Analogue Adventures – Europe 1984 -Sisikon to Lucerne to Basel, Switzerland

All photos taken on June 30, 1984.

Different country, same breakfast….rolls and coffee at Hotel Eden in Sisikon.

We loaded ourselves and our luggage onto the bus for a day of touring in Lucerne.

Lucerne is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the district of the same name. With a population of approximately 82,000 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and a nexus of economics, transportation, culture, and media in the region. The city’s urban area consists of 19 municipalities and towns with an overall population of about 220,000 people.

Owing to its location on the shores of Lake Lucerne and its outflow, the river Reuss, within sight of the mounts Pilatus and Rigi in the Swiss Alps, Lucerne has long been a destination for tourists. One of the city’s landmarks is the Chapel Bridge (German: Kapellbrücke), a wooden bridge first erected in the 14th century.

The official language of Lucerne is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect, Lucerne German.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Pat with Patriporn and Ulan Mongkolnavan at Lion Monument to Swiss soldiers who died trying to protect Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette Lake Lucerne, Switzerland

painted house, Lake Lucerne – there many such houses in the old city

Lake Lucerne (German: Vierwaldstättersee, literally “Lake of the four forested settlements” (in English usually translated as forest cantons), is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest lake in the country. The lake has a complicated shape, with several sharp bends and four arms. The deepest point of the lake is 214 m (702 ft).

(Source: Wikipedia)

There were many scenic locations in Lucerne where the lake was front and center. All manner of boats were out and about.

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Hoffkirche (towers from 8th rest from 17th century)

graveyard at Hoffkirche

Allan & Lucerne from Hoffkirke

Today was a day for grazing as we explored. Snack #1 was a cheese pie and a nut roll. Lunch was Tomato soup, minced beef, onions and mushrooms, green beans and knodel with cappuccinos. Snack #2 was chocolate covered nuts and kirsch chocolates.

We also managed to do a bit of gift shopping in the clock and chocolate stores about the city.

painted building at Lucerne

shopping district in Lucerne

The Kapellbrücke (literally, Chapel Bridge) is a covered wooden footbridge spanning the river Reuss diagonally in the city of Lucerne in central Switzerland. Named after the nearby St. Peter’s Chapel,[1] the bridge is unique in containing a number of interior paintings dating back to the 17th century, although many of them were destroyed along with a larger part of the centuries-old bridge in a 1993 fire. Subsequently restored, the Kapellbrücke is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe, as well as the world’s oldest surviving truss bridge. It serves as the city’s symbol and as one of Switzerland’s main tourist attractions. The bridge is 204.7 m (672 ft) long and has 27 spans.

(Source: Wikipedia)

This was a beautiful sight from many points along the river and we were lucky enough to be able to walk across the bridge.

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view of the Reuss River and Lucerne from Kapellebruche

Spreuerbruche – 15th-century, covered pedestrian bridge featuring a series of paintings with a death motif

After lunch, we walked up to the old fortified city for the history and the views.

Once a symbol of power, the Musegg Wall and its nine towers are part of Lucerne’s historic fortifications; forming a striking crown around the Old Town, the wall can be discerned from afar.

The fortifications were begun in the 13th century and consisted of two rings of ramparts: the inner ring comprising the town wall along the Löwengraben and Hirschengraben, the Chapel Bridge and Spreuer Bridge, and the outer ring on an ascending sandstone ridge in the Old Town on the right-hand side of the River Reuss.

As the town, founded in 1178, continued to expand beyond the narrow confines of the fortifications, the Musegg Wall was built with more towers. The 800-metre-long wall, erected around 1400 following the Battle of Sempach, is considered one of the longest, best-preserved defensive walls in Switzerland. Nine stone entities, floodlit at night, remain standing on the Musegg.

(Source: luzern.com)

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view of Lucerne from the old fortified city

walking back down from the old fortified city

Our day in Lucerne over, we hopped on the bus for the 1 hour drive to Basel on the Swiss border with France. This would make tomorrow’s journey to Paris easier. That being said, our days in the back of the hot bus, bouncing around on long journeys were taking their toll. My beloved Patty was starting to feel unwell.

In Basel, there was no time for any sightseeing. We checked into the Hotel City Basel at about 7:30 and had a late supper in the hotel.

Supper was leek soup,, salad, beef and mushrooms on rice, vanilla pudding and wine. Patty had the spaghetti carbonara.

Time to get some shut eye in preparation for the next push.

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