It was March 2018, we 4 of us colleagues grouped together and made a second attempt to enjoy a weekend trip. Yes, it was the second attempt, because the first and previous weekend day trip was a disaster. This first weekend to Lake Konstanz ended up very chilly, cloudy, rainy, and further time loss because of an unnecessary detour, journey and waiting for transport (we could have very well walked) etc and last but not the least the visit to below-average Aquarium. This aquarium in Lake Konstanz was (and is) not worth the visit IMHO and further, due to rain we got stuck up inside for 1/2 hour or so. We started our return to Stuttgart sometime after 6.30 PM and had to wait for another train transfer for 1/2 hour or so in Singen. Altogether, we spent, rather lost 6-7 whole hours of the day either just inside a train or bus and a not-so-interesting boat cruise on Lake Konstanz as well.
The second attempt at the weekend trip was made after hours of lazy and half-hearted deliberation. My friends Riyas & Savithri made it happen - Planning and coordinating the entire trip. This time we decided to go to Swiss. We chose the nearest and dearest Lucerne.
Lucerne is about 1/2 hour by train from Zurich. Lucerne is a beautiful city surrounded by magnificent mountains and beautiful water-bodies like Lake Lucerne, river Reuss and few more.
We started on a Saturday morning from Stuttgart and reached Zurich by train. We had lunch in Zurich before boarding another short train-trip to Lucerne. After reaching in Lucerne by 3.30PM or so, the first thing we did is to get on to a ferry. The pier is right in front of Lucerne railway station. The 1-hour boat cruise on the Lake Lucerne was nothing short of amazing. This beautiful Lake Lucerne is surrounded by stunning landscape, rather a mountainscape including Mt Riggi. Ferry/boat cruise starts from Lucerne and goes on pier-hopping to nearby town Brunnen, Vitznau, and Weggis and back to the same pier in Lucerne.
The day was not cloudy and dull as it was during the previous weekend and generally used to be during the winter season. I don't like this cloud cover because it spoils my pics. That day began neither entirely sunny nor cloudy. There were big patches of clouds that were hiding the sun, every now and then, but started becoming almost a clear sky during the latter part of the day. On a sunny, clear sky day, you need more than a pair of eyes to see and relish this most picturesque lake and the whole of Swiss, in general.
Talking about 'The Swiss', the whole country, is over-blessed with natural beauty and is a living example of god being biased to a particular country or region. 😉 This beauty-overloaded nature will overwhelm us all in the first few minutes. So beware of getting mesmerized and getting further "addicted" to this beauty overload. Looks like, we must settle down there to undergo expensive 'retail' therapy for complete rehabilitation 😉 from the 'addiction'.
Now, coming back to Lucerne and the boat cruise, here they are, beginning with a train ride from Zurich to Lucerne. The following pics were from inside the train, so bear with me if you could see an overlay of a ghost image. But I am presenting the same 'as-is' here because I want you to "get the picture" - the "overload" I mentioned above.
After this initial awesome (which is bare minimum by Swiss standards), scenic ride from Zurich, we then finally arrived in Lucern .....
And here I present you Lucern - despite being several centuries old young as beautiful as a Lass with a class. Lucern is now my classy lassy Luce (to be pronounced as Lucy) 😉. The following impressive view of classy lassy Luce made me feel 30 kgs lighter and lose 20 years of previous years.
The boat cruise begins...
This is the town of Vitznau.. This is where we have to get down for a mind-blowing, steep, rail-car journey to the top of Mt Riggi. . Do you see image red-colored train below?.. Yes.. this is the rail-car that takes you atop Mt Riggi. Due to paucity of time we did not go for Mt Riggi but saved a bit of the best for next trip
From Vitznau, the cruise begins the return journey to Lucerne, but does not sail via the previous stops. It makes a slight change in direction and visits other towns before finally arriving in Lucerne.
The wooden Kapellbrücke is a must-visit place in Lucerne. Imposing Mt Pilatus is in the background. This footbridge was constructed in 1333 and has lots & lots of several centuries old paintings. So, don't miss it when you visit. Take your time to walk across this footbridge to enjoy the view of the city and the paintings.
That is Mt Pilatus in the background waiting for me to visit next day.
Crystal clear water of river Reuss, memorable walk over the beautiful footbridge hosting paintings, and an ever-happy, every-beautiful swan.
Thus ended my first day in Lucerne, Swiss... Will be back with my next post from Mt.Pilatus. ...
The second attempt at the weekend trip was made after hours of lazy and half-hearted deliberation. My friends Riyas & Savithri made it happen - Planning and coordinating the entire trip. This time we decided to go to Swiss. We chose the nearest and dearest Lucerne.
Lucerne is about 1/2 hour by train from Zurich. Lucerne is a beautiful city surrounded by magnificent mountains and beautiful water-bodies like Lake Lucerne, river Reuss and few more.
We started on a Saturday morning from Stuttgart and reached Zurich by train. We had lunch in Zurich before boarding another short train-trip to Lucerne. After reaching in Lucerne by 3.30PM or so, the first thing we did is to get on to a ferry. The pier is right in front of Lucerne railway station. The 1-hour boat cruise on the Lake Lucerne was nothing short of amazing. This beautiful Lake Lucerne is surrounded by stunning landscape, rather a mountainscape including Mt Riggi. Ferry/boat cruise starts from Lucerne and goes on pier-hopping to nearby town Brunnen, Vitznau, and Weggis and back to the same pier in Lucerne.
The day was not cloudy and dull as it was during the previous weekend and generally used to be during the winter season. I don't like this cloud cover because it spoils my pics. That day began neither entirely sunny nor cloudy. There were big patches of clouds that were hiding the sun, every now and then, but started becoming almost a clear sky during the latter part of the day. On a sunny, clear sky day, you need more than a pair of eyes to see and relish this most picturesque lake and the whole of Swiss, in general.
Talking about 'The Swiss', the whole country, is over-blessed with natural beauty and is a living example of god being biased to a particular country or region. 😉 This beauty-overloaded nature will overwhelm us all in the first few minutes. So beware of getting mesmerized and getting further "addicted" to this beauty overload. Looks like, we must settle down there to undergo expensive 'retail' therapy for complete rehabilitation 😉 from the 'addiction'.
Now, coming back to Lucerne and the boat cruise, here they are, beginning with a train ride from Zurich to Lucerne. The following pics were from inside the train, so bear with me if you could see an overlay of a ghost image. But I am presenting the same 'as-is' here because I want you to "get the picture" - the "overload" I mentioned above.
After this initial awesome (which is bare minimum by Swiss standards), scenic ride from Zurich, we then finally arrived in Lucern .....
And here I present you Lucern - despite being several centuries old young as beautiful as a Lass with a class. Lucern is now my classy lassy Luce (to be pronounced as Lucy) 😉. The following impressive view of classy lassy Luce made me feel 30 kgs lighter and lose 20 years of previous years.
The boat cruise begins...
This is the town of Vitznau.. This is where we have to get down for a mind-blowing, steep, rail-car journey to the top of Mt Riggi. . Do you see image red-colored train below?.. Yes.. this is the rail-car that takes you atop Mt Riggi. Due to paucity of time we did not go for Mt Riggi but saved a bit of the best for next trip
From Vitznau, the cruise begins the return journey to Lucerne, but does not sail via the previous stops. It makes a slight change in direction and visits other towns before finally arriving in Lucerne.
The wooden Kapellbrücke is a must-visit place in Lucerne. Imposing Mt Pilatus is in the background. This footbridge was constructed in 1333 and has lots & lots of several centuries old paintings. So, don't miss it when you visit. Take your time to walk across this footbridge to enjoy the view of the city and the paintings.
That is Mt Pilatus in the background waiting for me to visit next day.
Thus ended my first day in Lucerne, Swiss... Will be back with my next post from Mt.Pilatus. ...
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