It was a pity that I wasn’t feeling well. Lucerne is so beautiful and there was so much to see and explore, but that time, all I wanted to do was lie down and sleep.
After our rooftop cocktail hour, my husband and I just took a stroll around the city for a bit until sundown, then I told him he could just walk me back to the hotel. I’d take a nap and he could continue exploring on his own. When he's back, he could wake me up and we could have late dinner at one of the hotel restaurants. I was determined to get well fast because the following day, we were supposed to go to Mount Pilatus and I didn’t want to miss that special excursion.
We took the long route so I could at least see some of the city’s key sights. We passed by the Chapel Bridge, a covered wooden footbridge which spans diagonally across Reuss River. It is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe and the world’s oldest surviving truss bridge. Inside are restored paintings dating back to the 17th century and beside the bridge is an even older structure, the Water Tower that was used as a prison, a torture chamber, and then a municipal archive.
Downriver, the Mill Bridge or Chaff Bridge zigzags the Reuss, but we didn’t get the chance to cross it. Apparently, it also contains 17th century paintings, a series of art work by Kaspar Meglinger called The Dance of Death which depicts the plague. It would have been interesting to see.
We passed by several street performers, local vendors, and even a small pond with graceful swans, which we learned, were gifts of Queen Elizabeth II to the people of Lucerne. We admired the Old Town as we wandered around its streets north of the river dotted by half-timbered buildings with painted facades. Over the hill, we could see the remnants of the old town walls complete with eight tall watch towers. We also saw the ornate Jesuit Church built in the Baroque style but again, did not have the opportunity to see its interior.
As soon as we got in the room, I collapsed in bed and muttered something like, “Have fun and be careful!” to my husband on his way out before passing out. I had almost three hours of deep sleep. But when he came back, I was still sluggish and didn’t have much of an appetite even if I was feeling hungry, which was just too bad.
Our hotel had no less than six fine-dining restaurants to choose from - an elegant Thai place reminiscent of a royal palace and ranked as one of the top Asian restaurants in Switzerland; an Asian fusion bistro and bar; a classic Italian place offering homemade pasta and rustic pizza baked in a giant wood-fired oven; a chic sushi and seafood place; a fancy Mexican cantina and bar; and a cozy coffee shop that serves aperitifs, small plates, and desserts.
At any given time, I would have been thrilled to peruse their menus and pick the most local dishes among their international offerings…and most likely give in to my husband’s choice of an Italian meal. But that night, I just asked him to take me wherever he wanted to eat…which was of course, the Italian place, without so much of a fuss. He had his usual - a huge bowl of risotto, a veal plate, and tiramisu for dessert. I just ordered a small bowl of chicken noodle soup, which luckily, they had, and a pot of jasmine tea with lots of lemon wedges on the side. After dinner, we went back to our room and I fell back to sleep right away.
Photo Credits:
Mark H (Trip Advisor), thatawaydad.com, Ad Meskens (Wikimedia Commons), allbestwallpapers.com, chapel-bridge.ch, kapellbruecke.com, triphobo.com, viator.com
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