Post #4 Day 3: Lucerne Sept 9 Morning

Day 3: Lucerne, Monday, September 9
Morning Walking Tour

Chapel Bridge, Lucerne

Little did we know that this would be one of our few good days on a 10 day trip in Europe. After a nice breakfast buffet in one of the hotel restaurants, we met Radka and the other pre-extension travelers in the lobby for our walking tour. Radka led a wonderful tour around the city, pointing out possibilities for our leisure time later in the day. There was a lot of history, but I don't remember a lot of that, nor do the notes I took make sense. I should not have waited this long to write about our adventure, but there were reasons. More about that later.

I'll share a few things I do remember. First, the Chapel Bridge is not only very impressive, but also very old. It was built in the 1300s. Triangular shaped paintings were added in the 17th Century depicting life and history of Lucerne. Much of the bridge, and many of the paintings were burned in the 1990s due to vandalism or possibly a tossed cigarette (it depends on where you read about the incident or to whom you speak). Cameras have since been installed to thwart attempts at vandalism. According to the guide some of the paintings had been tucked away in storage at the time the bridge burned, so, at the time of restoration and rebuilding, those were used to replace some of the ones that were destroyed. The guide told us about the bridge being used by Catholics from the old town crossing over to the church on the other side of the river during the Reformation when Catholicism was not approved by the governing authorities. According to one article I read the bridge was actually attached to the church. Radka showed us the door where people entered to worship. 

After crossing the bridge we entered the older part of town where we saw historic buildings, walked along narrow cobblestone streets and where Radka shared history of the city as well as more current information about life in Lucerne. We stopped to have a drink out of one of many fountains that spout clean water - as long as you drink from the flowing water and don't dip into the pool! We saw a wedding in progress and learned that all weddings take place in the "Rathaus" which is like our town and city clerk office. Every town has a Rathaus and we saw many others on our travels. According to Radka, every town also has at least one Linden tree. I can't remember the significance but believe she said it represents good luck, health and prosperity. 

As we crossed another bridge back to the side we entered from, we saw where the river was crossed by what looked like fence posts or sticks. I was fascinated that this structure called the Reuss Weir or Needle Dam, is still regulated manually to control the level of Lake Lucerne. 

Our last visit of the tour was the Jesuit Church built in the 1600s. The church has elaborate decor on the inside. Radka explained that the different colors of the side altars are indicative of the time period during which they were built. Of interest to me, what appear to be marble columns have inner wooden beams covered in stucco stone composed of ground marble. More information here: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2018/01/the-church-of-st-francis-xavier-in.html#.XdH71zJKhD0