A Layover in Lucerne

(September 23rd, 2013) The next day we set out, via train, for the heart of Switzerland. Our first stop was a few hour layover in Lucerne. Absolutely beautiful city. One of the charming aspects of it was this covered bridge (called the Kapellbrucke) crossing the main river:

Aside from the covered bridge, walking through the narrow, twisted streets of Lucerne brought us upon  Restaurant Fritschi, it had a bit of character on the exterior:

After devouring lunch:

We set out to see more of Lucerne. The lake:

Palm trees?

The church of St. Leodegar:

And Lowendenkmal (the lion monument), in memorial of the Swiss guard that were massacred during the French revolution. Photographing the lion was a bit of a challenge as the area surrounding it was flooded by busloads of tourists. The lion of Lucerne is definitely a popular attraction, and without as many people would be very relaxing with the forest and lake surrounding it. To put things in perspective, the lion's face is about the size of a person.

At that junction, time was up and we had to race back past the lake to catch our train to Grindewald...