Luzern is known for it's lake and the nearby mountains, it's easy to see why- it is gorgeous! The other thing it's known for is the lion monument, carved into natural rock. Mark Twain once said it is "the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world." I tend to agree- it is called "the dying Lion of Lucerne" after all. It was made in memory of Swiss mercenaries who were killed at the Tuileries in 1792. It sort of reminds me of Aslan dying in the Lion, the witch and the wardrobe (chronicles of narnia), stake and all. The look on the lion's face is devastating.
Luzern (Lucerne in English. Got milk?) has a very well preserved wall with towers around the city, called Musegg Wall, built in 1386. An awesome thing to do is climb a tower, than walk the path they made along the wall to the other towers. Amazing view of the city, lake and mountains.
The city has a river stemming from the lake called River Reuss. The famous covered bridge, called Chapel Bridge, and water tower are located here. Apparently the water tower is the most photographed monument in Switzerland.
I saw two churches in Luzern. Jesuit church, built in 1666, had beautiful rose coloured marble and ornately decorated ceilings and arches. I also went into Hof Church. Rebuilt in 1645 after a fire, it has two spires and a clock on the outside (they love their clock towers).
In addition, i took a boat ride on lake Luzern for free with my Eurail pass (yay!). It was basically a commuter boat to about 5 communities on the lake. Tourists also take it because you can get off at certain spots to go up the mountains there. Unfortunately I didn't have time for that. It was lovely and I got a better close up of some of the mountains.
One more day in Switzerland!
Ranelle