Friday, October 19, 2012

C'est la Vie - Autumn in Europe 2012

Lucerne, Switzerland


...
after
quite
long journey
from
SLO
to
SFO
on to
London
and then
to
Zurich

we 
finally
arrived
by train
to
the
first
stop
of
our 

Autumn in Europe 
Adventure
...
IMG_2433

Lucerne
sits
like

brilliant
jewel
on
 Lake Lucerne
in
the 
shadows
of the
majestic
Swiss Alps


It is in
the 
German speaking
region
of 
Switzerland
but
everyone
speaks
English   French    Italian
as well
as 
German

(how progressive, no?)

from
the train station
we
walked
to our hotel

Hotel zum Rebstock

which
we
found
located
directly in front
of
the
Church of St. Leodegar

(Hotel zum Rebstock is just beside the Swiss flag to the left)
_MG_0055

we came
 to learn
that
this
church
(who's bells charmingly chimed throughout the night)
was
  built in 
the year
735
and
was
named after
the
Patron Saint of Lucerne





thoroughly and totally
jet-lagged
we
wandered
around
the glistening lake
inhaling
the clean air

the flowers
and
the
history
of Lucerne
 _MG_0050


we found
 the
Kapellbrucke

the
iconic bridge
originally
built in 1333

(and 
turns out
is
the
 oldest
covered Bridge
in Europe)
the_MG_0049

the tower
 (according to Wikipedia)
predated the
bridge
by
30
years

(so..like 1303?)
_MG_0047

"Lucerne is unique in the fact that its three wooden pedestrian bridges, the 14th century Hofbrücke (now destroyed) and Kapellbrücke and the 16th century Spreuerbrücke, all featured painted interior triangular frames. This feature is not replicated in any of Europe's other wooden footbridges.[7] The paintings, dating back to the 17th century by local Catholic painter Hans Heinrich Wägmann, depict events from Lucerne's history. Out of the original 158 paintings, a total of 147 existed before the 1993 fire.[7] After the fire, the remains of 47 paintings were collected, although only 30 were ultimately fully restored.[7]
The wooden boards upon which the paintings were painted on were from 150 centimetres (59 in) to 181 centimetres (71 in) wide and 85 centimetres (33 in) to 95 centimetres (37 in) wide. Most of the panels were made from spruce wood boards, while only a few were made from linden wood and maple. The paintings were created during the time of the Counter-Reformation, featuring scenes promoting the Catholic Church. The paintings themselves were sponsored by the city's council members, who upon sponsoring a panel, were allowed to attribute their personal coat of arms on it. An explanation of each painting was printed below each scene. The paintings ran all along the bridge, dating from the life and death of Lucerne's patron saint St. Leger to the legends of the city's other patron saint St. Mauricio."

IMG_2411

the
paintings
were
mesmerizing

drawing
you
into
dark
religious
history
of 
Lucerne
IMG_2412

IMG_2421

in the evening
we found
a
wine bar


and
enjoyed
Spanish Tempranillo
and
plates
of
rich cheeses
salty charcuterie
fruit
nuts
and bread
(all of our no-no's)
IMG_2399

punchy
and giddy
we
made it back
to
the hotel

 passed out
and ....


woke up
jet-lag free
to
this view
  from our window
IMG_2426

Guten Morgen,
Luzern
IMG_2429

a
glorious
beginning!



        ......and on to Strasbourg, France