Lucerne (Luzern), Switzerland

Lucerne is a three-hour train ride from Nyon, Steve and Maria's nearest station, so Bill and I decided to take a day trip there. While they experienced rain all day in Geneva, we were dry as we took ourselves on the self-guided walking tour of Lucerne. The tourist information center provided a nice booklet with descriptions and a map showing the major historic sites. We were back home by 7:30 in time for dinner with the family.

The arch in front of the train station makes it easy to find the way back.

The Post Office is across the street from the train station.

This tower was built around 1300 as part of the city wall. We watched quite a waterfowl food fight  over  a slice of bread.

The Chapel Bridge was built in the 14th Century. The paintings commemorating Lucerne's history added  in the 17th Century include biographies of city's saints, Leodegar and Mauritius. Much of the bridge has been reconstructed following a fire in 1993. 

The Chapel bridge is quite long. This is part of it.

The Baroque Jesuit Church was built in 1666.

The Italian Renaissance style Ritterscher Palace was built 1557 as a private residence for mayor Lux Ritter. It was the living quarters for Jesuits called to Lucerne in 1574. It is now the Cantonal seat of government.

The Needle Dam was built in 1859 and renovated between 2009 and 2011.

This is the top side of the Needle Dam, which provides flood protection.

The Spreuer Bridge was completed 1408 as part of the city fortification. Between 1626 and 1635 Kaspar Meglinger added 67 Dance of Death paintings under the ceiling in triangles like the historical ones on the Chapel Bridge.

The rampart walls were built in 1386. It was quite a hike to get up here, but we were able to walk along the outside of the wall and see several towers, all different.

The city views from the rampart walls are spectacular. We were so glad it wasn't foggy or raining!

The Dying Lion of Lucerne commemorates the heroic death of  the Swiss mercenaries in 1792 in the Tuilleries  in the service of Louis XVI during the French Revolution.

The clock tower is on the back of the Town Hall.

The white building on the left is the Phistern guildhall. Next to it is the front of the Town Hall,  completed in 1606.

Weekend in Liechtenstein

We are spending a week with Steve, Maria, Anna, and Kate at their home near Geneva, Switzerland. This weekend we added Liechtenstein to Bill's wish list of visiting the seven European microstates of Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City, and  Luxembourg. His first was Malta , which he visited while he was in the Navy in 1959. This weekend added the seventh and last to his list.  Liechtenstein is located in the Alps between Switzerland and Austria, about four hours from Steve and Maria. Liechtenstein's area is just over 160 square kilometers (62 sq mi) and its population is about 35,000.

This was our hotel in Triesenberg.

This was the view from our balcony in Hotel Kulm in Triesenberg. You can see the Rhine River, which is the border between Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The hotel is located about in the middle between Switzerland to the West and Austria to the East.

These little guys, located in the stairway of Hotel Kulm, represent the Alpine hiking and banking traditions of Liechtenstein.

This bank is located in the capital, Vaduz.

We spent a couple of hours in the Vaduz Christmas market. This picture shows a couple of the outdoor vendors' stalls  in front of the side of the city hall.

Lunch in the Christmas market consisted of sausages and bread for all and gluhwine for the adults. 

This tiny little guy was giving rides to tiny little children in the Christmas market.

 Anna went a bit off the path to the castle to examine some wildflowers blooming in December.

Our goal at the end of the hike was a view of the castle, the private residence of  the royal family of Liechtenstein.

Saturday afternoon, we visited the national museum in Vaduz.

While Jean, Maria, Anna, and Kate hiked, Bill and Steve visited the local vineyard and winery.

This is a view from the town center of Vaduz, showing the front of the same castle. 

Anna and Kate had a great time climbing a snow-covered hill in Madun and sliding down on their bottoms.

Jean in Madun ski area

Someone else left a very nice snowman for us to enjoy.

While Jean, Maria, Anna, and Kate were playing in the snow, Bill and Steve drove all the way  to the North end of the country, which was only a few kilometers. It's a small country, but we certainly enjoyed lots of enjoyable activities during our stay. We left at noon so that we could get back in time for Anna and Kate to participate in the Christmas Pageant in their 5:00 church service in Nyon, Switzerland.