I went out at 7:30 to post my blog and the foot traffic on the street was like rush hour on I-20. People were bumper to bumper and the buses were full. Starbucks, however, was almost empty, guess the crowd got there before I did.
Have seen quite a few Smart Cars and a dealership. Most of them have logos for businesses.
On our hour drive to Lucerne, we learned a little about the Swiss govt. They have a senate, and a house of representatives, but no president. The governing body is a council of ministers (7) each of which is the chair person for awhile. We heard about initiatives brought before the people for a vote—if voted down, the proposal is dead. An example would be bringing Casinos to an area. This is a local matter for voting. The Representatives have no decision making in this sort of matter.
We learned that 70% of their power is hydroelectric while a portion is solar and wind generated.
Lucerne (Luzern) has 60,000 residents most of whom are Catholic.
A story:
The Swiss were considered in the middle ages to be very fierce fighters and became some of the most highly prized mercenaries around. The origin of this belief comes from a time when the knights from Hapsburg announced in 1315 that they were going to attack. The Swiss decided to fight to the death rather than be vanquished. When the Knights came to fight, there were no Swiss knights to fight and they lived under a code of chivalry that they could only fight equals, so they did not fight and were slaughtered by Swiss farmers and merchants. Their reputation spread and they later fought to protect various foreign rulers and to this day there is a Swiss guard for the Pope. We saw a carving in a rock wall of a sad Lion which is a memorial commemorating all the Swiss soldiers who gave their lives protecting foreign royalty. It was designed by the Danish sculptor, Thorvaldson. Their flag is a white cross on a red field which these soldiers wore on their uniforms to let the enemy soldiers know whom they were fighting and to keep them from killing other Swiss soldiers who might be in the employ of the enemy.
As we traveled through the countryside, the grass was a lush green with rolling fields populated with cows and sheep.
This is a day for varied types of transportation. Early I walked, then we drove to Lucerne, after that we walked again, then took a cable car up the mountain (actually 2- a small one, then a larger one—where personal space was forgotten) then we walked around atop the mountain. The atmosphere had been really cloudy (foggy) in Lucerne, but we rose above the fog (6000 ft) to find the top of the mountain refreshingly sunny. So sunny in fact, that I’m not sure my pictures will be very good. We’ll see when I download them. After visiting the top of the mountain, we descended on the steepest cogwheel train in the world. The angle of decent was 48% in some places. After the train, we took a boat ride on Lake Lucerne. We had lunch on the boat, I had sausages and bread, while the others had tomato soup. It was served rather elegantly. I was surprised to find the boat almost empty. Kurt explained that the Swiss who visit the top of the mountain, like to stay in the sun as long as possible and come down as it is getting dark. We had places to go and things to do, so we left the mountain early.
Brother Bill and Marion on the mountain
The mountain we visited is called Pilatus--so named because legend has it that Pontius Pilate was buried here- the Roman Christians, not wanting him buried in their countries.
During the day, we visited two churches. The Hofkierhe had the largest pipe organ in Europe with 6,000 pipes. We did not hear it played. The other was a Jesuit church with absolutely ornate decoration. Nothing like we saw in Spain, but unique in its own way. And of course, no photos allowed. I do understand this prohibition, but I'll have to try to scan my postcards.
On our return to Lucerne, we walked around the old town using two wooden bridges. Interestingly enough the bridges are named. We walked down the “Dance of the Dead” bridge which has ghoulish paintings to frighten people, although I was not a bit afraid.
The other bridge is called the Chapel Bridge which was covered with baskets of flowers on the outside.
This is where we heard 2 different musicians- a cellist and an accordion player playing for donations. Old town Lucerne is also where we saw the “Needle Dam” which helps regulate the water levels between the river and the lake.
We did a little shopping in Lucerne- postcards for B and M’s grandchildren and friends and I bought a couple of things for special people. I bought me a belt, also, cuz the jeans I brought were stretching and I didn’t want to loose them and embarrass everyone.
Tomorrow we leave Lucerne for Lake Constance and the visit with relatives.
I am collecting interesting and strange words which I will group together in one post later on.
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