Posted on by David

5-11-19 Lucerne and Mount Stanserhorn

Last up on our Discovery of Switzerland was Lucerne. Lucerne is a compact city known for its preserved medieval architecture and sits amid snowcapped mountains on Lake Lucerne.

The view from our hotel room to the mountains
A castle overlooking Lucerne – now a high end hotel

The Old town is colorful with decorated buildings and wondering cobblestone streets. One of the main attractions is the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower.

The Church Bridge from the Old Town end
More proof we were there.
Lucerne- painting under the roof of Chapel Bridge showing a legendary wild man (giant)
Another painting decorating the bridge,Symbolic death appears in all of them, here a red hatted woman
Here we are on the covered bridge – always good to have several pictures proofing we were there.

The Bridge is a covered wooden footbridge spanning the River Reuss diagonally between the two sides of the river. It is probably the oldest wooden bridge in Switzerland dating back to the middle of the 14th century. It also has old paintings under the roofs.

The facade of the building was lovely.
Decorated buildings in the square
Cobble stone streets, old buildings and lovely shops.
The face of the building was interesting from our hotel balcony
A fountain in we came across just walking around.

Some of it was rebuilt in the 20th century after a fire. The bridge traffic also provided Janeen with a sighting of a St. Bernard puppy. The northern end of the bridge once lead directly into St. Peter’s Chapel,

Inside St. Peters Church

today a riverside promenade separates the two.

The view of the lock on the river
The white tents of the market along the river.

Another notable site to see is the Lion Monument. This Monument is dedicated to the memory of the Swiss mercenaries who, in the service of Louis XVI King of France were killed during the French Revolution in Paris when the Tuileries were invaded on August 10, 1792.

The Lion Memorial – note the shape of the opening looks like a boar.

The inscription “Helvetiorum fidei ac virtuti means” To the loyal and bravery of the Swiss”. The Lion’s Swiss Cross Halbard is covered by the fleur- de- lys of France, which the soldiers had pledged to protect.  The Danish sculptor, Bertel Thorvaldsen, designed the Lion Monument when he was in Rome in 1819. It was installed in the sandstone rock in 1820 or so and is 6 meters high and ten meters long.

Proof we were at the Lion Memorial in Lucerne.

Mark Twain praised the sculpture of a mortally wounded lion as “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world”.

After walking around the Old Town and enjoying the sites (peonies in the flower market)

Janeen checking out the peonies , note the wine red ones.
Lucerne was enclosed in a city wall – this is a portion that remains.
St George the Dragon slayer on the side of a building.

and sounds (church bells) of the city market (it was market day after all) we went back to our hotel to get ready for our boat ride and cable car ride to the summit of Stanserhorn arranged for the following morning.

Our Lucerne boat trip begins.

We had opted for the Lake Lucerne cruise for a chance to take in the wonderful mountain scenery from the water and enjoy a leisurely lake cruise before boarding our coach again for a quick ride to the funicular and open top cable car to the top of Mount Stanserhorn.

On Lake Lucerne
Village nestled at the base of the snow capped mountain.
A monument to those who sail on the lake
Lucerne is ringed by snow capped mountains.
Part of the new section of Lucerne

We have been on several funiculars throughout Europe so this wasn’t as impressive as the cable car.

The base of the funicular station.
The funicular coming into the station.
The funicular cars pass midway between the two stations.

This is the world’s only sun deck cable car with an enclosed cabin below and standing space on the roof!

Here’s what the cable car looks like

The double cable system gives a very stable ride and was quite impressive as we climbed to the mountaintop at over 6,000 feet.

On the way up, we were in the cabin of the cable car.

At the top, which still had snow, we had a lovely hot chocolate and headed back down seeing a double rainbow along the way!

OK, it was cold!
Janeen trying to get as much sun as she could
At the top overlooking the valley – just a moment before the clouds blocked the view.
Janeen on the top of the cable car with a rainbow behind her
The two of us in the corner of the roof of the cable car. It was a bit chilly.
If you look closely you can see a double rainbow!

That evening was the final gathering and dinner was delightful. The following morning we were off to Zurich and the airport for a flight to Paris.

Our Insight Tour Group