The "Golden Line" train trip from Interlaken to Lucerne travels east alongside Lake Brienz and on to Meiringen, where it reverses direction and climbs over a pass for the run down past more lakes to Lucerne. This one is a clever train because it can race along at high speed until it comes to a steep climb or descent, when it turns into a cog rail train and proceeds slowly until it can resume full speed again. I don't think we have been on any other train that does that?
The passing scenery is generally beautiful: Swiss postcard mountains, lakes, waterfalls and countryside. The train has huge windows so you get a great view.
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| Sue keeping an eye on Lake Brienz early in the trip. |
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| The lakes were all very calm today. |
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| We did not reserve seats, but that was not a problem with not many passengers on board. |
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| On the downhill run toward Lucerne. Lake Sarner, I think. |
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| Another lake, calm as a millpond. |
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| Into Lucerne and off the train - back on our feet again. |
We had an unplanned walk around the waterfront after my internal compass malfunctioned, but eventually made our way to our hotel - the Three Kings Hotel.
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| Our room had a little balcony, with this view of the street. |
Lucerne is quite a big city (about 80,000 people) with an old town and a bit of history. The waterfront along the lake is a pleasant walk and draws a lot of people out for a stroll. The Ruess River flows from the lake through the city, and was running quite swiftly (snow melt?). There are a couple of famous old covered wooden bridges, which cross the river at an angle. The longer one is the Chapel Bridge, constructed that way as part of the city defences long ago. The smaller one once housed a couple of mills powered by the river.
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| The river flows strongly under the Chapel Bridge. |
The old town has the usual narrow cobbled streets and quaint buildings, some with patterned tiled roofs and facades decorated with well-preserved paintings. It was quite crowded with tourists and shoppers.
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| A square in the old city. |
Not far from the waterfront is the "Dying Lion" monument, carved out of the rock about 200 years ago, to honour the thousands of Swiss mercenaries who fought and died in France. It is quite impressive, due to the large size of the lion and his very expressive face! The pool was a little scummy but can provide nice reflections.
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| The lion certainly looks miserable. |
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| On the Chapel Bridge, looking to the old city bank. |
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| The bridge is decorated with many paintings of scenes from history. |
There are not a lot of standout things-to-see in Lucerne, so we went on a one-hour cruise on Lake Lucerne. The weather was a bit cool and grey, but the lake very calm and flat. We went well out to where we could see the luxury "Burgenstock" resort high on a cliff beside the lake, with its own cable car. (Back in NZ I read that the European leaders met there this week to discuss the Ukraine war).
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| Sue got the best seat. |
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| Purring quietly across the lake, on our electric boat. |
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| When we returned to the jetty the waiting queue had grown considerably! |
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| This coot liked perching on the rudder. |
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| This restored paddle steamer also offers cruises, complete with authentic steam and whistle - but no smoke! |
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| The enormous overhang on the convention centre next to the station. |
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| Mysterious antennae spotted in Lucerne, and elsewhere. |
We were puzzled by these high masts in Lucerne - and similar ones we saw in Murren. Until the internet informed us that they are used in Switzerland to show how high a proposed building will be, so the neighbours can see how their view and sun might be affected.
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| Swiss door keys have these arrays of dents in them. |
The little hotel in Lucerne was very nice, especially after our slightly unsatisfactory one in Interlaken. A good breakfast was included, and they even had one of those pull-out washing lines in the bathroom which we have not seen for a long time! Great for us small-bag travellers who have to wash clothes every night.
Next stop: Zurich!
