High Expectations Being Met

10:34 PM Lucerne

Lucerne is like out of a dream... I don't think I've been anywhere this beautiful (OK, I've never been to Colorado, I bet it's pretty darn close out there). A lot of Lucerne's charm comes from the old looking town nestled in the most beautiful, mountainous landscape you can imagine. The people are very friendly and all speak English and the majority of tourists are Chinese or Indian and getting shuttled in on buses and led around by a tour guide. The tour groups entertain us, and we think to the time when our travel agent tried to sell us on tour packages... we're very glad we didn't go for it. We're too... well... I want to say free spirited... we're definitely that... but we're also too... shall I say, aimless? We don't like being told where to go and when. Andy went on a guided tour through parts of the UK a few years back, and although had a very good time, still would have preferred to make his own experiences. A lot of times those groups tell you where to eat, how long you have at particular sights, where you can go, etc. If you're into making your own rules, don't be afraid to be your own tour guide.

Today we went back up to old town for some coffee and quiche, as I mentioned in the previous post. We walked up to the Dying Lion:

The Lion Monument of Lucerne, or Dying Lion, is a memorial for Suisse Mercenaries who were massacred by revolutionaries during the French Revolution in 1792. It is also well known that Mark Twain remarked that this was the saddest and most moving piece of stone he had ever seen. The injured and dying lion is indeed very emotional and moving (as I stand there smiling in front of it ... really though, I was moved).

After that, we did our grocery shopping for our picnic tonight, and took advantage of the ATM in the train station (money goes quick around here). We're trying to take it easy, so we went back to the hostel to drop our food off and rest a bit before going to the wall and climbing the towers. The Museggmauer Wall was built in the late 14th century and supposedly used to have 30 towers. Today it has nine and tourist are allowed to climb three of them (within park hours). We climbed two and got to see the most spectacular views in Lucerne.

 Climbing up the towers! It felt like a lot of steps for our sore legs but the views were well worth it!

Just one of the views from the top. Lucerne is one of those places where no picture or memory really ever be as beautiful as the real thing. You just have to be there.

Back at the park by our hostel, we had our picnic dinner of pretzel bread, cold cuts, fruit and wine we got from the grocery store and enjoyed the sunset over the lake. There were quite a lot of people out there with us and we like how it seems that just as many people appreciate the nature surroundings as much as we do. We talked about how staying in places for only two or three nights really makes you prioritize. For example, Lucerne has a lot of old churches and historic spots that we could have visited but we chose to focus on the nature, views, and parks. We have no regrets! Zurich tomorrow :)