Lovely days discovering Lucerne
RICHARD PENNICK finds walking a fine way to experience small enchantments
The lone bell of a distant clock struck three. Not unusual. But one minute later all the bells of Lucerne’s other clocks struck three. In a place known for precision and punctuality, this seemed unusual but it was soon explained. The clock in the Zytturm tower is the oldest in Lucerne. As such, it has the right to sound one minute before all the others.
We’d arrived in Lucerne early that afternoon. Soon settled — and in need of exercise — we crossed the Reuss River to the Old Town. Exploring the narrow, medieval, car-free streets and squares, we were impressed by the bright murals on building facades and the intricate wrought-iron signs above the shops.
The striking fresco on the facade of the Pfistern Guildhall in the Kornmarkt is worth a stop. The coats of arms of prominent Lucerne families through the ages are positioned on a painted climbing vine ending under the building’s eaves.
A steep right turn behind the Old Town led up to the 14th-century Musegg Wall. Along its 800m ramparts are nine fortress towers, including the Zytturm. We clambered up the wooden steps to the battlements for golden afternoon views of the city, river, lake and surrounding mountains.
It turned into one of those perfect summer evenings. Perhaps the exercise and the veal, pork, mushroom and currant puff-pastry Lucerne- style meat pie we had for dinner had something to do with it.
Our table on the promenade at the Hotel des Alpes overlooked the Reuss River, a cooling breeze rising from the silken water.
We walked slowly back across the medieval Chapel Bridge, reputed to be one of the oldest covered wooden bridges in Europe.
It crosses the Reuss River diagonally from the promenade, with a fortified stone tower half way across. Beneath the long timber roof in the bridge’s gables are 30 restored 17th-century religious paintings. Hanging flower baskets adorn its sides.
As we stepped off the bridge, we were drawn to the mouth- watering window of Confiserie Kurmann, a renowned Swiss chocolatier.
Inside, we drooled over chocolates arrayed in glass cases, admired velvety chocolate sculptures on silver stands and were tempted by shelves of attractively boxed selections. We settled for a big slab of hazelnut chocolate.
Thus the tone was set for three enjoyable days in this enlightening city.
The following morning we strode back over the Old Town’s cobbled streets, taking in the bakery windows, cafes and some very busy duty-free shops. At the far end of town, we crossed the covered Spreuer Bridge, which straddles the river and weir. This curious structure has a tiny red chapel on one side. Under its timbered roof is a collection of detailed Dance of Death paintings, graphically recounting the horrors of the plague.
Walking back along the river wall, we stopped to watch two men position timber planks in the frame of the 1860s Needle Dam which stretches across the Reuss River above the weir. The “needles” are installed or removed to control the flow of water from Lake Lucerne during the alpine spring melt and drier summer months.
Reaching the Jesuit Church, we entered and sat awhile amid its calming baroque beauty. We then enjoyed coffee and doughnuts in a little sidestreet cafe nearby, politely presented on a tiny tray with a linen doily, glasses of cool water and two small chocolates.
The Lion Monument is a 10-minute walk from the river promenade. It is a striking but sad monument commemorating the deaths of Swiss soldiers slain in Paris defending King Louis XVI during the French Revolution. The beautiful sculpture of a mortally wounded lion is cut into the limestone cliff overlooking a tree-shaded pool.
That afternoon, we found that Lucerne’s unassuming Swiss National Bank building hid an unexpected bonus: the Rosengart Collection. We discovered three floors of art by Picasso, Miro, Cezanne, Matisse, Monet, Braque, Modigliani, Pissarro and Klee — a total of 300 works by 23 artists.
There are 180 Picasso sketches and paintings, as well as a series of photographs of the artist in his studio, including a charming sequence of family life with his children and guests. The basement galleries are hung with 125 bright watercolours and oils by the Swiss artist Paul Klee.
Later, we found one of those “on top of the world” views — alpine meadows and rocky crags with the lake reaching out from Lucerne to the villages, a distant backdrop of snow-capped mountains rising through a blue morning haze — on a viewing platform at Hotel Pilatus-Kulm (altitude 2231m) at the top of the Pilatus mountain railway.
We’d reached the mountain’s summit on the Panorama Gondola in 18 minutes, swinging silently over the treetops, alpine trails and waving hikers (it’s a five-hour walk). We later rode down on the world’s steepest cogwheel railway along a curving narrow track, rattling through tunnels and snow sheds. Don’t miss it.
One afternoon we joined a Lake Lucerne cruise. During the early days of Swiss tourism, five stately paddle steamers were introduced to the lake and these splendidly restored white beauties still ply the lake between the small communities along its shores. We cruised past Disney-like castles and gingerbread villas enjoying the panorama of the forested mountain slopes.
Our farewell dinner in Lucerne was at the Brasserie Flora — broccoli soup, excellent roast veal and creme caramel. It had been a perfect stay.
