We started out the day with a driving "tour" of the city. Actually, this was an inadvertent tour because we were trying to find the Gletschergarten (Glacier Gardens). Luzern has many winding as well as one-way streets. We even found some streets that went up & down very steep hills! We finally decided to just get out & ask...it was a good thing too! Apparently, this is a very hidden location & only accessible by foot...but for the kids very well worth it!The first thing to "welcome" us to the Gletshergarten was the "Dying Lion Monument." This monument was carved out of natural rock in memory of the heroic deaths of the Swiss mercenaries at the Tuileries in 1792. WHAT?!?! 1792! This amazes me! All of the detail & the curves of the lion's mane...carved in the early 1800s...no machinery! WOW! All of the kids were really excited to see this too!
After looking at some interesting glacier remnants, we went into the Spiegellabyrinth (Hall of Mirrors). It was so much fun for all kids & all four parents! I think the funniest parts were seeing 6 or 8 Colins or Sheridans, watching the kids walk squarely into a mirror thinking it was an open hallway, & watching everyone walk with their hands out in front of them as if we were blind or in a very dark room!
Here is more mirror fun:
Then, of course, we're in Switzerland. What's one thing you HAVE to eat for lunch or dinner??? Perhaps some great, delicious Swiss delicacy?!?! Well, we don't know what that would be because for the kids, we went to McDonald's!!! I know...FANCY!!! Honestly, it was an easy choice so that we didn't have to fight our kids to eat something! And we saw one when we "toured" the city earlier in the day.
We continued walking around this picturesque city...seeing Chapel Bridge & the Water Tower over Lake Lucerne, to seeing a portion of the former city wall that was used to fortify the city in the former days! We, also, stopped in at the Jesuitenkirche (the Jesuit Church). This church was right off the water & is beautiful on the outside & inside!
After the church visit, we were all tired & still needed to drive back to Germany. So, it was time to go...oh, but wait! We can NOT come to Switzerland without tasting & getting some Swiss CHOCOLAT!!! Oh YUMMY!
Strangely enough though, we actual had a hard time finding a place that sold it. More than likely, this "shortage" was probably due to the fact that we were shopping on a Sunday (everything seems to shut down after 4 pm on Saturday until Monday morning). We stepped into the Bachmann's Confiseur shop & I, all of a sudden, felt this great sense of euphoria! I died & went to Chocolat Heaven!!!! I had to look at everything & it was so hard to control myself & not buy 1, 2, or more of EVERYTHING! But I also wanted to find some chocolat that I couldn't find in the States....didn't know that the Lindt Chocolate Company is actually Swiss chocolat! However, I can buy this in the states...so I actually had to search for another company because Lindt chocolats were everywhere in this store! I finally found a company that I didn't recognize...Camille Bloch...but then I still had to make a choice! Darn! I couldn't just buy it all! I finally decided on a "Torino Noir"...Swiss Dark Chocolat with Truffle filling! Mmmmmm! The kids had to be restrained from their desired indulgences, but they finally settled for some lapins en chocolat (chocolate bunnies)! Simple, but still mmmmmm! delicious! Unfortunately, hindsight...wish I took a picture of all the chocolat everywhere in this store!
Our pics of Day 4!
And so ends Day 4! The adventure continues tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment