Lucerne, Switzerland

we travelled many hours on the coach to arrive in Lucerne very late ... we had lots of traffic, all because of a tunnel. this tunnel is 18 kilometers long and traffic is regulated. the problem before the tunnel was three lanes of traffic having to stop at a light, waiting for their turn to go into the tunnel, then having to merge into two lanes to go through it. so we sat in the jam for well over an hour. because of this jam we had to cancel our optional trip up Mt Stanserhorn.

the plan after Stanserhorn was to go into Lucerne to shop at three particular stores who were staying open especially for us, so we finally arrived around 5. the stores contained special Swiss things, like army knives, watches, and chocolate. i didn't really want to buy anything, so i wandered off toward the river, stopping at a church i found on accident and taking pictures. we were only there for maybe an hour.

after shopping was over we walked back to the coach and retrieved our overnight bags. because of the location of the hotel, the coach can't drive there, so we had to pack overnight bags and walk to the hotel. it wasn't far, just over a covered, wooden bridge and up a little ways.

the hotel we stayed at actually used to be a medium-security women's prison. our tour manager, Rachel, reminded us several times of two specific things ... 1) the hotel is "novelty", and 2) the Swiss aren't known for their food. upon arrival we learned this firsthand. i thought it was way cool to be staying in a place like this, especially when i saw our room door. i just thought it was cool and unique. the rooms were really small and only contained two twin beds, one chair, and a bathroom (thankfully). there was one window, up high, with bars on it. *L*

right after we checked in we went to dinner. salad, bread, and water was waiting for us. then came the main entree ... sausage with gravy and fried potato links. it was edible, but the texture of the sausage didn't agree with my teeth and after half of it i decided i couldn't eat anymore. dessert was a square of ice cream, vanilla on the outside and strawberry sorbet in the middle. all in all it was good, but the main entree was considered our worst meal of the trip nearly by all.
after dinner we met to walk to the lake where most people would get on a boat for the Lake Lucerne cruise. at that point several of us split off to go see the lion monument. it was getting dark by now, so we were hurried up the hill to see it. finally we arrived (because of course we got turned around and had to ask for help), just in time to see it well with our eyes, but not in time to take a decent picture.

this monument is quite moving. it's a lion carved/sculpted out of the cliff/mountain, with a pond in front and flowers around it, and trees towering all over this area, and benches to sit on. there was no one there, so it was nice and quiet and peaceful, but it started raining after we arrived. the lion itself is a memorial to Swiss guards that died while serving honorably. back during the French Revolution 700 swiss were guarding the palace of the king and his family who were palace-bound. on this one night Parisians charged the palace and killed the swiss guards who were fighting to save a family who had already snuck out the back. the swiss guards didn't know, so they followed their orders and died doing so. that's one story. the other story is that the king told the guards not to fight, so they didn't. either way, it's sad. this monument's been around since 1821.

the whole thing is a very moving place, emotionally. and it's really beautiful as far as art goes. the details of it is really amazing. his eyes are quite telling. there are two shields sculpted with the lion, a Swiss and a French, and there's a broken spear in the lion's back. if you've seen Narnia's "The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe", imagine Aslan laying there when he was killed, in the form of rock on the side of a mountain and you get a good glimpse of what i saw.

when it started raining pretty good, we left and walked back to the hotel. i had a drink with Eelco in the hallway between the reception desk and the disco in the hotel, talked for a bit, then walked outside and talked for a bit more, then hugged and said goodnight. :-)

overall today was a good day with beautiful scenery, but the traffic jam really caused disappointment for several people, me included because it cut into my time in Lucerne. i had hoped to spend more time there on my own or to be able to call Susanne up and maybe meet her for drinks or something. but it just didn't work. such is life. still, i saw Switzerland again, and was reminded of a place i'd like to visit another time.