I was quite excited about my trip to Lucerne/Luzern from Zurich the other weekend because the pictures of it are gorgeous, but I think the universe conspired against me, making it a bit more difficult to fall in love with this touristy town.
For starters, what I was most excited about was being able to go on a cogwheel train to Mt. Pilatus to get the most amazing views of the Alps, the town, and the lake. Unfortunately, a few days before getting there, I find out that the cogwheel train is closed for the season and then I find out that the gondola is closed as well due to construction for the new one. So, unless I wanted to hike it (not really feasible with the timeframe or weather I had), it wasn’t going to happen.
I then find out that the tickets there from Zurich had doubled in price to get there (big surprise! I should have known considering the pricey city/country that I was in…And to never trust trains!)
Then, when I get there, it is totally fogged over. You literally couldn’t see the mountains save a couple peaks for about 20 minutes in the late afternoon. If it wasn’t for that short period of time, you could not have been able to tell that they were there.
To top it all off, there was a bitter, bone-chilling wind coming across the lake.
Maybe if I was there in the summer (with the gorgeous flowers all along the bridge like you see in all of the pictures of the town) and it wasn’t foggy and I could have gone up to Mt. Pilatus, I would be singing a different song.
But don’t get me wrong. It was a lovely town to walk around for a couple of hours, and I enjoyed taking a stroll along the shores of the lake, but I couldn’t spend several days there. At least not in the fall/winter.
The main sights to see in town are the lion (Löwendenkmal),
the church (St. Leodegar),
and the bridge (Kapellbrücke).
Unfortunately, I missed climbing the towers (I didn’t know I could go up there), which I now realize are a must-do. Maybe that means that I’ll have to give Lucerne another try. Next time in the summer/with better weather, please! I’d like to actually SEE the town and its surrounding landscape!!
Although the Christmas lights on some buildings and the mini (and I mean MINI) Christmas Market in the train station were a nice touch if you come during the season!
Into Uncertainty 