Sunshine on the Alps’ New Snowfall

August 30, 2023

Dry riding day

When we woke up this morning the clouds had lifted some and by the time we finished breakfast the sun was shining on the tops of the snow covered alps. They are projecting a high of 66 today.

Snow covered Alps in the distance beyond the Sarnersee

This is our last day of riding in Switzerland and we are headed for Luzern this morning. About 21 miles and very little elevation gain today. A very relaxed pace with no climbing challenges today.

Ready for our last day of riding in Switzerland

We rode through a few smaller towns and along four lakes today ending up on lake Luzern.

Sarnen, just down the road from our hotel in Wilen. Very cute village.

Today’s ride was not through the bucolic Swiss valleys that we have become used to but instead many of the miles were along the lakes shorelines . As we got closer to the city of Lucerne there were more buildings, more cars, and more people. We were still following bike route 9. Their engineers have done a really good job of keeping bikes separated from cars. Along one section of highway the bike path was a separated wooden structure suspended over the lake.

In one section of the approach to Lucerne we were riding along a very busy highway but we and pedestrian traffic were separated from the highway traffic by a metal railing

We arrived in Luzern our destination for today. Bike route 9 took us into the heart of the old town and close to our hotel.

After checking in and saying good by to our trusty bikes we headed out for lunch and a walking tour of the old town.

The old city wall and one of many towers

Luzern seems to be a city of fountains many of the little squares have fountains

One of two pedestrians bridges known for their historical paintings.

From Luzern Tourismus, “A major part of the Chapel Bridge caught fire in the night of 18 August 1993. All that could be saved were the two bridgeheads and the Water Tower. The remainder of the bridge was rebuilt in a record eight months, allowing the «new» Chapel Bridge to be reopened on 14 April 1994. Never before has Central Switzerland experienced such an incident as that which befell the emblem of an entire country and moved so many people around the world. When all is said and done, the Chapel Bridge – an incredible 650 years old – served not only in its early days as a means of crossing the river on foot, but also as part of the towns fortifications.”

“Just as significant as the bridge itself was the fascinating cycle of paintings which adorned it and lent it the requisite depth of character. The chronicler of the town of Lucerne, Renward Cysat (1545–1614), spent years studying the history of both ancient Switzerland and Christendom and formulating a concept for the pictorial decoration. The bridge was to describe how great good fortune had guided the many accomplishments of the Old Confederacy. Since it proved impossible to fund the venture from the public purse, well-to-do citizens were called upon to sponsor one or more of the panels. Cysat finalised his ideas in 1611, whereupon work could begin. The pictures were first restored in 1646. In 1726, the town had to appoint a watchman to keep an eye on the bridge and prevent youths from constantly vandalising the pictures. Prior to the fire in 1993, 147 of the original 158 panels were still in existence; 110 of them were directly affected by the fire that destroyed the bridge, of which some two-thirds either went up in smoke or suffered severe damage.”

Tomorrow we explore more of the area around Luzern before heading off to our next Bike tour.

Today's ride: 22 miles (35 km)
Total: 539 miles (867 km)

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