Lucerne in December: Part 1

There's something very special about windows
especially warm and welcoming ones like this.
The Christmas lights are artfully arranged behind the sheer curtains
and that is perfect for my first photo of this blog entry.

A birthday gift from my daughter was a voucher for an Historic Hotel
in Switzerland this year!
What a great idea!
I chose the lakeside town of Lucerne as I hadn't been there for many years.
There is a very charming old part of town with paved streets
and many interesting and beautiful buildings.
This is the hotel called 'Wilden Mann',

Here is the outside sign.

Lucerne's most famous landmark is certainly the Chapel Bridge
or the Kapellbrücke as it's called in this German-speaking part of Switzerland.
This bridge stretches across the River Reuss and is almost 203 metres.
It was built in 1365 and is the oldest covered wooden bridge, still standing, 
in Europe.

Here is a different capture after the mist cleared,
to show the mountains behind above the lake.

The Christmas market stands were already open.
Some of them had lovely hand-crafted gifts.
I bought a few for Christmas presents.

My usual travelling companion was celebrating a birthday at the beginning of the month,
so it seemed perfect to spend a few days away to coincide with that celebration.
We travelled by train to our destination
and on the very first evening, there were lovely traditional celebrations
which started in the afternoon and went on till the evening.
The photo above shows a procession of cow-bell ringers!

There was also St.Nicholas walking round the streets with gifts for the children.

It rained at the start of our stay, but luckily not all the time
and we were able to walk in the streets and enjoy the architecture.

Here's one of the other bridges and we crossed several different ones
just for the fun of it!

The Christmas lights looked lovely as the evening came in.
Here is the Jesuit church of St. Francis Xavier
which is in the Baroque style.
The river shows off the reflections so prettily.

I took so many photographs, that I didn't quite know where to begin.
So here are the first ones and I will be showing you more in a few days!


8 comments

  1. It all looks so wonderful Sandra. Lovely gift idea and great to celebrate your friend's birthday too. Thank you for sharing.

    Hugs, Sarn xxx

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    1. Hello Sarn! So nice to see you! Yes, it was a lovely gift voucher to receive!

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  2. How beautiful Lucerne looks through the lens of your camera, Sandra... The lights, the mountains, the shimmering water--just gorgeous! I think that is the best idea to give a gift to a hotel or inn--will have to remember that! And a belated Happy Birthday to you--may your coming year be filled with good health and happiness :)

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    1. Many thanks, Carol. It was an extremely beautiful place to visit at this time of the year as everything was so prettily decorated with fairy lights.
      Yes, a travel voucher is a lovely present! My birthday was actually in May, but I saved the voucher for a December getaway!

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  3. How delightful - the lights, the views and the cow bell ringers! (I love that!)

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    1. Thanks, Fi. It was the perfect time of the year for a visit to this town. I loved the cow bell ringers too! They walked all round the town into the night! Very exciting!

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  4. What a wonderful trip!! That last picture is spectacular with the gold ornaments and the gold reflections in the water. I didn't realize the covered bridge was so old, amazing that it has been taken care of for so long. Christmas is a lovely time to travel where traditions are strong. Looking forward to the rest of the story.

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    1. thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment after it didn't work the first time around, Cathy! I really enjoy traditions too and this time of the year is perfect for discovering new ones!

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