Triebschen

While we are back at the hotel this might be a good time to show photos of our room there.

Carol uses her computer to check up on Wall Street and her e mail. As you can see it is a very spacious room.

Although we had our rental car parked in the garage we decided to use public transportation to go to Wagner's former home-Triebshen. Carol is always keen to explore using buses, trains and trams and in Europe they are clean and efficiently run. The bus station was only 10 minutes walk away too.
At the front desk they told us which trams/buses we could use to get there. It was only about 2 miles away.

The station is at the far end of this bridge. We took a bus.

The house is set on a wooded promontory looking over the lake and was a quiet place where Wagner could write his opera "Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg". King Ludwig II was still sponsoring him at this time.

I used the camcorder when we were inside the museum. We spent much of our time in his study where his piano was set up-facing away from the beautiful lake view so he could focus on the music.

If we visit again I will use my camera more. Lucerne was one of those places we will go back to someday.

So all I have from our one hour visit, looking at his manuscripts and photos, death mask and hand casts, his clothes and the paintings and furniture he surrounded himself with, is the exterior of the house.

And the rear

And the view from down by the lake

The view from the water's edge

We sat at the front of the house as there are tables and chairs there for visitors to enjoy the sun and there is a refreshment stand where beers were sold-so I was happy!

Back to Lucerne on the bus...

A view of our hotel from the bus station- it's the building with the tall red flag

The (then) recently built Performing Arts Center, near the bus station. The train station is underground and where I would get my early morning espresso.

I am sure we took a nap after our sojourn. It was hot in the street but cool in the room. We had no major plans for the evening except to have a nice relaxed dinner by the Reuss river in a restaurant we had seen on the Rick Steves show.

Once we were awake, showered and refreshed, we set out to find a nearby monument which honors the mercenaries of the famous Swiss Guard who died protecting Marie Antoinette when the French Revolution took place in 1792.  It was carved into the rock in 1821 and the cavity is 30 ft wide by 18 ft tall.

After this it was time for a leisurely walk towards the restaurant. We crossed the covered bridge

It was cooler by the river and the sun would soon be setting which is why I am wearing my jacket. The restaurant was called Nix.
Good service and food. They had a chalkboard menu of specials written in German but some of the words I didn't understand so the waiter translated and I ended up with some beautiful flavorful slices of roasted veal shoulder with sauerkraut and sautéed potatoes. Carol had some pike, fresh from the lake, with some delicious white asparagus (spargel).

The river at this point is a fast moving torrent so it is very loud and you'll have to speak up to converse-but it is a mesmerizing sight.

We sat here enjoying our various courses until it became dark. I continued shooting with the camcorder as we planned to walk the little back streets and quiet squares after dinner.

All along the river there are restaurants and bars but once you step one block away from the water the streets are narrow, dark and quiet- and safe. Lucerne is a place to relax and take it slow. At night, with the lights from the hotels and restaurants shining on the shimmering water it is magical.

Around 10.30 we returned to the hotel for another good night's sleep, after stopping for a few minutes to listen to the man playing in the piano bar. People were relaxing with drinks on the long terrace just in front of the hotel.

We had an adventure planned for the next morning. We were going to the top of Mt. Pilatus!