Train hopped from Interlaken to Lucerne, another trip with fantastic scenery. Emma and I stood by the window, cameras at the ready, trying to get as many shots of the passing landscape as we could:
Lucerne sits on the shore of Lake Lucerne, within sight of Mount Pilatus and Rigi. It straddles the Reuss River, and therefore has a number of bridges, the most famous of which is the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke). This wooden bridge dates from 1333, and contains a series of paintings from the 17th century depicting events from Lucerne's history.
Crossing over, we found the Historical Museum, with an interesting collection artefacts and an even more interesting method of displaying them. Each item has a barcode, and you have a handheld scanner, which feeds you the relevant information in your language of choice! Quite a nice innovation, except it takes a few seconds between scan and response, plus a basic label on the items would help in decide whether or not to read more...
We crossed back via the nearby Mill Bridge (Spreuerbrücke), which also contains paintings, this time depicting various inviduals at the mercy of an anthropomorphisised Death. It has a small chapel in the middle that was added in 1568.
The old town is located just north of the Reuss River, and still has several fine half-timber structures with painted fronts. We visited the Picasso Museum, which - though it has some paintings - is actually an exhibition of photographs by David Douglas Duncan, depicting the impish artist at home and at work. A very interesting collection, though difficult at times to follow in the correct order!
We also went to the Swiss Transport Museum, which was pretty dull despite it's comprehensive display of locomotives, automobiles, ships, and aircraft. The most fun was had using the scooters to get between the large exhibition hangars.
Da Boyz.
