Alps.

On our return, we strolled through town stopping wherever we saw interesting stores or structures.  They have a great idea here called Rent-a-Box.  Individuals rent small boxes in a store window to sell pieces of jewelry.

I know we look like typical tourists with our cameras, etc., but today DH outdid himself.  He hates to be uncomfortable and has a very narrow range of temperatures that he tolerates.  So, afraid that his little tootsies might get the least bit cold, he actually tied a pair of socks to the outside of his backpack and walked around town like that until I spotted it.  STOP!  I insisted that the socks go inside the backpack until needed.  What a dufus ....

Look closely - that's me on top of the wall!

Towards the middle of the afternoon, we walked alongside the Musegg wall which was started in 1386.  I actually climbed one of the towers and walked along the top of the wall for a bit before making my way down.  DH is afraid of heights, so I get to do these scary things all by myself and he gets to take a picture of my exploits for posterity.



$100 parking ticket - not for us!!

We enjoyed some wine on our balcony then took a lovely walk to the Schlüssel restaurant.  Finally, Swiss fondue! (Check out the menu on the restaurant site - we had the pumpkin soup and the farmer's style fondue - yummy!)  After dinner, we slowly made our way back to the hotel across one of the footbridges admiring the lights adorning the wonderful city of Lucerne.
I've loved almost every part of this trip, but I think I will remember Lucerne most of all because of its beauty.  Tomorrow, we're off to Zurich for our last night before heading home.