The next day was a long drive to Switzerland and this time, I joined the mad cacophony of sniffling and nose-blowing on the bus. But I didn’t let my minor affliction dampen my spirits, for it was a very scenic ride. We traveled through farmlands as we crossed the border from northern Italy. We caught a glimpse of the beautiful Italian Lake District, which I definitely would like to visit when I go back to this part of Europe. And as we continued into the heart of the Swiss Alps, we passed by gushing streams and soaring peaks before reaching scenic Lucerne.
Lucerne is said to be the gateway to Central Switzerland. It is a beautiful city located across the lake from Altdorf, where legend has it, William Tell shot an apple off his son’s head.
Our first stop was the Lion Monument, carved into a cliff to commemorate the courage of the Swiss Guards who lost their lives defending King Louis XVI during the bloody days of the French Revolution. This magnificent sculpture evokes a deep sense of poignancy. Just looking at the expression on the dying lion’s face could draw a certain kind of melancholy from anyone. I couldn’t stop staring at it. The famous American writer, Mark Twain wrote of it as, “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.” I knew exactly what he meant. I felt it.
We walked around the city for a little bit before boarding a small panorama yacht for an hour-long sunset cruise on the tranquil waters of Lake Lucerne. While having drinks on the top deck and admiring the amazing scenery of the city against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains, it started to drizzle. Our local guide told us this was typical in Lucerne and that the slight rain would surely not last for more than ten minutes before the sky cleared up again.
He was right. Before we even got cozy in the covered lower deck as we watched the raindrops and the waves through the portholes, the gray clouds drifted away and soon enough, the sun was shining again, as if nothing happened. We all went back to the upper deck to resume our sightseeing and to take some pictures. It was actually the best time for photo ops because it was almost sunset. For cinematographers and photographers, this is the “magic hour,” the last hour of sunlight for the day, when lighting is softer and more diffused and there are almost no shadows, thus the perfect time to shoot the perfect scene.
After a few minutes of playing photographer, I decided to stay in the lower deck. I was feeling sicker and my cold was getting a lot worse. I guess the sudden change in weather was a strong factor – from sweltering hot and humid Venice to cool and windy Lucerne in one day. And since I was pregnant, I couldn’t really take any medications to ease the symptoms. I just sat there with my husband, drank my water, and chatted with the boat owner/operator in-between sneezing and blowing my nose. He invited us to join him in his cabin and allowed me to navigate the boat for a few minutes. He even lent me his sailor hat. He was clearly not worried about catching my virus or letting an amateur steer the boat in the wrong direction. My husband took my picture. I afterwards convinced him to pose for a shot like a sailorman, just like I did.
After the relaxing boat ride, we bid Mr. Sailorman a good evening and headed out. We had some pre-dinner cocktails at the rooftop of our hotel and enjoyed the view as we talked about our plans for the evening. There were no more scheduled group activities that night so we were free to do what we wanted. Some of my tour mates went for a Swiss fondue meal that came with a lively folklore show featuring traditional dances, yodeling, flag-throwing, alpenhorn-blowing, and Swiss games. The others opted to go shopping.
We didn’t sign up for the Swiss dinner initially because my husband doesn’t like cheese and wasn’t sure if he could eat anything else that would be served. We also thought the entertainment part was similar to what we’ve seen in Innsbruck, but our tour guide said this was more of an interactive kind of entertainment wherein the performers call volunteers onstage and ask them to participate. We told her we’d think about it, but as I was feeling really sick, we ended up not going.
Photo Credits:
Mark H (Trip Advisor), thatawaydad.com, Ad Meskens (Wikimedia Commons), allbestwallpapers.com
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