Lucerne Lake Cruise

---

Made our way from Lichtenstein to Switzerland today. The drive to Lucerne was gorgeous. Back to seeing a lot of brown Swiss cows and their tinkering cowbells. Passed through a beautiful 10-15 miles before driving by Zurich which was full of crystal clear lakes and rivers, dazzling mountains and some waterfalls. Of course, all this was seen by the road so the pictures I am posting on them are through a moving bus window. So, not optimum photography by any means.

We arrive at Lucerne and immediately go to see the wounded lion. Our tour director wanted us to see it upon arrival because at around 4 pm each day is the perfect light for it. Apparently, the Swiss have a history of supplying mercenaries to foreign governments. One such case happened in Swiss soldiers attempting to protect French King Louis in 1792. 700 Swiss soldiers died trying to protect the King only to discover later that the King had left the palace and not told anyone. That really sucks. The dying lion is enscribed with: HELVETIORUM FIDEI AC VIRTUTI" -- "To the Loyalty and Courage of the Swiss." Our tour director made sure that we arrived at 4 pm and it was the ultimate time because the sun fully hit the lion. The lion is carved into the sandstone on a small cliff. Was dedicated in 1821 to honor the fallen Swiss. Very touching.

Went and got checked into the hotel and had a couple hours to go walk around on our own before we had to meet the group for the lake cruise. Went and walked across their long bridge with its pretty flowers and down by the ferris wheel. Also took some pictures of some cool buildings. Then, it was time to get ready for the lake cruise.

The cruise was very nice. Lucerne is a lovely little city built on a huge, clear water lake with incredible mountain views all around it. You can see Mt. Stanserhorn from the lake (the mountain we went to the top of early in our tour). According to our cruise guide, Sophia Loren was married in a house located on the Lake. Went all around the lake and saw the beautiful homes.

Time to say goodbye to people I've gotten to know on the tour. Bus leaves at 7 am tomorrow to take us to the airport. I still have a couple days of my trip left since I'm staying over in Amsterdam, but others are headed back home. It was a very nice tour and I'd highly recommend for a first time into Europe. Has many advantages. I think that when I go back to Europe someday, though, that I'm now confident enough that I can do so without a group. Found Europe extremely easy to navigate.

Anyway...that's it for now...tomorrow Amsterdam!

---

Photos

Switzerland Countryside
Too bad this picture had to be shot out of the window of a moving bus!

Switzerland Countryside
Another "too bad this picture had to be shot out of the window of a moving bus" picture!

Beauty of Switzerland
Another "too bad this picture had to be shot out of the window of a moving bus" picture! Clear, clear water.