Some places make you feel lucky to live there.
Some places spoil you, so other places just don’t seem to compare.
Living in Zurich, with its rivers, its lakeside parks and promenades, the lovely hills around it and the cobblestone streets of the Altstadt, can sometimes make me lazy, make me forget that this country has many more beautiful places I haven’t seen yet, other beautiful cities that may too have lakes, rivers, hills, but will also have lots to explore of their own right.
Lucerne is definitely one of them. I have only been there a few times, usually during the Fasnacht, when the crowds and noise worked as a distraction and the celebration stole the attention from what is truly a lovely scenery.
I don’t know Lucerne really, nor did I do much research before visiting, but in the same way a beautiful painting is still so whether you know the name of the artist or not… in that same way, the effect a view has on you is sometimes all you need to know about it.
Truth be told, I didn’t enjoy my visit to Lucerne as much as I should have. Though it was a Sunday, they were doing some roadwork and the noise and dust were an unpleasant distraction. It took me a while before I managed to tune it out, but by the time we started walking down the Rathausquai and the Chapel Bridge I had warmed up to it and was ready to explore more, like the Spreuerbrücke further upriver, and the old town, usually my favorite part about visiting European cities.
But my family was ready to drive back, so part one of my Lucerne experience had to end here. But I had already decided I’d be back – probably not before my trip to Sardinia, but definitely before the summer is over. And truth be told, I might decide to go back on my own – no distractions this time, just me and Lucerne.
Tschüss Luzern, see you very soon.
Some days also seem made to give things a second chance. Sometime I’ll tell you about Baden, where these photos were taken. I’ll tell you why I could never warm up to it, why I usually avoid it.
