Lovely Lucerne

Usually, after a busy two week vacation, I look forward to returning to my "normal" life, whatever that may be. However, our French vacation did not lead to a relaxing weekend in Neuchâtel. Instead, Bob and I went away for about 48 hours, this time to Lucerne.

The timing of this trip was dictated by the Lucerne Summer Festival, a series of concerts in the city. I had discovered through Facebook, that a former student of ours, Scott Reynolds, would be performing in this prestigious event. He had provided me with a number of potential dates when he would be on stage, but the only one we could make was August 23rd.

Scott had lunch with us the day after his performance. 

So on Saturday morning, a short 12 hours after we had arrived home, we were at the train station on our way to Lucerne. We had chosen to attend the sold-out opening performance of the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, conducted by Simon Rattle, one of the premier conductors in the world. This was a wonderful experience, with young musicians of the highest quality performing very sophisticated and avant-garde works. One of the pieces was premiered during the evening, while another featured 80 performers, 40 singers paired with 40 instrumentalists, a most unusual formation. (Scott was lead trumpet for this part of the performance, quite an accomplishment for a 24-year old.) We have never heard more difficult music. The next day, over lunch, Scott told us that this had been the greatest challenge in his musical career. He was very proud to have been selected for the orchestra and to have worked with the great maestro, Simon Rattle.

The orchestra members take their seats

The view toward the lake and the esplanade from the KKL Luzern concert hall.

When planning this trip, we had decided to spend two nights in Lucerne, so that we could have time to see the city thoroughly. Our stay allowed us to wander the streets of the old town, climb up to the ramparts, cross the river multiple times, and wander along the lakefront. This was a leisurely visit. I was particularly pleased to visit the Lion Monument, the Museum of Transport, and to take a one-hour cruise on the lake on our final morning.

Rathaus (Ton Hall) and swans on Reuss River

The iconic Chapel Bridge, parts of which have been restored after a fire in 1993

A view of Lucerne from the ramparts

Museggmauer Musegg Wall - and bull.

The Lion Monument

Massive tunnel boring wheel in front of the Swiss Museum of Transport.

The city is beautiful, so I will let the photos tell the story. We had visited it in our twenties, many years ago. It was fun to see it again, so many years later, Still the highlight of these past few days was the concert on the first night. So glad we were able to go.

On the boat cruise on Lake Lucerne