Flora and Fauna

Duck on the Reuss River : Luzern, CH 

Springtime in Luzern : Luzern, CH

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/2012

Old Town Luzern

Restaurant Fritschi : Luzern, CH

Just a couple of pictures of some cool buildings in Old Town Luzern.

Some seriously tromp l'oeil going on on the façade of that building : Luzern, CH

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/2012

Visit with an Old Friend

Alan in front of the Kapellbrücke and the Wasserturm : Luzern, CH

Friend Alan arrived and we enjoyed a day sightseeing around Luzern and catching up. Our lives are very different, but it was still good to see an old friend.

Luzern's fortress walls : Luzern, CH 

Clocktower on the fortress walls : Luzern, CH

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/2012

St. Leodegar Church (Exterior)

St. Leodegar Church on the Reuss River : Luzern, CH

Luzern's patron saint is Leodegar. This church was built in his honor. The original structure was built in 735 ACE. This existing structure was erected in 1633 in the late Renaissance style.

Kapellbrücke and St. Leodegar Church : Luzern, CH

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/2012

Luzern in the Golden Hour

Kapellbrücke / Chapel Bridge over the Reuss River : Luzern, CH

This weekend, we traveled to Luzern to meet up with a friend I haven't seen in 20+ years. Alan P. has been stationed at the U.S. Army Base in Kaiserslautern, Germany, for the last couple of years. His assignment is ending and he's about to ship back to the States. We decided it would be fun to meet up somewhere in the middle between Geneva and Kaiserslautern, so we chose Luzern. (Actually, it turned out to be way closer for us than it was for him, but he was kind enough to drive further than we did.) We drove up to Luzern the night before and met friends Scott and Diana. These are just a couple of shots from that evening.

Luzern's most famous landmark is its wooden bridge -- the Kapellbrücke, or Chapel Bridge -- that connects the two halves of Luzern across the Reuss River. Built in 1333, it is the oldest covered bridge in Europe. In 1993, a fire, allegedly started by a discarded cigarette, destroyed a significant section of the bridge, which had to be rebuilt. As a result of the fire, a series of 17th century paintings depicting events from Luzern's history were lost. A few remain. In the distance at the end of the bridge, you can see the Church of St. Leodegar.

Stadtkeller : Luzern, CH

On the north side of the Reuss, there are a number of older buildings that include beautifully painted façades and woodworking details.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/2012

Threesome

Threesome : Lucerne, CH

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/10

Downtrodden

Downtrodden : Lucerne, CH

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/10

Luzern: Baroque

 The high altar in the Jesuitenkirche : Luzern, CH

One of my favorite paintings in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is Albert Bierstadt's Lake Lucerne. (See a better shot of it here.) I could stare at that painting for hours (and have!), so I was pretty excited to visit Lucerne (Luzern), Switzerland, recently. We were only there for a couple of hours on our way home from Graubünden, but it was lovely and I hope to go back soon. Lucerne is famous for it's covered walkways. You can see a few pictures from the Old Town and river front areas at my Picasa Web Albums.

Along the river front is a beautiful Baroque church called the Jesuitenkirche (Jesuit Church.) We went in for a few minutes and enjoyed listening to the organist practice. It was lovely. You can also see a few more pictures at my Picasa Web Albums.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/10