This is the little town of Lungern. It is set right on a lake in a gorgeous valley. The church is quite large for such a small town
This is at the other end of the lake (Lungernsee). There were a lot of people out fishing on the lake....it must be good here
The scenery was so amazing that we arrived in Luzern before we knew what had happened. The train station there is quite large....we saw at least 14 different tracks - people and trains coming and going. We made our way outside and immediately found ourselves on the waterfront.
There were lake boats and swans as far as the eye could see
We had done a little research ahead of time so we knew what we wanted to see. We crossed the road and headed towards the Kappellbrucke (Chapel Bridge). It is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe and the world's oldest surviving truss bridge. The bridge was originally build in 1333 as part of Lucerne's fortifications. It contains a number of unique paintings dating back to the 17th century. Sadly, a portion of the bridge was destroyed by a fire in 1993. Fortunately it was rebuilt and re-opened in 1994. The bridge serves as a symbol of the city and is one of Switzerland's main tourist attractions
The view inside the bridge
Here is one of the 17th century paintings inside the trusses of the bridge
After crossing the bridge we walked along the waterfront of the old part of Lucerne. Lots of people eating at waterfront cafes and restaurants. We came across this sign at a British Pub.....pure genius
The buildings in this area are beautiful and have some age to them
We criss crossed the river on another bridge and explored some of the back streets
Then we came across a second wooden bridge. This one is called the Spreuerbrucke....it is smaller, and only dates from the 16th century....yawn LOL. In these pics you can also see several of the towers that form part of the old wall which protected the town
We crossed this bridge - taking a picture looking out at the town
This bridge also contains a series of paintings.....but all of these ones have a skeleton theme. We need to do some research to find out what the meaning behind these is
We wandered through more little streets in the old part of town. It's a very strange mix, buildings that are hundreds of years old, and
We stopped to pick up some picnic supplies and then made our way to a park near the old wall and towers. We found a shady spot and ate, then walked around the area exploring. It's amazing to see such old things and think about what life would have been like back then
Houses are now built almost right up to the wall, but there are still old remnants that are now part of people's yards
I explored a little grotto that we stumbled upon just below the clock tower
More exploring back streets.......more amazing scenery, a place where a famous poet stayed in the 1700s, even a wedding
Every little street we turned down held new surprises and new vistas
We were feeling tired from so much walking, and the heat, so we decided to head back to the train station. This nice thing is that the train back to Interlaken runs every hour at 5 minutes after the hour, so it was pretty easy to know we had to be there.
The return trip was just as spectacular. We passed many lakes along the way, and the nice thing is that they all have little areas where people can pull over to picnic and swim. The water looks so inviting that we wanted to jump off the train and dive in
Soon we were back in Interlaken and we switched trains to head back up into our valley. We decided to make our own supper tonight and just relax. The weather has been simply amazing the whole time we have been here. Tomorrow is our last full day in the valley. While it feels like it's gone so quickly, it also feels like we have been gone forever.
The Lauterbrunnen Valley is like a piece of heaven on earth, and the entire country of Switzerland is simply beautiful. The expression says that home is where the heart is.......but what does it mean when you've found the place that your soul is?
As I finish today's update I can hear the town's folklore band practicing down the street. They will wrap up soon and then the local yodellers will be up next....true story!
Time for some more chocolate and tasty milk, then a good night's sleep to rest up for tomorrow's adventure.
Nighty night!
