Europe Trip (Lucerne, Switzerland)

4th April 2011
We took the SNCF Train [link] from Paris to Basel, Switzerland which cost each of us €94 (RM419.19). After that, we made a transfer at Basel to the  SBB CFF FFS train [link] which will bring us to Lucerne, Switzerland. It is another €20.80 (RM92.76) each. Our destination was the last stop so when we reached Luzern, the whole coach was empty. It was drizzling and cold when we stepped out of the train. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the people here were so different than France. All of them were so kind, helpful and friendly. We got lost in the city during the search of our hotel and they were so sincere in giving us the directions and patient in dealing with us.

When we reached the hotel, it was already 2:30pm. It was called Hotel Goldener Stern. It is situated at the Old Town Lucerne. A pretty little quaint hotel. It has one of the smallest lift I've ever seen in my life. It can only fit 1 person and about 1 luggage.



The hotel.

After putting our stuffs, we walked around the town of Lucerne. I would say it is a quiet and peaceful place. I guess there were not many locals but tourists. We visited a church situated just right in front of our hotel. It was simply beautiful in its own way.



The Church.

Eventually, we walked until we reached the Reuss River, which is the fourth largest river in Switzerland. The view was so beautiful as I could see the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke) and the mountains behind. The Chapel Bridge is the world's oldest surviving truss bridge. The design of the bridge is pretty unique to me.


The Chapel Bridge can be seen behind.

On the bridge. There are triangle interior paintings along the way above.
They depict events from Lucerne's history.

I love this place a lot. You can see very cute buildings, old yes, but in very nice designs. Almost every single buildings are different than the other. Besides, Lucerne is situated at the end of The Lake of Lucerne and is surrounded by mountains which are capped with snow (at that time). The scene was simply amazing!


Part of Old Town.

We further explored the whole old town, breathing in everything. Then, we reached the new town, where there were more cars and more people. As it was getting late, we didn't manage to explore the whole area in new town. We headed back for our dinner. After dinner, we wanted to go out again to explore the places. However, it was too cold and our clothes were not enough to withstand the cold wind. Thus, we retired early to our hotel and rest for the next day.

Part of New Town.

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