Bourbaki Panorama

On the way to the Panorama, I passed this chocolate shop

 

 and an Aldi's which tells me that home is never far away.

My next stop was the Bourbaki Panorama, one of the world's few surviving panoramas. It's a huge circular painting, which depicts the French march through Switzerland under the direction of General Bourbaki during the Franco-Prussian war. (It reminded me of the Cyclorama in Gettysburg, PA, which shows Pickett's Charge.) But it also showed the kindness and neutrality of the Swiss as they came to the aid of the army.

The artist, Edouard Castres

 

Tourists?

 

 

Morning Walk in Lucerne

I took a short walk through Lucerne to the Chapel Bridge.

  On the way, I passed this magnificent stone arch, part of the original Lucerne train station, which was destroyed by fire in 1971.

The Chapel Bridge dates to the 1400's and is the oldest wooden bridge in Europe. Panels in the roof display the history of Lucerne. Although the bridge burned down in 1993, the panels have all been restored. 

 

It's hard to see in this picture, but there are beautiful flowers of many colors which seem to flow over the sides of the bridge. 

Restored roof panels.

On the other side of the River Reuss is the Old Town. Many of the building used to be guilds, and they are decorated with interesting murals. 

 

 

 

 

Anyone want to rent a violin?

Coffee and Breakfast

Thank goodness for Venice and prior experience with a Nespresso machine. I was able to quickly pop in the coffee pod and make a delicious cup of cappuccino. 

I was going to enjoy my coffee out on the patio, but believe it or not, it was too cold. What a difference from yesterday when it was quite warm - high 70's. (I am blogging on the patio now before going off to explore - it's chilly but wonderful.)

Breakfast was right down the street at the beautiful Hotel Monopol. There was an extensive array of choices including scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon, beans, a bread area and another with fruit, meats, cheeses and pastries. 

I had to giggle at this - the maple syrup is labeled "Vermont" and is from Canada!

 This toiletten was very well marked; a happy sight as usually these are hard to find.

Lucerne

Hotel Alpina (my home for 2 nights) was very close to the train station, so I was able to find it somewhat easily. 

 

They upgraded me to a double room which provided two beds, a more spacious interior and (possibly) the ultimate - this little patio which is also my bogging spot!

 

Next I headed off to find dinner and found Rossini near the famous Chapel Bridge. I had pasta with homemade meat sauce and these unusual small pieces of bread. 

The elevator caused me a bit of trouble. There's a tiny button to press to call it to your floor. However, there is no "bing" upon arrival as is common in the States, so I waited and waited until finally noticing that the call button's light had gone out. I then opened the door and voila - there it was. 

The buttons also provided a bit of mystery until I just assumed "E" was the bottom choice and must be the lobby. 

 Lucerne promises to be an interesting city to explore tomorrow.

 

Arrival!

As always, it was a long day with no sleep, but no turbulence, no major delays (despite Delta announcing that there would be a 5 hour delay which was later rescinded), and easy arrival into Zurich.

My friend and Venice companion, Paula has a sister, Rainy, who lives in Zurich. She met me at Arrivals with a big smile and a goodie bag of treats. What a wonderful welcome to Switzerland!

Next, I had to share my exciting news about ALASKA! Danger on the Mushing Trail: 

After a quick lunch at the Zurich Airport food court and catch-up time, we headed for the train platform right below the airport. 

Rainy was very helpful in interpreting all those icons below the train info sign above: time of departure, stops, what direction the train was traveling, at which position to stand for entrance into 2nd class car, where the dining car was, etc. 

And then I was off to Lucerne!

 

Switzerland by Train

 

Soon, I'll be leaving for Switzerland, where I'm meeting up with other Road Scholars for their "Splendors of Switzerland by Rail" trip. We'll be criss-crossing the country by train and spending 2-3 days in five cities.

See you on the choo-choo!