Lucerne, Einsiedeln, Interlacken, and Bern, Switzerland

Hi again.  Brad here. Yet more Switzerland.  After a great time in Zurich and the surrounding area, we hit the road and drove across the country, from Zurich to Lucern to Bern to Geneva.  Switzerland is simply a stunningly beautiful.

Having left Zurich, our first stop was the city of Einsiedeln.  Here we visited Kloster Einsiedeln.  This is a Benedictine Abbey, and is said to be "one of the finest examples of Baroque architecture in the world."  It goes back to 835, at which time St. Meinrad chose this spot for his hermitage (="einsiedeln").  A monastery was founded here in 934.

We walked through the city to get lunch.  It was fun to see snow!

The drive from Einsiedeln to Lucerne was very pretty.  I could not help but think of The Shire!

We spent one night in Lucerne.  It is on the western shore of Lake Lucerne.

This is a view looking west--this water connects to Lake Lucerne.

Caleb here with Chapel Bridge in the background.

Caleb here in on the markets in the city.

The wonderful Dianne on the Chapel Bridge.

We visited the Lowendenkmal--the Lion Monument.  This figure of a dying lion memorializes Swiss Guards (during the reign of Louis VXI of France), who defended the Palais des Tuileries, in Paris.  The Palais des Tuileres was being attacked by revolutionaries.

From Lucern we drove across country.  We drove through Interlacken.  Here is Interlacken as we head on to Bern.

After Interlacken, we headed to Bern.  The children and I (Brad) enjoyed a few hours walking through the city of Bern, the capitol of Switzerland.  Here the children are in front of the capitol building itself.

I love pics of the children walking through the streets of these beautiful cities.

The children in front of Bern's gothic cathedral--Munster St. Vinzenz.

The children are here on the eastern edge of the old part of the city--overlooking the river, near Nydeggbrucke.

Too much fun!