L-R: love at first sight; Chapel Bridge
I took a quick bath (my head had become very itchy from the overuse of beanies) and headed out to the Musegg Wall soon afterwards. These walls had 9 towers, 3 of which are usually opened during summer. Since it was off-season, the towers were closed to public. But nonetheless I enjoyed the slow walk along the walk.
L-R: the Musegg Wall; Scottish Highland cattle
L-R: Spreuer Bridge; water spikes
Next destination was the Spreuer Bridge which paled in comparison to its rival Chapel Bridge. I thought nothing was special in this wooden bridge, except perhaps the nearby water spikes. The spikes were built in the 19th century to regulate the water flow in the river and even today, if the need arises, the spikes are raised or lowered by hands. Then I took a stroll along the river towards the Jesuit Church where a morning market was held every Saturday. By now, my hands were totally frozen...so much so that it hurt when I tried to take photos. So I walked around desperately trying to look for a building in which I could warm myself up...but to no avail. In the end, I settled in this simple café and drank a cup of coffee for 4 CHF. My hands were trembling when I was holding the cup. That testified how cold it was on that day. Oh by the way, it was -1 deg celsius at noon. Anyway, I had the good time in the café having a little chat with the waitress and she recommended me this Swiss traditional soup that they sell. I told her that I would consider coming back for the soup if I could not stand it out there.
L-R: interior of chapel bridge; view from the bridge
L-R: Jesuit Cathedral; Me on Chapel bridge
True enough I froze to death again out there. After walking around in the Old Squares (Kornmarkt, Hirschenplatz and Weinmarkt) for about 1 hour, I returned to the café for the soup. I was not sure if I would like the soup, especially after the horrifying experience eating a local salad specialty in Florence last year. The waitress kindly poured a small cup of the soup for me to have a sample before deciding. Oh man, I love the German-speaking Swiss; my experience with them has been really good! Anyway, the soup tasted like mushroom soup, but it has got some barleys inside. I liked it and ordered one bowl for 7.50 CHF.
L-R: Kornmarkt; Hirschenplatz
L-R: Weinmarkt; tongue-twister: Bundner Gersten Suppe
My adventure then continued with a promenade along Lake Luzern. Took a little rest by the lake, ate my biscuits and watched the world go by around me. Then I headed towards the Hofkirche (the main cathedral in the town) and for the first time in so longgggg, I was glad to find a church. I guess everyone can guess the reason: I can "thaw" myself inside. =D (Michelle will kill me for saying this =P).
L-R: weird street artist at Lake Luzern; it's snowball time
L-R: Hofkirche & the interior
I continued my way to the Lion Monument which was a stone sculpture to commemorate the Swiss soldiers who lost their lives during World War 2. I took my hats off to the artist as the lion's facial expression was as good as alive; it looked as if it was in total agony. I then visited the Glacier Museum located just next to the Lion Monument. I liked this museum as it was not the usual art museum I had gotten bored of. It housed original excavation works from hundreds of years ago. It also showed how Luzern had evolved all the way from 2 million years ago. At that point, Luzern was apparently a palm beach before the Ice Age set in and gave birth to the Young Alps. At the end of the Ice Age, some glaciers remain and that partly explains the current topography in Luzern.
L-R: the Lion Monument; close-up & look at its agony
L-R: seashell sandstone; pothole
L-R: ripple sandstone; palm leaf sandstone
L-R: artist impression of Luzern 2 million years ago; Multiple Andi (which one is the real me?)
As usual, the sky got dark before 6 pm and almost every shop had ended the day. On my way to find food, I dropped by the Bachman confiserie which sold a wide range of Swiss chocs...droolz... Anyway, at first I had thought that perhaps it would be easier to find food in Luzern since it is a bigger town afterall. I was very mistaken as even the Coop supermarket was closed then. I walked around searching for food...the hungry man was in desperate need for food, but all I could find were extremely expensive restaurants with prices starting from 20+ CHF. I only had 20 CHF in wallet then and it was supposed to last me one more day till I reached Grenoble. I walked and walked...through the big alleys..through the small ones and finally found a kebab stall. Heng ah. I paid 9.50 CHF for a doner kebab and made my way back to the hotel.
L-R: the two chocolates I bought (the chili one was not spicy at all!)
L-R: More yummilicious chocolates
L-R: a million dollar question: what time was it?; Chapel Bridge at night
The next few hours were spent chilling in the empty bar (it looked more like a living room to me). I drank a bottle of beer, watched Euro 2008 qualifier between Italy and Scotland and talked to this Indian man who was having a job training in Basel. And guess where he came from? Singapore! He is an expat working for a Singapore company, but unfortunately he disliked Singaporeans. He told me that he had been working with people from all over the world (he had worked in Ireland and Berlin before), and he had not had trouble working with the locals until he came to Singapore. In short, he found Singaporeans unfriendly. He added that the Filipinos and Indonesians are really nice people though. =P Most of the time I was just listening to him talk and nodding my head in (dis)agreement. LOL. I then talked to my roommate who came from Perth for an hour before going to lala land.
L-R: Raj & I; Damien & I
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