Luzern

The first weekend in September we headed to Luzern (Lucerne) to see what that city had to offer.  It was again only an hour car ride from our home.  First stop- the Glacier Gardens and Hall of Mirrors.  We were expecting to see glaciers at Glacier Gardens but instead found ourselves viewing the remnants of a glacier that covered Luzern during the ice ages.  Large potholes were formed in the sand stone rock and many fossils of palm leaves and sea shells could be seen in the rock, proof that Luzern was once subtropical before the ice age.  A presentation on the changes of our earths climate made me realize that global warming is to some degree a natural  change (albeit man increased) to our ever changing earth.  We can't expect it to always stay the same when their is so much proof that drastic changes have occurred and will continue to do so.

The Hall of Mirrors was tons of fun!  It's hard to tell from this picture but we first entered a giant labyrinth of mirrors and learned to walk with our hands out in front of us to keep from slamming right into the glass that seemed invisible.  The maze had an Arabian theme thus the funny pose here.  After the maze was a hands on exhibit of the fun you can have with mirrors.  We discovered how to take a picture of ourselves in this kaleidoscope type mirror display.

 

Just down the hill from the Glacier Gardens is Luzern's Lion Monument.  It commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris, France.  The American writer Mark Twain (1835–1910) praised the sculpture of a mortally-wounded lion as "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world." The sheltered spot of the monument creates a very moving atmosphere for thinking about those men who's lives have been shed in the name of war.  We have learned since that during the early times of Swiss history, Swiss soldiers had such a reputation of greatness that they were often leased out to protect other countries dignitary.  During this time in history the Swiss military men were guarding France's royal family (King Louis the 16th and wife Marie Antionette).  They are still involved in protecting the Pope and/or the Vatican in Rome today.

 Here we are in front of the Chapel Bridge.  I didn't know much about it at the time but found this info on Wikipedia:
The Kapellbrücke ("Chapel Bridge" ) is a 204 m (670 ft) long bridge crossing the Reuss River in the city of Lucerne in Switzerland. It is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe, and one of Switzerland's main tourist attractions.

An example of the paintings inside the Chapel Bridge

The covered bridge, constructed in 1333, was designed to help protect the city of Lucerne from attacks. Inside the bridge are a series of paintings from the 17th century, depicting events from Luzerne's history. Much of the bridge, and the majority of these paintings, were destroyed in a 1993 fire, though it was quickly rebuilt.Some of the blackened structure of the bridge still remains today,evident from the newly rebuilt parts of the bridge.
Adjoining the bridge is the 140 feet (43 m) tall Wasserturm (Water Tower), an octagonal tower made from brick, which has served as a prison, torture chamber, watchtower and treasury. Today the tower, which is part of the city wall, is used as the guild hall of the artillery association. The tower and the bridge are Lucerne's trademark and form the most photographed monument in the country.

After walking around for a good hour or more looking for a descent family restaurant we ended up going on a boat ride on Lake Luzern.  We had all you can eat Spaghetti on board!  We didn't have our coats with us and spent a lot of the boat ride cuddled together while enjoying the spectacular scenery.  Here's the one picture we thought to take of the breath taking sunset.