Lucerne, Switzerland: My Little Piece of Heaven

 "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" Psalm 8:9

In the summer of 2008, I was extremely blessed to go on an European trip with two of my best friends from high school and our moms. What an incredible experience it was and probably why I was so eager to move here when given the opportunity. Our whirlwind 12-day adventure began in Rome and ended in London with several stops along the way. After Venice and before Paris, nestled in the Alps, our bus somehow managed to traverse the narrow, zig-zag roads which lead us to the quaint town of Lucerne, Switzerland. It was love at first sight.

Six years later, I convinced my husband to bring me back to the place which had enchanted me for a romantic Valentine's weekend. Hallelujah! It was just as picturesque as I remembered, yet a little chillier! 

Amazingly enough, we live only four hours north of Lucerne so the drive was easy and increasingly beautiful as we approached the Alps. I should note that if you travel by car to Switzerland, you will be required to buy a vignette (windshield sticker) at the boarder for 40CHF. For more info on the Swiss vignette, click here. Also, do NOT speed in Switzerland. They have speed cameras everywhere!! Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure we will be finding out how much one of those suckers cost. :(

As Marriott Rewards members, we chose to stay at the Renaissance Lucerne which happens to be the world's smallest Renaissance. It had a boutique feel with a clean and sophisticated design and it's ranked top 10 on Trip Advisor. We arrived on Friday (Valentine's Day) and received a complimentary upgrade for being Marriott Rewards members- Bonus! Who doesn't love an unexpected upgrade?? 

Our room has a balcony with a view? Be still my heart! Happy V-Day!

Confession- we completely slacked on making V-day dinner reservations prior to our arrival. (Oops!) Therefore, when the kind gentleman at the front desk called around asking restaurants if they could squeeze us in, it was no surprise that the only place who had availability, La Terrazza, was for 5:30pm. Based on the way the gentleman spoke, it sounded like a low-key Italian restaurant because as he said "they serve pizzas." Let me just say that I am SO glad the other "nicer" Italian restaurants had been booked because nothing on the menu was below 25CHF (including the pizzas which started closer to 30). Since A. it was Valentine's Day and B. we hadn't been out to a nice dinner recently, we rolled with it and had an amazing evening!

Saturday | Day Two

According to the forecast, Saturday would have the best weather to take full advantage of seeing Lucerne. So, first things first... Starbucks via the oldest wooden bridge in Europe called Chapel Bridge.

Chapel Bridge

I wish this was a cruel joke, but sadly it wasn't and let's also remember the Swiss franc is stronger than the dollar. Ouch.

Old Town

 Swan Lake

  After getting some lunch, I took Richard to my favorite spot in the city and perhaps world. Seriously. I could sit here forever and enjoy the Lord's creation. As much as I adore the beach (and being warm), there's something about the mountains that proclaim the majesty of God. 

I call this Swan Lake because at any given time you can see up to 25 swans. However, don't trust these elegant-looking birds...they may take a snap at you like they did to me in 2008. I didn't even chase them- promise! (something I am known for doing)

The Dying Lion

The Dying Lion monument (much bigger than you expect) was made to commemorate the 600+ Swiss soldiers who died during the French Revolution. This is a great place to people watch!

 

 

 The Nine Towers

We were excited to climb the wall and see the Nine Towers not to mention an amazing view of the city. Problem- the wall is only open for visitors during the summer and even still it's only a portion that you can walk.

We still got to see some lovely views of the bright, colorful housing in a part of the city I'd never seen before.

Hello, creation! Definitely worth the climb despite not being able to go on the wall.

Sunday | Day Two

As planned, the weather on Sunday was rainy off-and-on which made for a relaxing day mostly inside watching the Olympics via BBC (Team USA > Team GB) while Richard worked on grad school homework. Also, I had twisted my ankle on our last day in Berlin so a day off after a busy sight-seeing Saturday was much needed/appreciated.

But how many times are you in Lucerne?? Thanks to Advil, another $9 latte (ridiculous, I know) and a study break, we took a walk despite the gross weather.

Monday | Day Three

Of course on the day we had to leave the sun was shining and the skies were back to bright blue. Since I'm married to someone who loves to get an early start to a road trip, we compromised with one final walk across the Chapel Bridge and a quick peek inside the Jesuit Church. Last but certainly not least, we stopped to pick up some Swiss chocolate- YUM!

 
Thank you for experiencing one of my favorite places in the world! I hope I have convinced you to put Lucerne on your "Bucket List." You will not be sorry you did!

Tschüss!