Lucerne Switzerland

Over the 4th of July holiday we headed down to Switzerland - our first real road trip with Madison. The scenery is everything you expect it to be. Unfortunately, a camera doesn't do justice to the great views.









The first stop on the trip was in Lucerne. Many consider Lucerne the embodiment of a Swiss town - panoramic Alpine views, narrow cobblestone streets, covered bridges and a marvelous pristine lake. I can't say I disagree. Our hotel was on Lake Lucerne in Kastanienbaum (Chestnut Tree) just outside the city. This picture was taken from the hotel dock on our way to check out the city just after our arrival. A note on the hotel (Hotel Kastanienbaum), it is likely the nicest hotel we've stayed in since we've been here. We also had one of our better dinners in Europe at the hotel - Madison was having a Mad Mac moment so we passed on dinner by the lake and had it brought to our room.















Many of the lake-side towns in Switzerland, especially in the areas near the Italian boarder, have a distinct Mediterranean flair. Shelly and I found ourselves asking "are we in central Europe." Lucerne has a hip, young vibe - and there was a festival going on when we arrived so the town was really hopping. You can see the outdoor cafes in this picture taken along the river bank. If you didn't know better you'd think you were on the Riviera.












Here's Shelly and Madison with Lucerne's signature covered bridge in the background. The bridge was built in 1333 as a defensive structure. The tower has been used as a prison, torture chamber (I think it's a law that every city in Europe has to have an old torture chamber) and archive. Madison is passed out in the Baby Bjorn. We've found that she travels best in the Bjorn, and it is also easier to get around with in Europe than with a stroller.












We spent one afternoon on a boat excursion on Lake Lucerne up to the small resort town of Brunnen. Lake Lucerne and Lake Uri meet here at the foot of the Alps in one of the more visually stunning places we've been. The area around Brunnen is William Tell country; where the Tell family was among a group that founded the early settlements in this area of Switzerland. There is historical evidence of the Tell family, but whether William Tell ever existed, or shot an apple off the top of his son's head, is unconfirmed.

We left Lucerne for Interlaken a bit further south in central Switzerland in the Bernese Oberland.