architecture in luzern 08:29

One is treated to a marvelous facade immediately after exiting the current railway station in Luzern (below). The facade is the only part of the original station (left) that is left standing after a fire broke out in February of 1971. It now serves as both a memorial to the old building and Luzern's version of a triumphal arch.

Right across the Reuss River sits the Hauptpost (main post office) of Luzern.

Connecting the two banks is the Kappellbrücke (Chapel Bridge). It is Europe's oldest bridge with a cover and Switzerland's most photographed landmark. The bridge was first constructed in 1333 to help protect Luzern from attacks. In 1993, large parts of the bridge burnt down but fortunately was reconstructed. The Wasserturm (Water Tower) is an octagonal brick tower that was formerly used as watchtower, treasury, torture chamber, and prison. Currently it is a guild hall used by the Artillery Association.

Luzern has predominantly been a Catholic town in a predominantly Protestant Switzerland and as a result, one can find this rare instance of a Catholic church. The Jesuitenkirche (Jesuit Church) was built in 1666 at the order of Christoph Volger and dedicated to Saint Francis Xavier. It is one of a few examples of architecture in Switzerland that is in the Baroque style. 

july 17, 2010. luzern. 11:55

After two weeks of sporadic facebook messages, I finally got to meet up with Iwan's sister Tamara. I had met her the first time I was in Busswil but now she was living in Baden, a town somewhere between Bern and Zürich. We had talked of meeting in different places but finally decided that we should meet in Luzern. It was in between where she and I were and there would be a lot more to see and do than in most other towns. I had already seen Switzerland's biggest towns.

I was going to make this trip alone; I had relied on Iwan for all the trains routes up to this point so hopefully I wouldn't end up on the wrong track and in the wrong city. Fortunately, I did get used to buying train tickets - I was even purchasing them in the default German setting! Thus, I confidently bought my ticket and boarded the 9 o'clock train bound for Luzern. Everything was fine until the ticket collector man checked my ticket and told me I had bought the wrong one! Little did I know that there were actually two routes to Luzern and I just happened to buy the wrong one. Of course it would happen to me. I kind of had a feeling though that everything would be fine since I was a foreigner and all, but the tone of his voice and the way he spoke English seemed to be a bit unpleasant and rude. Nonetheless, he printed out a new ticket for four extra Swiss Francs and then left me feeling a bit dumb for having bought the wrong ones. I thought I should have been a pro at this by now.

It took exactly an hour to arrive in Luzern and the first thing I noticed was the station teeming with tourists. An entire group of high school students from Korea were waiting around perhaps for some tickets their teachers were purchasing and I could hear Japanese and English from every crack and crevice of the hall. This is THE tourist town of Switzerland I thought and it was slowly confirmed as my day in Luzern proceeded. As I neared the exit, I saw Tamara at once and we greeted each other. I was glad that she could make it out and show me some things.

The Kapellbrücke is what all people mention when talking about Luzern. From my understanding, it was a prison at one point in its history and the bridge near it was burnt down many times. I guess it had been hyped up because I was expecting something more spectacular. We walked across the bridge and one could also hear various languages other than Swiss German being spoken. The Chinese was especially loud.

Tamara and I had lunch at a restaurant along the river and she even offered to pay. It was awfully kind of her to do so. After lunch, we walked around and I took pictures of buildings and I realized that Luzern had a lot more diversity in its architecture compared to Zürich or Bern. But what struck me the most was the löwendenkmal, the lion carving. Neither of us expected to see it but as we were walking, we happened upon it and the image immediately pounced at me. We continued walking through the city, visiting second-hand stores (which are my favorite stores to look through) and Tamara and I ended our day sitting down near the river once again for some coffee. Then it began to rain and we decided it was best to head back to our respective towns. We ran to the station in the rain and went our way.