Lovely Luzern

 We began our one full day in Luzern gazing out at the gorgeous lake. It's like a picture postcard.

 

A note about the weather--it's been amazing our whole vacation so far. With the exception of our not-so-golden circle drive in Iceland, every time rain is predicted, it either never materializes or appears as barely a drizzle. This was supposed to be a stormy day ... nope.

We took the world's cutest elevator to the lobby for breakfast.

 

And, made plans to walk the city. We decided to hit some of the highlights Pascal pointed out the night before, finish the day with a sail around the lake, and grab dinner at a celiac-friendly Greek restaurant.

Look at that sky--and those great looking kids! On the way out of the hotel, Ned stopped by an ATM to get some Swiss francs (CHF). This will be important as the day goes on.

First stop--the Chapel Bridge, wonderfully festooned with flowers--as is pretty much every building: the Swiss love their flowers! The bridge connects the two halves of the city, one slightly older than the other. In fact, Pascal told us that many of the streets on the non-old town side of the bridge had been torn up and replaced with artificially aged cobblestones to give that part of the Luzern more character.

 

 

This is us on the "newer" side of Luzern--where everything is still very old. Harper wanted to check out the Historisches Museum, so we walked alongside the aquamarine river, ducking in periodically to check out all the nooks and crannies that led to even more squares--or back to the river.

 

 

The museum itself was unlike any we've visited. The items are displayed in gray metal cages, as though in storage, and as a guest, one gets an iPad to scan barcodes associated with each item in order to learn more. The goal is to present objects associated with the history of Luzern, from household goods (ornaments to ration coupons to sewing machines) to clothing (on oddly terrifying mannequins) to weapons and a guillotine. And, there was an entire exhibition on "night," that was completely in German (thank you, Google translate!) and included many creepy night terrors and creatures--as well as a condemnation of night-time work.

 

Then, back to the Spreuer Bridge to return to Old Town. We discovered an altar in the middle of the bridge--which was decorated for summer festivities.

 

As we stepped off the bridge, who did we see: Pascal! Ned felt bad that we had no CHF to tip him the previous night, so we agreed he should say hi and tip him now. He did. And, we thanked Pascal again, told him we went by the pizza place, and advised his current tour that he was the best. He was delighted!

We decided to do a bit of shopping, which is an easy and lovely lift in Luzern. We bought some jewelry and Swatches, and then discovered we had once again lost track of the European lunch hour--which typically ends around 2 or 2:30 at most restaurants, which then close until 5 or 6. Super hungry, we found a very small Thai restaurant that could make a gf fried rice for Harper and fueled up for our next stop: the Musegg Wall.

 

The trip to the wall, took us on a long uphill climb through a beautiful neighborhood and then up a steep set of stairs--all before we even started the climb up to the top of the wall itself.

 

Here is a picture I took of a weird ladybug while catching my breath after walking up more steep inclines than I have in about a decade. 

Luckily, though we're old and out of shape, Ned and I have quick recovery times, so we headed to the uneven, dark tower steps to get up on the wall (which was, of course, also its own steep incline). We have walked more over the course of the past week than in many years, and are beginning to figure out why all these people look so fit.

The Musegg wall was expanded as the city grew, with sections dating from the 1200s to 1500s. Today, its purpose is photographic not protection. The views of Luzern, the river, and the bay inlet from the lake are simply extraordinary--made even moreso by the bright sun and clear sky. 

 

These photos barely capture how strking Luzern looks from the wall.  If we had a Swiss franc for every time one of us said, "I mean, c'mon" or "it is just so beautiful," we'd be back in Old Town buying a Rolex.

 

On the way out of the clock tower is another set of its inner works, which have been replace over time. Because this is the oldest clock in Luzern, it always strikes the hour one minute before every other clock in the city.

 

From the Musegg walls, we could see a little open air cafe below, and decided to stop in. The view was--say it with us, just so beautiful. And, the casual, friendly vibe was so inviting. We whiled away an hour just taking it all in. We were lucky enough to grab a table, but the cafe also loans rugs to those who want to lay out under the trees. So Swiss!

 

We mapped our walk back to the hotel to take a break. Ned found that our Swiss rail passes bought us a free ride on the lake, so we hustled over to grab the 7 pm boat. The skies were looking a bit stormy but it never rained and the lake was as smooth as silk.

 

As we passed other boats or folks on shore, everyone waved and laughed. In every encounter, we've found Luzern to be a relaxed and friendly place.

 

 

This is a series I call, "Mom, seriously, stop taking photos of us."

 

 

That's our hotel, as seen from the lake. It feels grand when we're inside, but it doesn't feel this big.

Now that we're Europeans, we only eat after 8 :) We walked quickly to our pre-scouted restaurant, Ammos, but found that everyone else had pre-scouted it, too. The wait was 30 minutes, which the hostess, Maria, cut to 20 after she saw the look on my face. As they were cleaning a table, she leaned in and said, "As soon as it's set, take it and tell them Maria said it was yours." We did as we were told. The food was so good: dips, pita and gf bread, souvlaki, moussaka, and so much lamb. Our server was a delight, recommending a special digestif to Ned, and the owner came by to check in on Harper and offer her a special gf dessert. If you are in Luzern, head to Ammos!

 

 

We happily closed out the restaurant and thanked Maria on the way out.

And, our walk back to the hotel took us past the pizza place. There was our server from the night before cleaning up for the night. We said hi and Ned tipped him, too. Karma is a good thing.

Another very, very full day was over, and the views of Luzern at night were as sparkling as the day's sun. I mean, c'mon--it's just so beautiful!

Add this city to your must-visit list right now!