My first day in Switzerland is full of drama and excitement. I land in Zurich and travel to Lucerne. This magical Swiss city has three things: the old town, Lake Lucerne and the Swiss Alps and is located in central Switzerland. Find out why Lucerne is a must stop on any Switzerland itinerary!
"I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers," is a quote by Blanche DuBois from the play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams.
And I feel that it’s somewhat fitting for me, on my first day in Lucerne in Switzerland. I have wanted to visit the country ever since I was six years old and I won a reading competition. The prize was a copy of "Heidi" by Johanna Spyri. It ignited an interest in me of all things Swiss. My mouth watered when I read about young Heidi coveting freshly baked soft dinner rolls and all I wanted to do was roam the Swiss Alps and eat the soft bread.
I have arrived in Zurich after two flights and join the line at Zurich immigration. The line is long but it moves quickly and steadily. The immigration officer asks me for my skincare secrets (after 2 long flights, I think she's being sarcastic but apparently she was sincere). I find myself trying to find my way to the train to Lucerne. I look confused and a woman asks me where I need to go with a gentle smile. I tell her I'm looking for platform 3 and she points me towards the lift there. I get into the lift and another woman gets in and I apologise for taking up most of the room in the tiny lift with my bags. She laughs and says not to worry. I ask her if this is the train to Lucerne and she tells me it is and she’s headed that way too.
We strike up a conversation and I ask her the first class carriages are. She points towards the carriages marked "1" on a train departing. We wait right next to them but when the train pulls up, the order of carriages is reversed and first class is all the way down the other end of the platform. With no time to spare, we jump on the train in a second class carriage. "I will get you to the first class carriage," she says, "I feel like I’ve misled you". "Not at all," I assure her as I know I would not have even known which carriages were first class without her and second class seems perfectly fine.
At the next big stop she checks with the conductors and we both enter the first class train car. "I’ll upgrade my ticket," she says and she brings me the upstairs area with more of a view. We introduce each other, her name is Lisse-Lotte and on the 1 hour train ride she gives me a lovely intro to Lucerne pointing out the highlights, even offering me one of her smoothies. When we arrive at Lucerne, her husband picks her up and she asks him to take my bags to the hotel and they drop me off. Two hugs later I have made myself my first friend in Switzerland.
Hotel Waldstätterhof's location is fantastic and you can see it's pink and white brick façade when you exit the train station. It is a three star hotel but hotels in Switzerland don't come cheap. There are six floors and my room #408 is simple but with most needs met. It is comfortable and clean and there's a nice little balcony that overlooks the street below. There is a good sized safe, coffee machine, a complimentary bottle of sparkling water and air conditioning. One of the things that I did like is that they provide free city wifi that you can use throughout most of downtown Lucerne.
The king single bed is comfortable with one pillow but the shower is on the smaller side. There are Molten and Brown products and a coffee machine but no fridge. And at night when you want a bit of privacy, they have a button that lowers the outdoor metal shutter giving you darkness for a good sleep in. I didn't realise this until I called down for a bathrobe (they don't have these) thinking that I was going to wake up to bright sun streaming in.
Determined to get onto Swiss time zone I have a shower, get changed and go and explore. My new friend Lisse-Lotte tells me that Lucerne is very small and easy to get around and I will easily see most of the highlights. It's Sunday afternoon and that means a lot of the old town is closed but I still enjoy wandering the cobblestone streets and watching everyone enjoying afternoon drinks at the riverside restaurants and cafes.
I walk towards Château Gütsch for a gorgeous view of Lucerne below. Usually you can walk up the stairs to Château Gütsch but a woman tells me that the walking trail has been closed for the last few months and the only way is through the Gütsch funicular that takes 90 seconds to reach the Château 90 metres/300feet up top. The hotel is a bit remote but offers a beautiful view of the Musegg Wall and a view of the Old Town. It's worth the 25 minute walk if you want to get the classic Lucerne photo.
The three official languages in Switzerland at a national level are German, French and Italian although the fourth official language Romansch is used to those that speak it. Dinner tonight is at Bellini Locanda Ticinese an Italian Swiss restaurant that specialises in food from the Italian-speaking Ticino region in southern Switzerland. Switzerland is actually a collection of 26 cantons or administrative regions. Each canton is a state within the Swiss Confederation with its own constitution and laws. Ticino is a mountainous Swiss canton on the Italian border and it is a mix of Mediterranean and Mountain cuisines. Typical Ticinese dishes include Alpine cheeses, charcuterie, pasta, polenta and risotto.
Bellini Locanda Ticinese is part of the Continental Park Hotel and just 2 minutes walk from my hotel. There's an indoor section which is for people who are having the tasting menu but outdoor right next to the sun dappled park, is an al fresco area for those wanting to dine a la carte. Prices for food in Switzerland are high but the quality is also excellent and the servings are very generous. I start with a half serve of the characterie and cheese, which in truth is enough for two people. This features half a dozen types of salamis from Ticino, Bergell and Northern Italy including Salametto di Capra, pancetta, prosciutto and Salametto di Asinello and the Ticinese version of mortadella that is very different from the Bolognese style mortadella (more like a speckled salami).
Not knowing how large the platter was, I also added on the cheeses to the platter. They are proud of their Alpine cheeses like "Robiei" from Val Bavona and "Piora," dubbed the king of Ticino cheeses. The latter is made at an altitude of 2,000 metres/6,561feet in the Alp Piora above the Leventina valley and is known for its unique flavour, in part due to the cattle grazing on high altitude grasslands. There's also the Zincarlin della Valle di Muggio, a distinctly flavoured cheese made with cow's raw milk infused with cracked pepper and aged for two to three months and washed with white wine. This platter comes with their housemate focaccia and the fig mustard reminds me of wasabi honey. The home-made rye bread is excellent and I prefer this with the charcuterie over the focaccia.
My main is a specialty that Bellini Locanda Ticinese have been making for 51 years. Malfatti is like a spinach and ricotta gnocchi and here it is served with either ricotta or sausage. I go with the luganighetta sausage made with pork, lard, salt, pepper, spices, garlic and Ticino wine. Malfatti means "badly made" in Italian and it refers to be handmade appearance of these inch long fingers of vivid green gnocchi made with Ticino ricotta and served with chopped up sausage, diced tomatoes, coriander, mint, pine nuts and shaved parmesan cheese. I also love the use of fresh herbs like mint and coriander stems to lighten it up and this is absolutely delicious. The serve is too large for me and again I can see a couple sharing both plates and being very satisfied.
It gets dark quite late at the moment at 9pm so even after an early dinner it feels like mid afternoon. One of the main visitor drawcards in Lucerne is Chapel Bridge. This flower lined bridge reaches across the Reuss river. The Chapel Bridge and water tower are very uniquely designed and is one of Europe’s oldest and longest covered wooden bridges built around 1360. While most people look out while walking through the bridge as the Reuss River sparkles in the spring sunlight, make sure to look up to see the art on the ceiling depicting scenes of Swiss life.
A breathless girl stops me and hands me a small pochette that had fallen out of my backpack along with my rail ticket for the week. Usually careful with my things, I cannot believe that I dropped them. Then I pause realising that she could have easily used the rail ticket which is worth around $1600AUD. It was a matter again of the kindness of strangers.
So tell me Dear Reader, are you ever touched by the kindness of strangers?
Coming up next: an unforgettable day on the Swiss Alps.
NQN was a guest of Tourism Switzerland but all opinions remain her own.
Hotel Waldstaetterhof
Zentralstrasse 4, 6003 Luzern, Switzerland
Phone: +41 41 227 12 71
https://hotel-waldstaetterhof.ch/en/
Reader Comments
Loading comments...Add Comment