Lucerne Switzerland

Lucerne (/ˌluːˈsɜrn/; German: Luzern, [luˈtsɛrn] ; French: Lucerne, [lysɛʁn]; Italian: Lucerna, [luˈtʃɛrna]; Romansh: Lucerna; Lucerne Swiss-German: Lozärn) is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people,^[3] Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and a nexus of transportation, telecommunications, and government of this region. The city's urban area consists of 17 cities and towns located in three different cantons with an overall population of about 250,000 people.^{[4]Source Wikipedia}

Lucerene is a very pretty city with regal buildings which hug the shoreline.

 One of the city's famous landmarks is the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke), a wooden bridge first erected in the 14th century.

Lucerne is  located on the shore of Lake Lucerne (der Vierwaldstättersee), within sight of Mount Pilatus and Rigi in the Swiss Alps.  The city is surrounded by these magnificent mountains and one would never tire of looking at this view.

There are many outdoor eating places.

Incredibly expensive cars to be seen,

Shops full of Easter goodies,

Beautiful Churches,

& graceful swans.

Lucerne is the gateway to the Swiss Alps and our next stop was to travel to the mount Titlis.  More to follow.

Best Beverley and Ross

Rhine River Cruise Pt.6 (Black Forest)

Day 7 and the second last day of our cruise was at Breisach the gateway to the Black Forest.   This area is one of the prettiest places we have been. 

The countryside is peppered with charming homes that have been there for decades.  Everywhere one looks their are mountain landscapes, with rolling meadows and dense forests.

Eventually one makes it to cuckoo clock making demonstration.  The largest cuckoo clock in the world is found here and at 5 pm everyday as the chimes ring out the intricate models do 'their thing".

There are a number of shops where you can purchase creative works of fine glass.

The area where the cuckoo clocks are made is called the Cuckoos Nest.

Where the most elaborate cuckoo clocks are housed.  From the very small.

To the very large.

Anyone for a beer stein?  They come  in all sizes.

This is also the home of the Black Forest Cherry cake.  Following are stages of preparation of this delicious treat.  This was the 3rd cake this young baker had made.

The finished product.

From Briesach we cruised over night to Basel which was our finish point.

It was a fantastic cruise, with great staff, fantastic places to see and outstanding food which we will share with  you later.

Cheers Ross and Bev

Rhine River Cruise Pt.5 (Alsace Wine Tour)

Before leaving the Strasbourg area Ross headed off to tour a Mercedes Benz factory (no photos allowed) where they make the very popular A and B class. The factory employs 6 thousand people working in three shifts a day. Much of the work is performed by robots and the production rate is in excess of one thousand vehicles a day.

Beverley at the same time opted for a wine tour in the Alsace region of France.

The winery has been in the family for generations and the current wine owner/maker provided an interesting presentation on the history of the region surrounded by very old wine casts.

The winery shop has a wide selection of wines and foods.  Some on the tour bought several bottles of wine. Beverley purchased a delightful Riesling and some grainy mustard.

It is the custom in this area to serve this cake with white wine.

The wine tasting was conducted in this cosy cellar.

Cheers Ross and Bev

Rhine River Cruise Pt.4 (Strasbourg)

By day 6 we had reached Strasbourg. We docked in Kehl and toured this picturesque city where we saw beautiful canals and amazing homes that were hundreds of years old. 

 

We strolled through lanes where the smell of freshly baked breads tempted us. This is the home of the baguette and the pretzel.

 We visited the magnificent cathedral,

With its outstanding stained glass windows which are centuries old,

and this very imposing and ornate organ.

We enjoyed the local black berry pie with coffee.

 It cost 7 Euros ( US$10).

It was a treat to sit in the sun and to enjoy the experience.

With the cruise nearing its end we still had Breisach and the Black Forest to look forward to.

Cheers Ross and Bev

Rhine River Cruise Pt. 3 (Heidelberg and Speyer)

By day 5 we had cruised to Mannheim where we boarded a bus to Heidelberg  which is a beautiful and historic town with many elegant homes.

The view  from the beautiful sandstone ruins of the imposing Heidelberg Castle provides a very scenic view of this very old city which has Germany's oldest University, founded in 1386.

The castle ruins are impressive with some parts still in use .

Within the castle grounds there are many examples of Gothic and Baroque buildings.

This map shows the layout of the town.

The Castle as seen from the city square in Heidelberg.

Just around the corner from the city square we stopped into a pub for a light lunch.

We ordered what we thought would be a small sampler of local meat and cheeses.  This is what a light lunch in Germany looks like.

Ross' face says it all "you've got to be joking" -  Is there an Army out there to help us eat this?

 Later that day we visited Speyer were the central feature of the town is a Romanesque Cathedral  built in the 11 century. This church has soaring interior features, graceful rows of sandstone columns and large stained  glass windows  installed in the western facade during a later Gothic period.

Speyer is a pretty town and very easy to walk around.

From here we cruised overnight to Kehl where we disembarked to begin a tour of Strasbourg which will be covered in Pt. 4.

Cheers Ross and Bev