Schwangau to Lucerne
Horrible night with no sleep… It was a hot and muggy night in the old hotel with no AC. I laid awake, worried about strange Bavarian creatures entering through the open balcony door that we had propped open.
Up at 4:30 even though the alarm was set for 6:30… Didn’t want to lay awake waiting for the creatures any longer and woke Harmony, to her dismay, to get an early start on the long day ahead.
We drove the 3 1/2 hours back to Zurich on the Autobahn in a heavy rain. Crazy that on some stretches of the Autobahn there is no speed limit at all! Found we were still getting passed like we were standing still at 135(km/h but still)! We dropped off the rental car and made our way to the tracks to catch a train to Lucerne (Luzern in Swiss standard German). Lucerne would become our favorite of the cities we visited. With a rich history too lengthy to document here. For those interested, follow the links in the posts for additional information.
Upon arrival in Lucerne, we secured a locker to stash our travel packs in and walked the riverfront to the Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge originally built in 1365) and water tower, to the other side where we had the perfect European cold cut lunch. Such a picture perfect setting… The street-side cafe under the umbrella on the banks of the Reuss River overlooking Olde Towne Luzern!
After lunch, the timing was perfect to retrieve our travel packs from the locker at the bahnhof (railway station) and get checked in to the hotel. Then proceed to take cold showers, to wash off the days sweat, and sleep for a couple of hours.
After waking, we made our way back to the train station mall and shopped for food at the Co-Op (Swiss grocery store) for the next couple of days, then dropped it off back at the hotel room fridge.
The evening was spent walking the Kapellbrücke to some charming cobblestone back streets and enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the Reuss River! A very pleasant end to a long day after a sleepless night. Back at the hotel, Harmony hand washed our dirty clothes and we settled in for what would hopefully be a really good nights sleep…
Lucerne (Day 2)
After a good nights sleep, we were up at 6:30. Enjoyed a breakfast of fruit and yogurt purchased at the local Co-Op the day before… Then headed out crossing Kapellbrücke (we had the entire bridge to ourselves!) to find some good coffee on the riverfront.
We spent the rest of the morning visiting the Church of St. Leodegar (built in 1633), the Lion Monument (hewn in 1820), Musegg Wall & Towers (defensive wall built in 1386), Spreuerbrücke (Spreuer Bridge) and more of the old town cobblestone streets. We made it back to the hotel for a rest just in time as an afternoon thunderstorm blew through.
Back out in the evening for dinner and stroll the old town before more rain started just before sunset…
