Day in Luzern

Thursday promised to be the only day with any hint of sun, so Alan and I headed over to Luzern. Especially if you get an express train, it's a very quick ride -- only 20-25 minutes through beautiful Swiss countryside. In this part of Switzerland, at least, farmland is still active and you can get a glimpse of how lives have been lived for centuries.

Our destination in Luzern was the New Modern Art Museum or Neues Kuntstmuseum, which is located next to the train station. Frommer's noted that it housed special exhibits plus a permanent collection of works ranging from the 15th to the 20th centuries, in addition to special modern exhibitions. Suffice it to say, that the current special exhibitions were less than impressive -- one consisted of photo montages of subjects who had been asked to perform "magic" in front of the camera. "Magic" seemed mostly to confirm the human ego, as people posed and preened for the camera. There were a few powerful compositions but mostly not. Then, there was a video and audio installation that was just impenetrable. The best exhibit, which possibly was a gesture to the permanent collection, was some cases containing small, similar rocks in rows (one spiral). When we left the exhibits area, I inquired about the permanent collection, only to be told, this was it! Okay....All in all, not worth the admission price.

We did have a very nice lunch in the museum cafe of Indonesian rice and then an apricot tart. With the sun out, we wandered through the old town, seeing the remnants of Monday's carnival celebrations. Walking over the Spreuerbrücke (Mills Bridge), we observed some major construction occurring on the lock controlling the flow of the Reuss River. It does seem like all of Switzerland is under construction.

With blue skies overhead and clear views of the Rigi and the Pilatus peeking through the clouds, we searched for an option to go for a boat tour but, alas, there were none to be found. Most of the tours were closed for the winter.

So, after picking up a plum tart for desert at Confiserie H&M Kurmann, we took the 4:10 home to Zug. Wandered down to our favorite place on the lakeshore of the Zugersee, we settled in to watch a lovely sunset. Unlike previous evenings where we were the only couple, there were many folks enjoying the sun and the relatively warm air. Earlier in the week, the ice was treacherous down here but with the 40 degree weather, it all had melted. It's been a cold and snowy winter in Zug and everyone is ready for spring.

Home for dinner, we enjoyed Aklin pork and vegetables, while watching the Olympic ladies combined.

Flickr photos.