Lucerne Noir

Lucerne on a foggy day

Chapel Bridge and Water Tower and Swans

My first Saturday in Switzerland I spent in Lucerne. Leaving the bus crew at the Bahnhofplatz, I crossed the Chapel Bridge while admiring the city's history told in murals, then I took a quiet peek into St. Peter's Chapel, walked on to the Sternenplatz, where the Restaurant Fritschi hosts the Mardi Gras celebration Karneval. Next stop was Hirschenplatz, home of the hotel where Goethe (German Shakespeare) stayed via the Weggisgasse square, and then on to the Weinmarket Square, where it is written Amor medicabilis nullis herbis, "No medicine can cure a broken heart." Fitting for a wine market, I think. That was the end of the "Old Town," so I crossed the original Mill Bridge, which is also ceilinged with paintings, each one depicted with a skeleton to remind us that everyone dies (these were painted during a time of war and plague). Earlier in the day, with my British, German, and Spanish companions from the bus, I had visited the Lion Monument (Lowendenkmal), a sad and beautiful carving, which is not done rightly by the pictures. My friends had all moved on to Mt. Pilatus (the haunted mountain), but I stayed in Lucerne because it would have been too foggy to see the views from the top. I had some time before meeting back with them, so I went to the Rosengart Art Museum and the Picasso Museum, both full of Picasso's sketches, paintings, sculptures, plates, and personal photos. It seems Picasso and I are now close. The Rosengart collection also had Braque, Monet, Renoir, Matisse, Modigliani, Chagall, Cezanne, Leger, Kandinsky, etc., along with a whole floor devoted to Paul Klee. Of course. The ornate Jesuit church was a favorite, and I recommend seeing the inside for yourself because there is no flash photography allowed on the inside. A few steps from the church was Opus, a restaurant/bar, where I ate a bar of swiss chocolate. When I finished, I walked to Harry's watch shop, met my bus, sat down, fell asleep, and woke up in Zurich.