Luzern

We woke up in the morning and checked out of our hotel. Then we headed to the train station to catch a train to Luzern. It was about a one hour train and I was surprised how much of it was underground. When we were just outside of Luzern, we passed a buoyed lake (for crew races). It made me wonder if the Swiss National Team practices here...

When we got off the train, we were in the heart of downtown, right next to the water.

We began our search for our hostel. It wasn't too difficult to find... However, once we got there, we discoered that check-in time is between 4pm-10pm. We ended up talking to one of the attendants, and he pointed out that they had storage lockers on the second floor (which was a relief because all the lockers on the first floor were full).

After putting all our stuff into lockers, we did a quick tour around town. Here are a few interesting points:

The mill bridge. A portion of this bridge burnt down not too long ago and was rebuilt. I was surprised at how quickly the river was moving. There is a stake dam that can be adjusted through the year to control the water flow, insuring that smaller villages down the river do not flood.

The Jesuit Church.

From here, we hiked up to the old city wall. You can see the entire city from the wall.

There is also a bell tower on the wall (several, actually). We climbed up to the top and were able to see the actual bell. On the way back down, right after we had exited the bell tower, the bell rang. Shortly after, you could hear the bells in the other towers across the city. The bell in this tower rings one minute before all the other towers.

Another stop we made was the lion. This is a massive carving into the side of a hillside. There's a reflecting pool in front, as well.

The last major stop for the day was the KKL museum. I really liked the design of this building. It's located right next to the lake. Apparently, the architect wanted to build the museum in the middle of the lake. But, he was unable to do so... So, instead, he brought the lake into the building. There are several small pools of water that run through the first floor. They start outside the building and then move into it.

That's all I have for now. Interlaken tomorrow!