Ultimate Blog Challenge - Day Trip to Lucerne

Welcome back to another episode of the Ultimate Blog Challenge and happy Monday! 

Today I am going to take you on a day trip to Lucerne, Switzerland. It is one of my country's  most popular tourist spots, especially among Japanese visitors. I don't speak Japanese, but thanks to the pictogram I understand I'm not supposed to feed the swans. 

It's interesting to observe. Other destinations are mainly frequented by Indian or Dutch tourists. 

Anyway, my main reason for coming here today was the fact that I participate in a monthly "Picture a Day" Challenge, and in July we're doing the alphabet. Meaning we have to come up with a photograph of something that begins with each letter from A - Z, only that the host of the challenge decided the regular order is boring, let's scramble these letters. That's how yesterday it was Z's turn, and today we're doing H. 

And while there are plenty of words starting with H, many of them are really heard to photograph: hope, hello, heat. But I could do heart, right? There must be many decorative hearts out there. 

A quick Google search later I found out about a sculpture called "Heart of Hope" by Russian artist Vasily Klyukin, which can be found in Lucerne, which is just about an hours' drive away. 

I can do that! I don't have to go to work, and my teenager will be asleep till noon anyway.

The sculpture is part of a collection that was exhibited for the first time in 2018 in Saint Petersburg. It was subsequently presented during the 2019 Venice Biennale, and in 2020 the exhibition was brought to Lucerne, Switzerland, where the heart still stands today. It can be admired on the panoramic terrace of the romantic Hotel Château Gütsch, along with a breathtaking view of Lake Lucerne and the city of Lucerne.

If you watch closely, you can spot the heart, it's on the left hand side of the building. 

I mentioned the view. There you go. Unfortunately it was still a bit gray and overcast.

The Chapel Bridge is a medieval covered wooden bridge over the Reuss River. It is considered a landmark and one of the most important tourist attractions of the city. In its center stands the water tower.

The Chapel Bridge is the oldest (built around 1330) and, at 205 meters = 673 feet, the second longest covered wooden bridge in Europe.

The chapel bridge fell victim to a fire in 1993, which was presumably caused by a discarded cigarette. The fire destroyed a large part of the bridge. The city of Lucerne received numerous letters of condolence from private individuals and organizations from all over the world. The Kappelbrücke, as we call it in the local language, was immediately rebuilt, inaugurated and reopened to pedestrians only eight months later.

It's just lovely to stroll along the river. There are countless restaurants, pizzerias, pubs, ice cream stands and coffeehouses to choose from. 

Lucerne is sort of famous for an above-average number of watch and jewelry stores in a small space, even though the watches are not actually manufactured there - this actually happens in the Western, French speaking part, of Switzerland. Tourist buses will stop in the square at the beginning of the shopping street, where you can see the sightseeing train, and tourists eager to buy flock to the vendors: Rolex, Omega, Audemars Piguet, Breitling, IWC, Tissot, you name it. 

Everything is really well maintained. Mind you, these buildings are several hundred years old, and they are under monument protection.

As you can imagine it's absolutely pretty around Christmas time, but we're not going there today. 

Instead I'd like to show you two quirky things before you leave. Firstly, you need to understand that in a city like Lucerne, traffic rules must be obeyed. 

No elephants, especially no elephant moms with babies, are allowed to enter the parking garage!!!

I have no idea who came up with this, and why, but it cracks me up every time I see it.

People who can't afford the aforementioned Gütsch Hotel, or individuals who violated traffic restrictions or committed more serious crimes, may have to check into a special kind of accommodation: The historic central prison of Lucerne was built in 1862 and operated as such until 1998. The 60 renovated prison cells now serve as hotel rooms. The "Barabas" jail hotel in Lucerne got its name from an old painting in the lounge. For a long time, it was not known who was behind the artwork - and thus also the hotel name. As it turned out, it was the pen name of a former prisoner. He served three months for conscientious objection.

Yes, back in the 1970s this was considered a punishable crime. 

Today, those who do not wish to perform compulsory military service can instead perform civilian service in the public interest, such as in the fields of health care, preservation of cultural assets, agriculture, development cooperation or  humanitarian aid.

Now you know what to expect when visiting Lucerne. 

What do you think, would you enjoy spending some time in this city? (There are lots of other, more harmless hotels, I promise.)