Lucerne

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Mountains and Chocolate and a place to finally relax!

The drive from Florence to Lucerne was long, but beautiful once we got into Switzerland. I think I counted at least 9 waterfalls- and that was when I was looking for them for about an hour. One word to describe Switzerland- AMAZING! It was so beautiful! It was so nice to be in Lucerne, after 6 crazy long days in Itlay. Lucerne is a relatively small city on Lake Lucerne and it surrounded by the Swiss Alps. You couldn't ask for better scenery and the weather was gorgeous while we were there, but very hot! That night we arrived we just walked into town and had a relaxing drink at this cute bar. (I had a diet coke, or coke light, as they call it here, since the partying I had done in Florence was still getting to me...) The next morning we took 4
person cable cars up to the top of Mt. Pilatus.
There is a legend that goes along with this mountain... In medieval times, it was believed that dragons with healing powers lived in the rugged clefts and crevices of Mount Pilatus. And one day there was a young cooper who was traveling through Pilatus right before winter when he became lost. He stumbled into the cave of two dragon. Well, of course, he thought his time was up and got ready for his last moments. But, the Pilatus dragons were friendly and took him in and helped him survive through the winter in their cave. When he returned to his home in Lucerne in the spring the people all rejoiced since that had long thought him for dead. Ever since then, the Pilatus dragons have been revered as good-natured, helpful creatures. So if you hear the faint beating of the dragons' wings when you visit you are considered very lucky indeed!
I'm not sure if I heard or saw any dragons, but the views were stunning of the Swiss Alps and Lake Lucerne. I saw the most perfect beautiful little church that was about three quarters of the way up the mountain. If I had had more time I would have loved to hike up. I'm sure it would have been tough, but worth it for the views. Once we got to the top and off the cable cars I walked to the top look out points and took tons of photos and explored a bit on the mountain. There were some rather scary drop offs at some points... (see the pics). After hiking around for a bit I stopped for a cup of coffee to chill out and sat and talked with courtney and chad. We rode the cog railway down the mountain. It is the world's steepest cogwheel railway and it was a bit scary at times when you looked at the tracks that you had just come from and saw just how steep it was. After that we took a relaxing cruise on Lake Lucerne where I sampled the local brew, Eichhof, which was pretty good. The boat dropped us off right in the center of the city near the Chapel Bridge, a wooden footbridge used to cross the River. After that we just spent a relaxing day in the city eating lunch and feeding the swans in the lake. They were beautiful, but aggresive. One of the girls I was with got bitten on her leg and that swan left a bad bruise, but it was pretty funny. We also walked around the city to see the Lion Monument which is carved into the sandstone cliff above the town. It is an allegorical reference to the bravery of the Swiss Guards who died in the Tuileries of Paris in 1792 trying to save the life and honor of Marie Antoinette. After a long day, we walked back to the hotel to get ready for a traditional Swiss fondue dinner where were heard some traditional Swiss yodelers and some folk dancing. It's been great seeing all the great churches, architecture, and museums, but some good scenery still tops my list on my favorite things to see. For that reason Switzerland was one of my favorite places and I would definitely go back again. Skiing anyone??

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