Lucerne in October. Part 1

This is our boat named 'URI'

Last time we came to Lucerne in December 2018,

we said we would return with warmer weather and that our priority 

would be to take a steam-boat cruise on the lake.

As soon as we arrived, we bought tickets for the earliest boat ride on the same day.

We just had time to drop our cases off at the hotel.

We're just leaving the town of Lucerne to do the long three and a half hour tour

of the big lake with lunch included.

This is Mount Pilatus

the iconic mountain which is 2.128 metres high.

I think it would be lovely to take the cogwheel train and then a cablecar and gondola

and to be able to see the whole lake from the top.

Before going any further, I should explain a little history.

On the map, we can see the whole of the lake which is quite a complex shape

with many bends and four arms.

On my notepad, I wrote down the names of all the different stops.

One of the stops was Rütli.

"For all Swiss people, Rütli is synonymous with the founding history of Switzerland.

Nourished by the impressive drama of "William Tell" by author Friedrich Schiller,

it is for many people the historic place where in 1291, 

the oath of the Swiss Confederation was sworn.

On August 1st, 1291, now celebrated as the Swiss National Holiday,

the three original cantons: Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden united and founded

with a loyalty oath the Confederation at the forest site."

Text taken from here:

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/destinations/ruetli-ruetli-meadow/

The canton of Lucerne (or Luzern) was added to the other three mentioned above.

The lake is called the Vierwaldstättersee

which means The Lake of Four Cantons.

The views are beautiful all along the way.

It's very mountainous with green pastures below.

The weather was perfect

All the views are different and always interesting

Sparkles on the water

A Baroque style church perched above the lake

There are several small safety boats around the steam boat.

You can see the name Uri on this one.

A sailing boat crosses our path

This is the cobbled pedestrian square which is in front of our hotel.

People were still sitting on outside terraces, thanks to the warm October temperatures.

After dinner, we walked around the pedestrian area of the town

where our hotel was situated.

I like the welcoming entrance to this historic hotel.

This is where we stayed: 'Hotel zum Wilden Mann'.

We stayed here last December when it was beautifully decorated for Christmas. 

I took so many photographs during this trip,

that I'll be posting Part 2 next week.