Lucerne

Lucerne intro:
Spelled Luzern in German, Lucerne is first and foremost considered a tourist attraction. It has about 60000 residents.. but i think i saw more tourists there than locals =) The city is located on the shore of Lake Lucerne and near Mount Pilatus and Mount Rigi of the Swiss Alps.


Our hotel was located just beside the train station, really convenient location =) Not to mention is was beside this place that does monster sized pita kebabs! A Turkish man runs the place.. (it did not occur to me that i was going to have kebab overload while in Istanbul.. wait for my Istanbul posts!)

Very nice..

I had to help Aunty Mummy finish hers =)

Arch between the train station and the lake..

The Swiss Pass allows me unlimited travel on trains/cruises/metro etc.. so we chose the scenic route to the Swiss Transport Museum..

Taking in the sun..

Clear water from the melting glaciers..

Alighted here.. to visit the Swiss Transport Museum, which features the various forms of transportation. Really cool!

Rims!

Mountain rescue helicopter..

Winged Aircrafts and engines on display..

My brother Damon and sister-in-law Edeline..

Airport security controls!

Rusty submarine.. must be really old..

Mickey Mouse scooter..

Ahoy Captain!

Road signs covering the building..

Swiss Airways..

Trams... =)

and Trains..!

This boy was chewing on a toy dinosaur! But he's a handsome boy.. haha

We just missed the boat back.. so we decided to walk along the lake.. back to the city centre..

Crossing the smaller (but older) Spreuerbrücke or Mill Bridge..

The most famous Landmark in the city is the Chapel Bridge, and the Water Tower next to it. The tower bridge is 204 metres long and was built in 1333. But the bridge we see is actually a really good restoration. In 1993, some guy through a cigarette and burnt the middle portion of the wooden bridge. Many paintings were lost though..

Dinner was at the Rathaus Brewery Restaurant.. brews its own beer =)

My Aunty can drink..

The Reuss river at nite!

Strange sign in the subway..

Having a drink on our balcony =)

The next morning we headed towards the other major sight.. the Lion Monument..

Small market along the river

The Lion Monument, or the Lion of Lucerne, commemorates the Swiss Guard who were massacred during the French Revolution. The American writer Mark Twain (1835–1910) praised the sculpture of a mortally-wounded lion as "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world". =) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Monument)

Click to enlarge! Some say that if you stare at it enough, the lion seems to be crying.. Or maybe it was just a rainy day la..

Climbed up this tower next in the Glacier Garden to oversee the city..

I had the Swiss Pass so i can enter the Bourbaki Panorama for free.. It is basically a huge 360 degree painting around a round room.

The Train route from Lucerne to Interlaken is known as The Golden Pass.. the most scenic of train routes.. =)

Next destination.. Interlaken! Visit the blog again tomorrow!