Hi friends, welcome to my Switzerland series! I’m very excited to relive these sunny, warm memories during this cold and gloomy winter. A few years ago, I got the idea in my head of paragliding in Switzerland to celebrate my 30th birthday. I would never describe myself as an incredibly adventurous person, but for some unknown reason it was a bucket list excursion for me. I struggled planning this trip because there were so many beautiful hikes, train rides, and cities on my list, but I haven’t figured out how to bend time to see and do it all. Jon and I prefer to stay put and see all of an area as opposed to moving around too much, so I planned for us to spend a day and a half in Lucerne, five days in Wengen, and a final full day in Zurich before flying back home. I put together my list of top hikes and sights and before we knew it, we were packing our suitcases and heading to the airport.
We flew out of JFK on a Wednesday night and landed around 10:30am in Zurich. We had an easy experience through customs and caught the train from the airport to Lucerne. Public transportation in Switzerland is impeccable, but you get what you pay for because it’s expensive, especially the mountain gondolas/cable cars. Luckily Switzerland offers travel passes to alleviate the cost, but I was quite overwhelmed trying to decide which pass to get. There are numerous options and after reading countless blogs and articles, the ultimate conclusion was that the best pass is dependent on your itinerary. That was not the quick and easy answer I was hoping for, so I made an excel and priced out our general itinerary with the different passes. We ended up buying the Half Fare card which got us half off all transportation in Switzerland and about 100CHF off the Berner Oberland Pass. We were spending most of our time in the Berner Oberland region, so the BO pass gave us free transportation on all the trains and cable cars in that area plus the flexibility of not needing to buy tickets in advance. Combined these passes cost just shy of $400 per person, but they saved us hundreds on transportation costs, so it’s definitely worth spending time researching the passes.
Jon and I stayed at Hotel Central Lucerne and the room was pretty basic, but it was clean, had a fan, nice lounge, and great location. It was almost 90 degrees when we arrived and most of Switzerland doesn’t have any air conditioning, so the fan was greatly appreciated.
After a brief rain shower and coffee quest, we set out to explore the charming old town of Lucerne. Our first stop was at the iconic Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke) over the Reuss River. This bridge dates back to 1332 when it was built as part of the city’s fortification and is considered Europe’s oldest covered bridge. In 1993 a devastating fire destroyed about two-thirds of the bridge, but thankfully it was rebuilt and fireproofed as much as possible. If you’re crossing the bridge, don’t forget to look up because there are about thirty little paintings that survived the fire and restoration. (The pictures below were taken over a few days)
The little tower was built before the bridge and was used as a treasury, prison, and torture chamber. It is not currently open to the public.
Jon and I walked the shore of Lake Lucerne and relaxed on one of the benches soaking in all the fresh air and views. Luckily this turned out to be the only overcast day on our trip.
We continued on towards the Lion Monument sculpted from 1820-1821 to commemorate the Swiss Guards killed during the French Revolution. The lion is impaled by a spear and covering a shield with the fleur-de-lis, a symbol of French royalty.
Afterwards we headed in search of the Musegg Wall, part of the old fortifications that are free to the public. Along the wall a few of the nine towers are open to climb and explore. The tower interiors are pretty bare, but they provide some nice views of the city.
Our final exploration of the day was the Jesuit Church on the banks of the Reuss River. This church was the first baroque style church in Switzerland and officially opened in 1677.
Lucerne sure is charming!
Jon and I ended the night with some delicious pizza from La Bestia. We both ordered the Calabrese and enjoyed it in the hotel lounge.
We crashed around 10 and slept a relatively peaceful nine hours despite the heat. We had a great first day in Switzerland and couldn’t wait for all the adventures and beautiful views ahead. Stay tuned for our stunning day atop Mount Titlis!