Lucerne – Day Two

Day 71

16th of September

We found a really great map in the hotel lobby and again, like Zurich it had a trail marked out for seeing all the main sights in Lucerne. We headed into town to get some lunch first. We have been spending way too much money here in Switzerland because everything is double the price it should be, so we went to the supermarket to make ourselves a cheap lunch. We got a couple rolls and croissants, ham and a mixed salad. $15 for lunch, not too bad. We ate lunch by the water and looked out to the alps while the swans swam at our feet waiting for crumbs. It is really beautiful here!
We started the tour and of course ‘Erin the tour guide’ came out because I was so great with being a guide in Zurich haha, and it’s a lot of fun! We started at the water tower and bridge which is stunning by day and night, flowers of every colour decorate the outside. It is the most photographed thing in Lucerne and I can see why! Then we walked along the water and up around the tower wall that surrounds Lucerne, ‘Musegg Wall’ What a trek! Its up many many steps! I am so surprised that even with all the walking we have been doing on this trip and we still couldn’t cope with that hill. We had to stop halfway so we didn’t die! haha!

We found an entry to go up to the top of one of the towers, we thought this was a good idea until we were 4 levels up and there was no sign of reaching the top. The towers were built in 1535 and I wouldn’t be surprised if the stairs were original because I didn’t think we would make it to the top without falling through a few floors! Rhys wasn’t helping my phobia by jumping and stepping on the steps like he were an elephant! When we made it to the top I was really glad we went because the view was spectacular!! You could see along Lake Lucerne and up to the alps! Amazing! We stayed up there for a while just in awe of the sight and then we made the very scary trip down the tower, which was harder than the way up! Very narrow, almost wobbley, worn wooden steps, a group of people behind us keeping us moving down too quickly! My legs were shaking! When I got to the bottom my legs were hurting in muscles I didn’t even know existed!! I could barely walk! We managed to make it down the hill to the main part of town and we got a couple slushies and sat on the steps to rest up for the next half of the walking tour.
The next part takes us along to the Lion Monument. When I walked into the beautiful gardens and saw the Lion sculpted out of a rock wall I was blown away. The monument was made in memory of the deaths of swiss mercenaries at the Tuileries. It was very moving! I felt a deep sadness when I looked at the monument. So we stayed there for a while and just took it all in.
Across the road there was a 3D panorama look at the alps for 6 francs … what a waste of money! haha it looked like it was made in the 60s and never repainted, but it was a bit of a laugh. We walked down again to the center of town and went into a couple of the most popular chocolate shops in Lucerne. We bought more … of course! This stuff is too good and anyone who knows me, is aware that I am more a savoury girl than anything else but this chocolate is out of this world!!
We were going to head to Stadkeller for dinner, they hold a folklore show with yodelling, alphornblowing, folk music and flagthrowing but when we went to book they were fully booked for the next few days, which sucked because it would have been great to get into the spirit of the place and experience it. Oh well, backup plan??
Fondue!! oh dear… The idea of fondou seems great, but the taste! … not so good haha! The restaurant smelt so bad I don’t want to describe it and ruin your day. We ordered one serving and I am so glad that is all we got because there was just too much!! We got potatoes, two loafs of bread, salad and a giant pot of melted cheese haha. We spent more time photographing it than eating it because to be honest, I was scared of the stuff! Luckily we didn’t eat enough to be sick. It wasn’t the restaurants fault, I am sure their fondue is as good as any other but I just couldn’t handle it haha!
Afterwards we walked around the town till dark and crossed the bridge and took a few more pics. That is where the walking tour ended, we thought we would head back for an early night, we ended up watching more junk on my laptop and not sleeping early at all! haha then we slept in again the next day! We are terrible! Tomorrow there is a cheese fest in town… oh man … haha I may not live through this! If there is no blog after this … it’s because the cheese killed me
E

101 responses to “Lucerne – Day Two”

  1. Dad agrees with you about the fondue. He said the smell was rank. Not his favourite meal ever! Just as well the chocolate makes up for it.

  2. So fun to read about your adventures … and see it all come to life through your pictures!

    One question: Does the “Slush Puppie” come in an alcoholic version?

    😉

    1. Not in this shop, but I am sure a dash of white rum would be a welcome addition to this refreshing drink 😉

  3. as Swiss i have to defend our fantastic fondue ;).. but it should be eaten on a cold winters day because otherwise the cheese in your stomach will give you a hard time ;).. Although Zurich is my favorite place in Switzerland, Lucerne is also great 😉

    1. I have heard amazing things about the Fondue! but as a lactose intolerant haha not sure what I was thinking, it would never have gone well! but I had to! The cheese is too good in Switzerland! You are lucky to be from here! It’s so beautiful! 🙂

  4. Amazing photos!

    1. Thank you!! Appreciate the comment 🙂

  5. I visited Lucerne in 2009 and your pictures brought back those great memories. This is a wonderful picturesque town. We even went up Mount Pilatus. This is our trip.

    http://mezba.blogspot.com/2009/07/eurotrip-diaries-basel-lucerne.html

    You have some lovely pictures!

    1. Thanks for reading my blog! I am just looking at yours now! I wish we went up to Pilatus, but we went to Murren and it made up for it! It’s beautiful there too! It’s in my next posts! Thanks for sharing your blog with me! Glad I could bring back some nice memories 🙂

  6. Surely looks pretty. I love the personality that shines through. Congrats on making Freshly Pressed

    1. Thank you for your kind words 🙂 and thanks for visitting my blog 🙂 I am going to check yours out now 😉

  7. Gruezi…wow you are in my homeland die Schweiz…wonderful place I love the pictures thanks for sharing them with us. Too bad you did not like the Fondue it is one of my favourite meals that we eat but mostly in the winter time…especially after a fun day skiing. My memories of living in the Berner Oberland after a fund day out on the slops then having this nice hot melted chees with bread and a glass of wine…yummy my mouth is watering. But I guess it is not every once favourite dish…looks like you are having a great time getting to see my homeland…enjoy

    1. It really is a wonderful place!! I have been to many places in Europe now and Switzerland would have to be one of my favourite places now! Murren in particular. I am sorry I didn’t like the Fondue, I had high hopes too! I would love to come back to Switzerland in the winter and if I do, I promise you I will try it again! Thank you for reading my blog!!

  8. thebigbookofdating Avatar
    thebigbookofdating

    What an amazing post, love your photos, looks great! (:

    1. Thank you for returning to my blog 🙂 hehe! Hope you enjoy the pics 🙂

  9. Thank you for checking out my blog!

  10. These are awesome – especially the clay family. I’m jealous!

    1. how cool were the clay people! Thanks for checking out my blog!

  11. Hmm… Bachmann & Slush Puppies? Loved this post, thank you for sharing!
    -Jacob Ryan Paul

    1. No problem, thank YOU for reading! The comments are really appreciated!!

  12. great photos! – looks like fun!

    1. thanks heaps! It is a lot of fun! and I am loving sharing it on my blog 🙂

  13. Amazing photos! Makes me want to go and visit

    1. You should! Switzerland is beautiful! Thanks for the comment 🙂 Really appreciate it

  14. In Western Europe The Grass is Juicy Avatar
    In Western Europe The Grass is Juicy

    Zürich is spectacular. i surely want to go see it as soon as I can. And congratulations the pictures are amazing!

    1. It is! Did you check out my Zurich post? Thanks for the comment!

  15. Love your photos – really capture your trip.
    I have a question for you though – how did you get your pictures together in blocks like that? I am still new to blogging, and have yet to figure that out! I would love to know the secret!

    1. Hey Anita Mac,
      I am using a macbook with Iphoto. You can make blocks of photos by using the “share email” function and it gives you a big selection of different layouts for you to choose from. Then I crop and upload. It’s been the easiest way so far because I am travelling I don’t have time to upload full size pics individually, but it looks quite good as it is. Apple Mac is key! Love Apple!! haha
      Thanks for checking my blog, I am about to check yours out now 🙂

      1. Thanks Erin – that is awesome! I have a Mac so should be able to do! Maybe my next post!
        Have fun and keep travelling!….and sharing!

      2. Excellent! I shall keep my eye out for your next post then for sure!! Look forward to it 🙂

      3. Glad someone was brave enough to ask the question! I had the same thoughts as I love the way yours “knit together”. I spent about 2 hours writing my second post and then a week trying to get my photos to look good! Don’t have Apple Mac and am surely a very non technical person, but will keep trying!

  16. […] Day 71 16th of September We found a really great map in the hotel lobby and again, like Zurich it had a trail marked out for seeing all the main sights in Lucerne. We headed into town to get some lunch first. We have been spending way too much money here in Switzerland because everything is double the price it should be, so we went to the supermarket to make ourselves a cheap lunch. We got a couple rolls and croissants, ham and a mixed salad. $15 … Read More […]

  17. Awesome post and beautiful pictures! Thank you! I will someday soon visit Switzerland!

    1. No thank you! Hope you enjoyed! thanks for the comment 🙂

  18. Love your pics, fun times!

    Congrats on your freshly pressed.

    Cheers from Brazil 🙂

    1. Thanks for viewing my blog! 🙂

  19. Well captured. Congrats on freshly pressed.

  20. Lucerne is one of my favorite spots in Europe! I happened to be there during the National Swiss celebration, so there was a ton going on… But the food was definitely the highlight to me!

    1. Lucerne would have to be high on the list of one of my favourite places also! We were there during the Lucerne Festival so they had a lot of arts and cultural things going on. It as fantastic!! I also loved most of the food 🙂 We have had some pretty amazing meals over the duration of the trip though, Greece was fantastic! Probably my food highlight of Europe 🙂
      Thanks for checking out my blog!!

  21. Loved the Clay family! Totally adorable… we have alcoholic slushy machines over here, you can rent them for parties and everything, they are truly fabulous!!! I am a big fan of the frozen fruit tingle cocktail!
    I love your piccies they are amazing, the carved lion looks breathtaking! I hope I one day have the opportunity to see it!
    Meanwhile just wondering, since there is fondue and there is awesome chocolate, are there any chocolate fondue shops? Can’t go wrong with chocolate fondue surely!

    1. Thank you for the nice words! You should definitely take the time and go to Switzerland some day! It is breathtaking! You only live once so make the opportunity! I quit my job too travel! I just had to do it! There are indeed chocolate Fondue places! The restaurant we had our cheese fondue at served it but we were pretty full after the cheese and all the chocolate we bought at another chocolate shop earlier in the day! haha Chocolate fondue, now THAT is GOOOOOODDD!! 🙂 Thanks for checking out my blog! I hope you get to Lucerne some day 🙂

  22. wow nice photo and adventure..

    Cheers from Indonesia :beer 🙂

    1. haha! Yes Beer = 🙂 Thanks for reading my blog!!

      1. your welcome 🙂

        visit my blog at http://www.kholidwakhid.wordpress.com
        see you there 🙂

  23. I love it! These are some great pictures!

    Congrats on being freshly pressed.

    Mariajose
    http://www.abitofeverythingnow.wordpress.com

  24. im really enjoying the read! my boyfriend and i are going to europe soon so this info is invaluable!
    how did you make your photos appear like that? did you use a specific program??

  25. im really enjoying the read! my boyfriend and i are going to europe soon so this info is invaluable!
    how did you make your photos appear like that? did you use a specific program??
    thanks heaps!

    1. You are going to have the best time! I used my macbook and the Iphoto software has the option to group the photos 🙂 so I use that! I hope you have a fantastic trip! Are you going to blog your travels? If you are I look forward to checking them out!

      1. aaahh the good old macbook haha they look fantastic
        yes i definitely am going to be blogging our travels 🙂 we made the mistake of handwriting a journal for our last trip to vietnam and cambodia so at the moment I am tediously trying to type it all out – such a mistake!!
        thanks so much for the photos and the read though! its great 😀

      2. Well I will hit the follow button and see how you go with your travels! I am terrible at keeping a diary believe it or not, but once you start a blog, there are people who wait for your next post so it keeps you motivated! Plus photos make everything so much prettier to look at! haha Thanks again for reading my blog! I appreciate every single viewer! Enjoy your travels!!

  26. Slush Puppie, haha, yum! But the picture of the stone lion just moved me…. These pictures are all so amazing. Sounds like such a fun trip!

    1. The slush puppy was fantastic and there were about 20 flavours to choose from! Crazy stuff! haha I am having a great time on the trip and sharing it with people! Thanks for reading my blog!!

  27. Beautiful photos–made me feel like I was there or at least, captured the essence of the town. I’ll have to put that on my list of places to travel! (Especially striking was the lion carved out of stone! Not much of an art buff, but that sculpture really elicited sorrowful/sad emotions).

    1. I am the same, art only sometimes evokes emotion in me and this monument was one of those times. You should definitely visit this place! It is truly beautiful! Thanks for checking out my blog and for the comment, I really do appreciate everyone of them 🙂

  28. Good trip, I wanna go there.

    1. Do it! You only live once! Thanks for checking my blog 🙂

  29. luzern is probably the best town in switzerland.

    1. It was very beautiful!! Murren was also great too though in the Jungfreau region so I am torn!

  30. Perfect capture! Fantastic!

  31. these photos are great! we’re living in Paris and are always actively planning mini trips to get out of the city…thanks to you, Lucerne has made it on our list 🙂

    1. Aww well I am glad I could do the place justice! It is truly beautiful! Enjoy your trip when you get there and thanks for reading my blog!!!

  32. Great pictures !
    A friend of mine has visited this town, and told me thai it is a worderful town.

    http://antiworldnews.wordpress.com

    1. it really is! thanks for the comment 🙂

  33. Great pictures buddy 😀

  34. Wow great pictures~ thanks so much for sharing and congrats on being freshly pressed!!

    http://howficklemyheart.wordpress.com

    1. thank you so much for viewing!

  35. I have traveled a fair bit and have eaten my fair share of chocolate in each country, but no one, NO ONE makes chocolate like the Swiss!! I was in Zurich 2 years ago and down the street from my hotel was a gas station. It was Easter, and I had a craving for chocolate one night when all of the shops were closed, so I decided to get some from the gas station, not expecting anything that great.

    I bought a chocolate bunny and it was the best chocolate I had ever had…from a gas station. Before I left, I bought 3 more and shoved them in my bags as best I could.

    To this day, I still reminisce about that chocolate…obviously. Haha!

    Lovely post and beautiful photos!! Thanks for giving me a little piece of Switzerland today! 🙂

    1. You are very right! I am not a chocolate fan normally, give me a packet of salty crisps and I am set! But the raspberry white chocolate here makes me too happy! Love it!!! Thanks for the comment, and I appreciate you looking at my blog!!

  36. Ohh, I lived in Switzerland for two years, and your article and photos made me looooong for that beautiful country. Great blog, thanks for sharing!

    1. Thank you for reading! I would love to live there, but Australia will always be my home! Thanks for the comment!

  37. Good photos~!

  38. Is that Cafe Hugs you’re sitting at along the water? So beautiful.

    1. I don’t think I have been to Cafe hugs, but it is very beautiful along the water!

  39. I want to go to Switzerland now!! Your pics are stunning!

  40. I love the idea of the photo collages within a post. I’m always torn over which photos are the “best” to include, but a collage seems like a great (and artistic!) solution. Thanks for the inspiration and wonderful shots!

    -Sam
    http://www.travelgirlseesworld.com

    1. I agree it is tough to pick sometimes! Appreciate the lovely comment! Thank you!

  41. I love this post! I have visited Zurich in past years and your pictures have reminded me of the best trip in my life … The Lion Monument where I too had felt a strange sadness, the Fondue House … A great place needs to be complemented with who you are travelling with, and it was a trip I couldn’t forget. Thanks for your great post, for triggering the great memories I had… Keep writing, and enjoy your travels!

    1. Glad I could bring back some nice memories! I am having a really fantastic time, and I am happy to share it with others! Thanks for reading my post! Really appreciate it!

  42. Lucerne is a nice town, I spent ages chilling out in the sun down by the Lake after spending too long up in the hills! Like the photos and yes – it was a lot cheaper when I was last there. Exchange rates are not so good for us in the UK either at the moment!

    1. It has been very expensive travelling through Switzerland, but 100% worth it!! Thanks for the comment and for reading my blog! Really appreciate it!

  43. Beautiful photos! How lucky you are to be traveling so many places and for so long! 🙂 Congrats on being Freshly Pressed.

    1. I am very lucky!! THe world is amazing! Thanks for reading my blog!

  44. Loved the photos, excellent. Did you enjoy the slush puppy.. haha

    1. I did thank you! Thanks for reading!

  45. Fanastic photos; thanks for taking us along on your travels! I just love the Lion Monument… I really want to see it in person one day.

    1. thanks so much! I appreciate you checking out my blog!! Glad you enjoyed! The monument is gorgeous! I hope you get there one day!

  46. beautiful pictures. i always like Lucerne. have been there at least a dozen times.

    1. thanks you! I would love to go back to Lucerne one day!

  47. Beautiful pics! I just moved to Switzerland, and next week I’m planning to visit a friend in Lucerne – this has me really excited for it. Hope you’re enjoying your visit here.

    1. Great! I am glad you liked the pics! you are so lucky to live in Switzerland! It is so picturesque! Thanks for checking out my blog!

  48. wonderful moment in our lives. thank you very much.

  49. OH those chocolates! I can feel my hips expanding as we speak. But who cares!

    1. yep! Who cares! It’s tooooo tastyyy!

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Photographer, Travel lover, home maker. Wife, Mother to one human child and three fur babies. These are little snippets of my life

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