Wednesday 27 April

10-19C

Cloudy,Sunny, showers

Wake up call at 6.15 however we were awake earlier than that, not by choice mind you.Today we headed to Lucerne which is only 170k's from Lugano.The scenery on the way to Lucerne was beautiful even though it was misty.We went through lots of tunnels, one, the St Gotthard Tunnel is 17k's long.Once we got to Lucerne Mum and l took the optional hour long lake cruise which was nice and relaxing.We then went to look at the Lion statue which is dedicated to the memory of the Swiss bodyguards of Louis XVI.Mum took another optional trip up the Stanserhorn mountain by an old time funicular which has 100 year old carriages with fringed curtains and has been chugging up the mountain since 1893.It takes you to the first platform then you swap to a modern aerial cable car that takes you to the 1920 metre peak. Mum said she enjoyed it though it was quite chilly and misty.I had about 5 hours to kill so l went to the Church of St Leodegar which dates back to the very origins of Lucerne.Then l walked to the Chapel Bridge, built in the 14th century and is the oldest wooden bridge in the world.The Water Tower which stands in the river Reuss and next to the bridge was built about 1300 and originally served as a lighthouse, the cellars used as a dungeon and the upper floors as torture chambers.I went to the Museum Sammlung Rosengart Luzern to have a look at Picasso's work.l've decided I don't like it very much.l also saw some of Paul Klee's work and liked that much better.Then I wandered around the shops just looking at stuff….it's way too expensive to buy anything here.We all met up back at one of the squares and caught the bus to our hotel where we had the included dinner.It rained several time throughout the day and it was quite chilly.The mist didn't lift until early afternoon and when the sun shone it got really warm, but by 5.30 it was chilly again.I love, love, love Switzerland!