Switzerland 2024

Lucerne 2024

This is something you see a LOT of in Switzerland... green, lakes and rivers and mountains

Our train from Venice eventually took Rob and myself to Lucerne, Switzerland for a 3 night stay and what a beautiful city it is, well organised, beautiful lake, high mountains nearby, clean and historical!Lucerne is famous for retaining many medieval structures within it.

Lucerne is on a lake so we enjoyed it, the nearby
Pilatus mountain and the city itself

We elected to stay in the older section of Lucerne, which meant walking from the railway station, along the edge of the lake of the same name and crossing a normal bridge… more on that later, but stopping constantly to take more photos.

The city wraps itself around one end of the lake of the same name

The water is so clear and the buildings very beautiful

This tower was outside our accomodation

We were tempted back out again at night, again taking yet more photos because this city is just so glorious to look at, at any time of the day or night.

It was just as stunning at night

Many buildings are covered
with ornate decorations

Some old timber bridges are very prominent in Lucerne... more on them later

For our first full day in Lucerne, we caught a bus which was very easy, to take cable cars to the top of Pilatus Mountain overlooking the city.  It took 3 different cable cars to achieve the last stop and as we climbed higher, the views just expanded further across the alps behind the city and of Lucerne itself.

We also saw the toboggan ride on wheels people were enjoying down part of the mountain, before being towed back to the start point by tow rope… looked like a lot of fun.

On the first of 3 cable car runs to reach the top

View of Lucerne from the first cable car section

At each cable car change point, there was something for visitors to do and when we reached the top, there was quite a large complex consisting of a hotel, restaurant, cafe and multiple view points to walk to.

People enjoying themselves part way up the mountain

Last cable used to reach the summit
with Lucerne in the background

As we alighted from the last cable car, we soon realised how steep this mountain was with sheer drops on multiple sides and were surprised to see a mountain goat walking around on the edge of it right at the top with us. 

Mountain goat looking for water
dripping off the concrete walls

We certainly enjoyed all the view points, at times having to wait for the cloud below us to blow through, before enjoying more of the vistas.

Waiting for the clouds to clear

There are distant mountains to view from most vantage points

There is a hotel and cafes at the summit of Pilatus Mountain

An alternative to cable cars for reaching the summit, is to take a cogwheel train, which we saw climbing up the side of the mountain from a different direction.  There were 2 adventurous people who used hang gliders to descend off the mountain which kept everyone intrigued before they disappeared behind the mountain.

The alternate cogwheel train for reaching the summit

Hang glider leaving the summit

Back down off the mountain, the rest of our time in Lucerne was dedicated to further exploration around the city, mainly by walking and also taking a short boat cruise on the lake.

One of the views whilst cruising on the lake

Very different views from the lake itself

Lucerne is famous for 2 old timber bridges, one called the Chapel Bridge, constructed around 1360, which is adorned as you walk through it, with 62 timber panel paintings fixed to the trusses of the roof.  It is a covered bridge and about 200 metres long, making it the 2^nd longest covered bridge in Europe.

The Chapel Bridge by day

Rob resting during our walk through the bridge

Some of the paintings up in the roof

One of the paintings throughout the bridge

There is a 2^nd smaller bridge called the Chaff Bridge, built in 1408 which is 81 metres long and takes its name from the chaff which was initially dumped into the Reuss River from the mill which stands dormant nearby.

Section of the Chaff Bridge

The Reuse River entering the lake and church in the background

Not far away from the Chaff Bridge is a catholic church and we have seen a lot of churches in our time, but this one inside was quite exquisite for its simple beautiful style rather than the obscene wealth some of them put on display.

Very elegant decorations inside the Jesuitenkirche HI. Franz Xaver

There is plenty to do in the city, but we restricted ourselves to doing the Musegg Wall walk with its 9 towers as drizzling rain fell, but again well worth it.  Some of the walk was along the base of the wall and some was on the wall itself.  Built in the 14^th century, they were designed to defend the city and each tower is unique in design, one being the Zuitturm or clock tower.

Decorated Zuitturm clock tower

Disused clock mechanism on display

Walking atop the old city wall

Another location which got our attention was the Lion Monument, a sculpture in a rock wall of a dying lion, commemorating the 680 Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 in Paris during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace.

Lion Monument remembering the fallen Swiss Guards

The rest of our time in Lucerne is hopefully captured via the additional photos found in the link below.

CLICK HERE for more photos of Lucerne

So now this is when things get a little convoluted in that after Lucerne we travelled to France to meet Australian friends Julie & Pete, to do the next part of this section of the trip, something we planned for 2020, but was cancelled due to covid.

Because we did parts of both France and Switzerland with them, will cover the Swiss section now and the France bit as a whole.  Apologies for this sidebar explanation, but may put into context who these ‘new’ people are.

Our meeting point was in Strasbourg (more of this in the French post), and from there we took trains to the highly renowned town of St Moritz which was meant to involve 3 trains but one was cancelled after entering Switzerland.  New routes were soon found by the railway, but now involved 4 changes but we arrived 1 hour earlier!

St Moritz

St Moritz was somewhat underwhelming, in part because there was no snow except on some nearby mountains we could barely see due to rain and low cloud, significant building work going on everywhere due to it being mid season and a lack of real energy in the town.  Most likely during winter, its very different but since it was only an overnight stay, it was what it was.

When we arrived into St Moritz the alps were 'hiding'

Whilst some buildings were okay... St Moritz was missing energy

During our walk back downhill to the railway station, more scenery was presenting itself with more of a large lake, fog/mist slowly rising off it and behind the lake beautiful snow capped mountains were revealed as the cloud and fog kept lifting.  It was great to see considering the main reason for being in Switzerland being a trip on The Glacier Express.

The rising mist reveal more beautiful scenery

The alps were revealed as the mist and fog burnt off

The Glacier Express

Now we like train travel and you would be excused for perhaps thinking, not another train trip but this is regarded as one of THE train trips of the world.

On the Glacier Express

The Glacier Express is also tagged as ‘the slowest fast train’ in the world, travelling 290 kms in 8 hours through the Swiss Alps, between St Moritz in our case and Zermatt... both located in the Swiss Alps

Our Glacier Express route within Switzerland

To put it very simply… it was stunning!

During the trip we passed many small villages nestled in the alps...

...and there were vivid colours!

Farmers get great views also

Throughout the day we also enjoyed the company of some great passengers and everyone was very respectful of enabling others to have time at key windows to take photographs, especially the windows that opened.

Will let photos with their own explanation tell its own story.

Higher in the Alps amongst the snow and ice

Yet another village way below us

Nice reflection high in the Alps

If you ever plan to do the Glacier Express, we strongly recommend you book a ticket using the ‘Man in Seat 61’ website via this link - https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/glacier-express.htm - as it will literally save you hundreds of $$’s.

Zermatt

The train finished in Zermatt at an elevation of 1620 metres, another famous Swiss Alps town and it was great for another overnight stay, lively with lots of people enjoying themselves.

One the views of Zermatt

New tourists wandering their way through Zermatt

We were picked up from the railway station by the hotel in a very small electric vehicle which barely took all of us and our luggage as normal cars are not allowed in the town.  It is quite spread out along a valley and during the season it must really buzz.

Our EV transport to the hotel

Zermatt is also famous as the home of a very famous mountain called the Matterhorn, which dominates the background looking like a very jagged tooth and 3,000 people on average, attempt to climb its 4,478 metres each year.

On average, 15 people die each year during their attempt to climb this mountain and over 500 total people have died, some falling into the glacier at the bottom of the mountain, their bodies never recovered!

Zermatt's cemetery where some of the
mountain climbers are buried

During our visit, the famous mountain was shrouded in cloud at its top, teasing everyone waiting to see its jagged top, which thankfully did appear for us as we were leaving next morning back to the railway station.  It is a very impressive and dominant mountain.

View from Zermatt of the Matterhorn
shrouded in cloud

Eventually the Matterhorn came
out to say hello

Again to keep this post short and hoping the photos tell their own story, please click on the link below to see photos of our time on the wonderful Glacier Express through the alps.

CLICK HERE for a few more photos of The Glacier Express trip

So by now you know we spent time in parts of France with Julie and Pete, so for more on that if interested, keep your eyes open for our France 2024 post.

Go well!

Italy 2024

Rome

Landing into Rome’s airport meant immediately immersing myself into surges of people trying to get somewhere or anywhere.  This was going to be a real test for me as a ‘directional dyslexic’… meaning, I have no sense of direction at all!

So I managed to get myself from the airport to the citys main railway station, find the bag storage place and store them until being able to enter the accomodation later.

Have been to Rome before and really liked the city, but this time being here alone, the goal was just to visit just a few iconic locations and the rest of 3 full days, simply do a lot of walking around this very historical city. Using the GPSmyCity app a little, but the rest of the time following my nose and immersing myself into the feel of this place.  So with bags stored, off I went.

Below is the combination of walking, tram or train areas explored throughout this Rome visit.

Rome is a large city and the red tracks consist mainly
of my walking exploration around it

It soon became obvious the city was busy with tourists and so early in the season, it was crazy with queues at famous places like the Colosseum, or big hordes of people trying to get close enough to get their ‘iconic’ copy of a photo they have seen on social media or worse, do umpteen poses in front of something whilst a friend photographs them.

The Colosseum early morning and crowds already queuing

When we were last in a city Like Rome, there were no mobile phones, or social media or influencers!

The crowds of people everywhere in Rome in May, usually regarded as part of the ‘shoulder’ season was nuts and it included just trying to walk around randomly through the city, people, people everywhere.

Aaaah, the people taking photos of other people with a bit of scenery
behind them... just smile, move left a little, not quite right... do it again!!

So if you’re thinking of going to Rome… go in winter and in a lot of the photos, hopefully you will get some sense of the abundant crowds!

During my walking, did manage to pass by some of those iconic locations in Rome like the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and The Spanish Steps, took some photos and moved on, leaving the ‘throngs’ to enjoy themselves.

The Trevi Fountain

The Spanish Steps

There was however one place i wanted to visit again and spend extended time in, so bought tickets online to avoid long queues and also paid for headphones in order to learn more about this amazing building… The Pantheon, a real favourite of mine.

My favourite building in Rome... The Pantheon

So a tiny bit of this buildings history:

• its construction was completed around 128 AD
• was originally designed as a temple to Roman gods and it later became a Christian church and remains so to present times
• it is famous for its massive internal dome measuring 142 feet in diameter and still one of the largest unsupported domes ever built.  In the middle of the dome is an ‘oculus’ or hole 27 feet in width which lets in light and rain.
• it is still not fully understood how the Romans built the Pantheon’s dome
• several Monarchs are buried inside as is the famous painter Raphael.

So for this visit it was a slow wander around inside the building learning more about its past and admiring it plus learning about some of its surprising current activity. 

              

Each year, on the 50^th day after Easter, a mass is held in the Pantheon and afterwards, fireman who have climbed outside to the oculus, pour thousands of red rose petals down through the opening forming a shower of petals onto the occupants below.

Inside the Pantheon with its massive dome ceiling and oculus at its centre

The grave inside of a royal

Raphael's grave

The other sole location paid to visit and explore, was the Roman Forum, originally the centre of day to day life in ancient Rome and the scene of public meetings, law courts, and gladiatorial combats in republican times, and back then, was lined with shops and open-air markets.  

A section of a large area called The Roman Forum

It was also used for social events and gatherings, religious events, elections and there were a range of venues and spaces built within the forum to accommodate such a diverse range of activities.

The buildings in the forum vary based on their original purpose

More of the buildings in The Roman Forum

The total space is large and diverse, so it was a matter of following whichever path beckoned to discover something different or new.  Along these lines were the numerous marble columns and the surprise was they were not all solid marble, some were made out of small bricks then covered with something looking like marble.

Columns made out of small bricks in the forum

Rome is the sort of city where around the next corner could be a new surprise or discovery like coming across a large group of people surrounding a small coffee shop in the back streets.  Happened to be one of the older ones in Rome with a great reputation.

Creative timber decorations

Wondered how old this artwork was slowly
disappearing on the side of a random building

Interesting decorations on the side of a garden wall

Few notable discoveries was a great location on the Tiber River running through Rome i revisited to take night photos of St Peters Basilica we first saw 20 years ago.

St Peters Basilica during the day...

...and St Peters Basilica glowing beautifully at night

Another accidental discovery was the Column of Marcus Aurelius’ which tells the story of the emperor of the same name’s successful military campaigns against the Quadi across the Danube between 172 and 175 CE depicted by the scenes spiralling up the column.

The Column of Marcus Aurelius

The detailed carvings depicting what happened on the
Column of Marcus Aurelius

Also happened upon the Piazza Navona with its huge open area originally used for competitions including chariot races, built around 70 AD.  Now it has restaurants down one side, a church opposite plus 2 beautiful fountains located towards either end.

The Piazza Navona

There were so many things that captured my eye so rather than try to list them and bore you, simply click on the link below for more photos of my wanderings throughout Rome but it was very enjoyable to simply walk through Rome, taking my time to really look at it, despite the constant pinball style interactions with other tourists.

CLICK HERE for a few more photos of Rome

Venice

Rob and Kerry in the meantime were nearing the end of their Med cruise and the plan was for me to catch a high speed train to from Rome to Venice, arriving a day before them, sorting out access to our accomodation and stocking up the fridge with necessities like Prosecco, cheeses and so on before they arrived.

Arriving into Venice via vaporetto on the Grand Canal

The famous Rialto Bridge

View down the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge

Again, we had visited Venice in 2004 during an era without mobile phones, apps and more apps… including Google Maps and during that visit we spent more time getting lost in this fascinating city.

Below are route maps of either where we walked or travelled by boat during our time in Venice, including visiting a few of the outer islands.

We did a lot of walking within Venice and a boat trip to a few of the nearby islands

They duly arrived by vaporetto (water ‘bus’) near the Rialto Bridge, the big curved one usually shown in documentaries or films. It was raining steadily when they arrived and overnight torrential rain fell for hours, turning some of those narrow alleys into short term small creeks but it cleared by the morning and we were ready to get out and about.

Some alleys are very narrow

Gondola cruising the narrow canal(s)

Venice is truly a walking city in the main and with the abundance of people visiting, we were soon in conger lines of people weaving our way through those very narrow ‘streets’ or alley ways.

We were always contending with a large number of tourists
everywhere including when trying to catch a vaporetto

The beauty of Venice is there is so much to see both big and small when rounding any corner, interesting things in windows or in one case where we simply followed some people who disappeared down a very narrow little laneway and ended up viewing a fabulous Palace with 15th century spiral staircase.  You could walk anywhere within Venice and be enthralled!

The hidden spiral 15th centurybuilding called
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo

There are of course some notable destinations, one being San Marco Square which is huge and with the Basilica San Marco, or Torro dell’Orologio (mechanical clock), a very dominant cathedral tower and lots of restaurants or cafes.

Basilica San Marco

Outside decorations on Basilica San Marco

Toro del'Orologio mechanical clock

The Massive Piaza San Marco

We ventured to the square first for a coffee at Caffe’ Florian which opened in 1720 and is the oldest cafe in Italy and the 2^nd oldest in Europe.  Inside its very luxurious and happens to now hold the record for the most expensive coffee we have ever had, but it was worth it.

Entry into Cafe Florian

Enjoying good Italian coffee in Cafe Florian

We had arrived into San Marco Square early and managed to survive a shorter queue to enter the Basilica, originally consecrated in 1094 after being built between 829-836 AD.  It is always fascinating to enjoy the skills of the builders of these very old structures.

Vestibule area in Basilica San Marco

Inside the Basilica San Marco with a few others

We ventured back to San Marco Square during our time in Venice for some night photography and were welcomed by the now still regular flooding of the square which lead to some interesting reflection rich photos.

Basilica San Marco reflecting in flood waters

Reflection of building surrounding the Piazza San Marco

Night shot of the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge

Whilst we did a lot of it, it wasn’t all walking as we managed to score a free boat ride through Venice and out to the island of Murano, famous for glass blowing, provided we visited one of their ‘shops’ and watched their artisans at work.

Rob & Kerry enjoying the boat ride to Murano island

Artisan glass blower of Murano

We were now on an island and had to get our way back, so eventually managed to get onto a tourist packed vaporetto to the quaint island of Burano, famous for its very colourful buildings lining the canals throughout it and delightful to stroll throughout.

The canals and colourful buildings in Burano

Very colourful in Burano

It was time for us to continue on into Europe for part 2. of this trip and for Kerry to head back home, so after a very early vaperetto trip back to the railway station we parted company, boarded our train and continued on.

Thank you Venice for being a photographers delight and if you would like to see more photos of this beautiful city, simply click the link below.

CLICK HERE for more photos of Venice

More about part 2. of 2024 in Europe to follow so until then, go well!