Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Lucerne

The morning after Florence was a little rough for most of the people on the trip because of the amount of fun that they had. Luckily, we had quite a long journey to our next stop which was Lucerne Switzerland. Lucerne is located in Switzerland with the Alps surrounding it and tends to be a tourist stop. There are two very famous sites in Lucerne. The first is the Chapel Bridge which was originally built in 1333 but was burnt in 1993. The bridge has been recreated to look as it once did so that tourists can have the experience and also have a chance to see the paintings int he bridge that depict th history of the town. The other major site in Lucerne is The Lion Monument which is sculpture of a Lion that commenorates the Swiss Guards that were killed during the French Revolution in 1792. The sulpture is both a depiction of loyalty and also of betrayal and is a place where the Swiss remember the fallen, but also remember what their joining with another country did to their people who were killed when they did not need to be. It is a touching and moving monument that should be visited when you are in Lucerne.

There are several things tht Switzerland is most notably known for. First of course are Swiss watches, followed by Swiss Amry Knives, and Swiss Chocolate. After we visited the Lion Monument we headed into a store where these famous goods were explained to us and we had the opporunity to purchase items. Swiss watches are rather expensive, but again, if you are looking for something to treat yourself to or are looking for a gift for someone, a Swiss watch may be a good present. Also, be sure to have some Swiss chocolate whe you are visitng as it is absolutely divine.

After visiting the stores full of watches, knives, and chocolate, we had a little bit of free time in the town. A group of us walked around for a bit and then settled in a small cafe to sample some yummy Swiss hot chocolate. One thing we all noticed right away was that the hot chocolate was very very bitter, so we had to add quite a bit of sugar before it was to our liking. Again, this was a nice way to relax, experience the culture, and just watch the local people in their interactions.

Our hotel for the evening was a themed one as it was once a jailhouse and had now been converted into a hotel. We had an included dinner at the hotel and the dinner was rather good with a chicken curry like entree and then a really delicious and cute ice cream desert that was made in the design of the Swiss flag. After dinner, some people in the group went out for drinks and others went to bed early in order to be fully rested and ready for our last stop of the trip.

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