Rain, Rain Go Away- Lucerne

After a not-so great experience in Zurich we were excited to see what Lucerne had to offer. After our first Starbucks since being in Europe, we headed to the bus station for our tour. The bus drove us to Lucerne the "scenic" route offering many views of Switzerland on the way. The landscape was gorgeous and everything was just bursting with color. Our tour guide for Lucerne made me feel like a completely ignorant American. He spoke throughout the whole tour in 6 languages: English, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish. Americans can barely speak english (i'm talking to you south of the Mason Dixon line)

Our first stop on the tour was the Dying Lion of Lucerne. It was carved out of natural rock in memory of the heroic deaths of the Swiss mercenaries at the Tuileries in 1792. Mark Twain described the Lion of Lucerne as the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world. I enjoyed stopping to see this because I had never heard of this monument before. The artwork was beautiful and detailed and the expression on the lion's face was just pure agony. It reminded me of the lion from the Narnia movies. On our way back from the lion, we saw probably the coolest little convertibles ever. They are very popular in Switzerland and I'm pretty sure they are made by SmartCar. Afterward, We got back on the bus and headed into the city. 

We arrived in the center of the city of Lucerne with a big, rain cloud looming over us. We did not let this ruin our day and we made our way towards the lake. We found out the weekend that we were in Lucerne there was a music festival, so all different street performers from all over the world were performing around Lucerne. We stumbled upon Palo Santo-who had members from Colombia,  Argentina, and Germany. They were wonderful and completely livened the crowd even though it was beginning to rain. We stood in the piazza, eating our gelato and listening to the entire
set of this band. I ended up buying their cd at the end of the performance. (yay first souvenir) Listen to them Here!
After they had finished, we walked around the town and ended up at the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower. Lucerne is divided by the river Reuss into an Old Town and a New Town. The two districts are connected by what is among other things the world's oldest covered wooden bridge, the Chapel Bridge, which dates back to the year 1332. The bridge was rebuilt true to the original after the fire of 1993 and leads to the actual landmark of Lucerne, the octagonal Water Tower. Like the over 500-year-old Musegg Wall with its turrets, the bridge and water tower were part of the city fortifications. Find out more here!   

The sky had finally given out on us and it began to rain cats and dogs. We got under cover and went on a boat cruise of the lake (inside of course) You couldn't see much of the lake, but even in the rain Lucerne was beautiful. I am excited to go back with my parents though, to see it when it is not pouring. We learned history about the lake during our cruise and I got to sip a warm cappuccino while taking in the sights. After the tour we spent a few hours in a cafe near the lake people watching and staying dry. Finally, we went back to the bus and headed back to the train home to Riva. Overall, the weekend was a learning experience in Zurich and we had a nice cultural experience in Lucerne.

XOXO RIVA DIVA