8/29 Zurich



Breakfast fueled us up for the one scheduled day to soak in Zurich. The local tram escorted us downtown to get a lay of the land. After doing some exploring we opted to just go south of the city to Lake Zurich and found a park bench where we lost track of time staring off at the nearly clear blue water, and the puffy white clouds that ebbed and flowed around the mountaintops. We hunted down some souvenirs (Swiss chocolate!) and then were at the train station for a trip south west to Lucerne, Switzerland. We had gotten the recommendation for Lucerne from our wise neighbor who had traveled to the area on a school trip many moons ago.  
https://photos.app.goo.gl/A0cw9KjQui02OQTl1

Arrival in Lucerne meant a spark of excitement, quickly unloading and immediately going exploring. At the base of Lake Lucerne the city was thriving with life. The two parts of their main city center are split by the Reuss River that drains the lake. The two banks of the flowing waters are connected by the Chapel Bridge. This covered bridge was first built in the 14th century. Within the a-frame construction of the bridge's roof structure has paintings from the 17th century. The age of the whole thing really is staggering that it was built so sturdy and so long ago. We crossed one of the ancient bridges, explored the bank's shops and wares, and then crossed back the other old bridge to find a lovely dinner table right at the flood gate for the river. The glacial flow of the water rushed around the gate and provided excellent background noise to the dining experience. There was no gelato located that evening. We tried!

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