Lucerne, Switzerland (part 1 of 2)

I visited Switzerland over the Easter Weekend - from Good Friday until Easter Monday. The first two days were spent in Lucerne, and the last two in the canton of Ticino. Here are some pictures from my fantastic trip.

The Chapel Bridge and Water Tower, the two most photographed landmarks of Lucerne:

Mt. Pilatus. I took this photo while I was on the Musegg Wall. I was told too late that it takes about one hour to get to the top of the mountain from the city center which is a lot quicker than I had expected. I was kicking myself in the butt for not doing my homework well enough and thus missing the chance to see snow-covered mountains up close. Ah well, I need to make sure I take a trip to the Alps or something later this year...

The Musegg Wall. It was built to protect the Old Town of Lucerne from invaders that never came.

The River Reuss:

The Water Spikes. The spikes are lowered or withdrawn by hand into the water to regulate the level of Lake Lucerne.

Lake Lucerne:

The Hof Church:

The Jesuit Church. From the outside It looked like a normal church that you've seen before and I wasn't planning on going inside. But this was the last stop of the Guided City Walking Tour I joined.

And I was so glad I ended up entering this church because the interior was amazing! Elaborate and grand in a strangely subtle way, and with a lot of natural light that made it look even more beautiful.

And this is my favorite landmark of Lucerne, "The Dying Lion of Lucerne". It was built as a memorial to the heroic deaths of the Swiss mercenaries at the Tuileries in 1792. Mark Twain described the Lion of Lucerne as "the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world."


To see more pics from my Lucerne trip, click here.