Lucerne's Hidden Farm Behind the Wall

It's my final day in Lucerne before heading off to Zurich and today I am visiting an urban farm in the middle of Lucerne where pigs, Scottish highlands cows and goats roam. After that it's walking along the Musegg wall, the 14th century wall designed to protect Lucerne and who now offers visitors beautiful views of Lucerne below. And I finish with a delicious vegan meal in an unexpected place!

"This is Louis and that is Pablo, they're mini pigs," says my guide Nina. I am at Hinter Musegg farm. The words Hinter Musegg means "behind the Musegg wall" and that's exactly where this 2.4 hectare farm is located right within the city limits.

This location has been a farm for the last 400 years and has had many owners. Some of these were ahead of their time. During the mid 19th century the farm was owned by the famous Schweizerhof hotel. The farm produced meat and vegetables for the hotel's guests but this fell apart after World War II.

In 1945, the city of Lucerne bought the farm and leased it out. In 2000, Pia and Walter Fassbind leased the land. Five years ago the city gave them a 60 year building permit. One of the first things they did was switch to organic farming. The dilapidated buildings needed renovation and they raised money through their nonprofit foundation.

Now there's a small menagerie of animals including cows, mini goats and alpacas. We stop by and meet Bernadette the goat and then Linda and Leonie, the senior alpaca ladies who live surrounded by tall grass. Twice a year they cut the grass to make hay for winter.

Ever since they switched to organic farming, there are now four times more jackdaw birds. These live in the walls of the Mussegg tower. And if you're lucky and visiting during spring you may see a mother Goosander bird and her babies. They live in the hole in the wall and while the mother can fly, the chicks are expected to jump from the holes in the wall onto the ground. Any hesitation and the mum will abandon them and it's up to the "Goosander helper team" to initiate a reunion.

They have also made a concerted effort to plant "high trunk" trees which are better for diversity. In most orchards, fruit trees are often trimmed and kept small for easier picking but here they focus on high trunk trees that are less practical but they provide more living space for the animals and birds. They grow a range of fruit in these trees like apple, medlars, cherries and pears. Picking is more challenging with the higher trees but Nina explains that a shake of the branch often dislodges ripe fruit.

With the fruit they make range of jams and chutneys as well as products like pastas, salami, cheese and dairy and eggs in their farm shop. There's even an interesting product made with chestnuts called Schwarze Nüsse. They use unripe chestnuts that they soak in saltwater then cook in syrup with herbs. This is used on cheese plates. Everything in the shop except for coffee is from Switzerland.

From Thursday to Saturday, people can also come here for dinner. Their chef Lenny Hartmann forages for mushrooms and white garlic in the forest. All of the fish served here is caught by Lenny too. Visitors are also able to book a guided tour or beer brewing workshops.

After the tour I head to the Musegg Wall to walk along it and see the view from above. The word musseg came from the Middle Ages and means to scout or look. The view from the wall affords an expensive panoramic skyline of Lucerne.

My last meal in Lucerne is at an unexpected place. I head towards Lucerne train station. On the first floor is a restaurant called Tibits. The name comes from the word tidbits aka small bites of food. This is a vegetarian and vegan buffet restaurant where you pay for the food according to the weight. You grab a table and put your things down and then take a plate and help yourself.

The range has plenty of variety and features regular salad fixings, crumbed jalapeno poppers, Mexican focaccia, Ghanaian peanut stew made with pumpkin, kim chi, tofu "egg" salad and wonderful dips. The only thing is that it's hard to know how much you are getting price-wise, this plate was around 20CHF and drinks range from 3-6.50CHF each.

You can also help yourself to the dessert in the same fashion. After filling your plate, take it to the counter where they will weigh it and then you can sit down and enjoy your food and drink. After eating a lot of rich, hearty meals this was a very welcome repast and everything was tasty and perfectly seasoned. I can also see why Switzerland is known for its vegetarian food.

After this I head back to the hotel to grab my bags and then it's onto my next stop: Zurich!

So tell me Dear Reader, when you visit a place, do you like to get a view of the city below to get your bearings? And what do you think of the concept of Tibits, would you enjoy it?

NQN was a guest of Tourism Switzerland but all opinions remain her own.