21st October Lucerne

This morning we visited the Lion Monument which is a sculpture in Lucerne designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and hewn in 1820-21 by Lukas Ahorn. It commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris. Mark Twain praised the sculpture of the mortally wounded lion as "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world". He was not wrong...it really is the most emotionally moving sculpture I have ever seen. One of the ladies in our group was even moved to tears, which I could completely understand. When this trip is over people will ask me what I liked best...well everything has been so wonderful, but this Lion monument was very special! 

Next we went on an hour long cruise on Lake Lucerne and took in the breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. After the cruise some of the group headed to a folklore show and lunch in a typical restaurant. We watched a lively folklore show which included yodelling, flagthrowing and Alpine hornblowing while tasting the famous Swiss cheese fondue. After lunch we had free time so we wandered through the shops of Lucerne in search of watches and Swiss army knives. I was keen to buy a Longines watch but could not find one that I loved...so I'll keep looking. The girl I am rooming with wanted a Cartier watch so a group of us headed there to help her choose. Later that day she did go back and buy a beautiful silver and gold watch with a rectangle face..so yes, I was in Cartier purchasing a watch ;) I just don't get to bring it home!  Needless to say the cost of that watch would pay for my Greek cruise next year!!! We also went to a chocolatier called Bachmann where we bought a small sample of the truffle chocolates...sorry but they won't be making it home...Bailey's mint truffle = Yuuuuuummmm!!!! We then got a few more souvenirs and later in the afternoon a couple of us went to Mass at the Jesuit church...all said in German of course! For dinner we went to Mr Pickwick's and English style pub. I had fish and chips which cost 22.50 Euro...food and drink here is VERY expensive. When we got back to the hotel a couple of ladies had gone to a Thai restaurant for dinner and the main dished there (Pad Thai) cost 47 Euro...they shared it, much to the disgust of the waiter! Tonight I am also trying to catch up on my blog posts. I have found it hard without free wifi, it can be very expensive to purchase it and some nights after dinner we just head to bed. I have been trying to catch up on the bus when I can.