Lucern, Switzerland has a beautiful "Old Town" area. The old homes and other buildings. Many have modern day stores. We went on a guided tour this morning of Lucern. There is so much history. The Swiss Guard were mercenaries went into other countries to assist the royalty. The Swiss Guard still guards Vatican City today. The mercenaries brought many ideas for building styles throughout the 13 to 18 centuries. The original town was burnt down in the early 1800s since most of the buildings were built with wood from the mountains. Now the buildings are made of stone.
This afternoon we headed to Mt. Titlus. It is part of Glacier mountain area. On the bus we sat with a couple from Bulgaria. They were very nice. The man graduated from a college in New Jersey. There was a couple from Omaha, Nebraska as well. This couple will be on the Viking River Cruise. It took about 1 hour to get to the base of Mt. Titlus. There were beautiful farms on the way.
What a view to wake up to every day. The mountains - Swiss Alps - are all around the valley. There are houses throughout the valley. The houses have window boxes with beautiful flowers. The thatched roof homes.
Some of the houses are built on the side of the mountains. The backyard is the mountain. There is nothing level in the front or back.
How does a person get to this place?
Everyone walks here. As we were in the 6 person gondola there were people hiking up the mountain. It is a beautiful area. The silence is wonderful. Breathing air so clean. There was no difficulty breathing. The air had a crisp cool feeling. We were ascending Mt. Titlus with a 20 minute ride in the 6 person gondola, then we went on a very large gondola that carried about 60 people for 10 minutes, then the Rotair gondola (which rotates as we head to the top) for the last 10 minutes.
You have to jump in quickly because they keep moving and swinging. The cars are catapulted upward (the same coming down). It was a beautiful ride up and down. On the way up, we were with a young couple living in San Francisco, CA, but they were originally from Mumbai, India. Small World!!!
There were cows with the Swiss cowbells halfway up the mountain. It was a wonderful sound.
At the of Mt. Titlus we were above the clouds. We were 10,000ft/3200m above sea level. It is so quiet up there. We walked through the Glacier Cave. It was so amazing. These are so of the pictures I took, but there is no way to describe the intense beauty of the mountain. There was a lake that was so pure from the glacier. The sun shining on it made it look like a sapphire rock. The glacier water is so pure. Fish have a difficult time living in the glacier lakes and Lake Lucern. Amazing to see something so pure.
The rest of the pictures were from the top of the mountain. The Glacier Cave was amazing. I touched the inside of a glacier. The air was cold and pure inside. The water was trickling above me. There is melting. When standing on the top the echoes of the man made explosions to control landslides was amazing.
We returned to Lucern and went to eat Fondue. It was great. We sat outside in the plaza. The restaurant was inside the Old Towne. The picture is about Mardi Gras. The central region of Switzerland is mostly Roman Catholic. There is in a small plaza. We sat at the first table outside on the left behind the first board. The weather was perfect. The sun was setting behind the buildings. After dinner we strolled back to Hotel Palace along Lake Lucern.
The swans of Lucerne were a gift for France (I believe) many years ago. They are owned by all citizens of Lucerne. The swans are so majestic.
 |
| This hotel overlooks the town of Lucern. |
 |
| Found the elephants walking along Lake Lucern |
This afternoon we headed to Mt. Titlus. It is part of Glacier mountain area. On the bus we sat with a couple from Bulgaria. They were very nice. The man graduated from a college in New Jersey. There was a couple from Omaha, Nebraska as well. This couple will be on the Viking River Cruise. It took about 1 hour to get to the base of Mt. Titlus. There were beautiful farms on the way.
What a view to wake up to every day. The mountains - Swiss Alps - are all around the valley. There are houses throughout the valley. The houses have window boxes with beautiful flowers. The thatched roof homes.
 |
| Beautiful home |
Some of the houses are built on the side of the mountains. The backyard is the mountain. There is nothing level in the front or back.
Everyone walks here. As we were in the 6 person gondola there were people hiking up the mountain. It is a beautiful area. The silence is wonderful. Breathing air so clean. There was no difficulty breathing. The air had a crisp cool feeling. We were ascending Mt. Titlus with a 20 minute ride in the 6 person gondola, then we went on a very large gondola that carried about 60 people for 10 minutes, then the Rotair gondola (which rotates as we head to the top) for the last 10 minutes.
There were cows with the Swiss cowbells halfway up the mountain. It was a wonderful sound.
At the of Mt. Titlus we were above the clouds. We were 10,000ft/3200m above sea level. It is so quiet up there. We walked through the Glacier Cave. It was so amazing. These are so of the pictures I took, but there is no way to describe the intense beauty of the mountain. There was a lake that was so pure from the glacier. The sun shining on it made it look like a sapphire rock. The glacier water is so pure. Fish have a difficult time living in the glacier lakes and Lake Lucern. Amazing to see something so pure.
The rest of the pictures were from the top of the mountain. The Glacier Cave was amazing. I touched the inside of a glacier. The air was cold and pure inside. The water was trickling above me. There is melting. When standing on the top the echoes of the man made explosions to control landslides was amazing.
 |
| Glacier Cave in Mt. Titlus |
 |
| The minerals in the glacier |
 |
| About the Glacier |
We returned to Lucern and went to eat Fondue. It was great. We sat outside in the plaza. The restaurant was inside the Old Towne. The picture is about Mardi Gras. The central region of Switzerland is mostly Roman Catholic. There is in a small plaza. We sat at the first table outside on the left behind the first board. The weather was perfect. The sun was setting behind the buildings. After dinner we strolled back to Hotel Palace along Lake Lucern.
The swans of Lucerne were a gift for France (I believe) many years ago. They are owned by all citizens of Lucerne. The swans are so majestic.
Lucerne is a beautiful city of 80,000 people. Lake Lucerne surrounded by the Swiss Alps is so calming. The sunset changes the colors of the mountains pink and purple. Listening to the waves lap onto the shore is beautiful. There are so many people are walking the path and it is still very quiet.
Some interesting sights of Switzerland.
1. There are so many black flies. They are everywhere.
2. Like in Mumbai the people in Switzerland keep the heat of the day out by sliding metal covering over
over the windows. I could not believe this.
3. Bicycle riders (powered by humans) will run you down if you are not watching for them. There are bicycle lanes designated in the roads.
We are leaving Lucerne tomorrow and heading to Basel for the cruise. I will have more to document.
No comments:
Post a Comment