Rütli Meadow and William Tell

 (A multi-part recap of my recent September trip to Switzerland.)

Sorry for the long lapse between posts - I've been traveling again!  But I plan to hang around home for most of November so maybe I'll be able to churn out more recaps from my Switzerland trip.  (Fingers crossed!)

 

Flower-decked Chapel Bridge

Sooo.....the first full day of my Switzerland tour began gloomy and rainy.  But the show must go on, and so it did!  Starting with a guided walking tour around the beautiful city of Lucerne.  

Lucerne waterfront

Our tour group had an excellent local guide, a woman named Ursula.  She was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the town.  After meeting up at one of the local fountains, she led us onto the nearby Chapel Bridge.  Although Kim and I had traversed it many times over the past two days, this was the first time someone had explained it's history.

 

Artwork on the Chapel Bridge rafters

The Chapel Bridge was built in 1365 as part of Lucerne's fortifications.  It provided a connection between the two opposite banks of the Reuss River.  It has the distinction of being the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe.  A symbol of Lucerne, it's also one of Switzerland's top tourist attractions.  

Jesuit church

During previous walk-throughs I'd noticed paintings nestled in the bridge's triangular roof trusses.  This artwork was created in the 17th century to depict events from Lucerne's history.  Sadly, in 1993 a devastating fire destroyed nearly two-thirds of this 205-meter long bridge.  Of the 111 paintings in the roof trusses, 86 of them were burned either partially or fully.  Only 30 of the original paintings were salvaged and restored.

The town clock tower

Thankfully the bridge was reconstructed in 8 months to its former glory.  Since a discarded cigarette is thought to have caused the blaze, all smoking is now banned on the Chapel Bridge.

Jesuit church facade

After reaching the other side of the Chapel Bridge, Ursula led our tour group back into the rain and along the river a short distance.  She stopped in front of an ornate building which happened to be the Jesuit Church.  The pedestrian bridge we had just crossed was named after this chapel.

Artwork above a church door

According to Ursula, the church's interior was spectacular.  Hoping to give us a look, she tried the door but it was locked tight.  Someone joked that it appeared the priest must be on vacation.

Huge flower column

However, the building's facade was stunning.  As our group gaped at the ornate exterior, I tried in vain to capture some of it's glory with my camera, while dodging raindrops.

Chapel Bridge tower

The church's position on the waterfront provided a nice view of the Chapel Bridge and it's tall conical-roofed tower.  This tower was built 30 years before the bridge construction.  Ursula stated that over the years it has had many uses - most infamously as a prison and torture chamber.  Nowadays a portion of the tower houses a gift shop, a much more cheerful function.

Reuss River needle dam made of wooden paddles

Beyond the Jesuit Church, Ursula led our group further along the river until we came to a unique dam-like structure.  A line of wooden paddles was strung across the river, holding back the water.  This "Needle dam" was used to maintain the water level of nearby Lake Lucerne.  Depending upon how much water was necessary to hold back the lake determined how many wooden paddles remained in the flow path.  The narrow paddles, or needles, were removed or added (by hand!) to constrict the river's flow.

Another view of this unique dam

Here's another view of the needle dam, so you can see what the downstream side looks like. (See the above image)

Spreuer Bridge

Past the Needle dam, our group continued along the waterfront before ending up at one end of Lucerne's other covered pedestrian bridge, the Spreuer Bridge.

Spreuer Bridge tower

Our guide had a wealth of information about this bridge too.  It was constructed in the 13th century to connect the riverbank to mills in the middle of the river.  Due to it's downstream position (the farthest bridge downriver), this was the only bridge allowed to dump chaff into the river.  The chaff, called Spreu, is why this bridge has the name Spreuerbrücke (or Spreuer.)  Destroyed by a 1566 flood, it was rebuilt together with a granary at the bridgehead.

My tour group admiring the Spreuer Bridge artwork

As with the Chapel Bridge, the Spreuer Bridge also has paintings under its roof trusses.  Of the 67 original paintings, 45 have survived.  These pieces of artwork depict a more somber subject - death.

Rafter paintings in this bridge dealt with death

Although the paintings seemed dark, (skeletons were a common theme) Ursula explained that in the 17th century, death was a very common occurrence.  High infant mortality, low life expectancy, frequent wars, and no doctors to speak of all contributed to the large death rate.

Another grim painting

On to more cheerful subjects!  From the Spreuer Bridge, Ursula led our merry group back to the river's opposite shore and through the "old town" shopping district.  The streets were paved with large cobblestones and many of the buildings ornate and colorful.

Admiring a colorful building

Ursula pointed out a mauve colored building covered with paintings.  The artwork depicted all types of subjects, from Bible stories, local businessman in times past, and Greek mythology, just to name a few.  

Building artwork close-up

Although our guide explained a lot of the paintings, too much time has passed and I don't remember much of what she told us!

Our guide telling another interesting story

Our morning walk happened to coincide with garbage day in this area of the city.  Huge rubbish containers lined the street by every storefront.  Large garbage trucks barreled down the narrow cobblestone lanes, and when my tour group saw them coming we hustled out of their way. 

Walking through town 

Ursula pointed out another interesting mural on a nearby building.  This artwork depicted a dinner party, however all the women, although wearing female clothes, were drawn as men.

Another interesting building mural

There were so many interesting things to see in old town Lucerne!  I wish I remembered half of what Ursula told us.  It was a great tour, and we had a most excellent guide.  After bidding Ursula a fond farewell, our group had a half hour break before we had to be back in the fountain square meeting place for the second portion of the day.

Altdorf town square

After being escorted to our tour bus, and meeting our driver Eric, we were spirited away towards the opposite end of Lake Lucerne, destination the tiny village of Altdorf.

William Tell statue in Altdorf

Altdorf's claim to fame - this is the place where Swiss folklore hero William Tell famously shot an apple from his son's head.  The main town square had a large statue commemorating this event.

This town loved it's local hero!

In the early 14th century, William Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow.  A newly-appointed regional governor, Albrecht Gessler hung his hat on the Altdorf village Linden tree, and demanded all the townspeople bow before it.  Tell visited Altdorf with his youngest son, and refused to bow to the governor's hat.  For this offence, Tell and his son were arrested and set to be executed.  However, hearing of his prowess with the crossbow, Gessler told Tell he could redeem his life by shooting an apple off his son's head in a single attempt.  Tell then pulled out two arrows and expertly split the apple with the first.  Gessler asked Tell why he had pulled an extra arrow from his quiver and Tell replied had he killed his son, he would have used the second arrow to kill Gessler.

Altdorf intersection

Furious at Tell's answer, Gessler ordered Tell imprisoned for life.  Loaded onto a boat that would carry him across Lake Lucerne to a dungeon in a nearby castle, a large storm came up on the lake.  Afraid the boat would sink, the guards asked Tell to help them guide the boat.  After removing his shackles, Tell navigated their boat to a safe landing spot.  Once ashore, Tell leaped out and ran away.  He then returned to Altdorf and assassinated Gessler with the second arrow.

Lovely view from the boat dock at Flüelen

In modern times, Altdorf continues to commemorate Switzerland's favorite folk hero, building a theatre in the middle of town to perform the William Tell legend.  Colorful banners with crossbows hang everywhere.  The village is quite pretty, boasting many colorful buildings and surrounded by large snowy peaks.

Our ferry arriving

After a visit to the famous Williams Tell statue, and many photographs, Tony our tour leader, led the group to a nearby Coop grocery store for lunch.  The store's upstairs had a large cafeteria that served good food.  (This was to be a theme throughout our tour - Coop stores could be found everywhere in Switzerland, and they were a reliable source of inexpensive lunch items.)

Amazing mountains rising from Lake Lucerne

When lunch was finished, everyone reboarded the bus for a short trip to the nearby town of Flüelen.  Here we were to catch the local ferry boat to another Swiss historical point of interest - Rütli Meadow.

On the boat!

Flüelen was another adorable Swiss village.  On the shores of Lake Lucerne, steep peaks rose skyward from its banks.  Lush, green meadows surrounded the town's buildings - white church steeples, clock towers, and storybook wooden houses.  I only wished the weather was better - the clouds and fog hid much of this stunning scenery.

Storybook village as viewed from our boat

Our ferry boat arrived, and we all piled on board.  It was about a half hour journey to Rütli Meadow and I passed the time taking photos of all the spectacular scenery.  

It was an adorable place!

We passed several fairy-tale cute villages perched on the lake's shoreline.  Every one had a tall clock tower, some attached to a slim, white church steeple.  Charming wooden houses dotted the countryside.  These buildings were surrounded by some of the greenest meadows I've ever seen.  It was almost autumn and the vegetation was still sporting spring-like shades of green.

Mountains and village

After a couple of stops at nearby villages, our boat came to the dock at Rütli Meadow.  Tony gathered us at the bottom of a steep hill and told us we had a short hike ahead.  He then started up the asphalt trail leading to the famous meadow.

Hiking up a steep hill to Rütli Meadow

Tony wasn't kidding.  The trail was steep.  All of us huffed and puffed as we slogged slowly up the path.  But at least it wasn't raining for the moment.  And the scenery was stunning.

Wonderful views from the trail

As the trail began to flatten, I thought I smelled hay and manure.  Cattle up here?  Then I rounded and corner, and there in a small pasture were about a half dozen shaggy Highland cows.

We walked by a few Highland cattle

I never did learn what the small cow herd was doing up there, but those hairy bovines sure were cute!  And a few of them posed for my camera.

Cute hairy cow

Not far from the cow pasture I spotted a large, gnarly, multi-trunked tree and Swiss flag on top of a small hill.  This I soon learned was the famed Rütli Meadow, birthplace of Switzerland.

Rütli Meadow, the birthplace of Switzerland

On August 1, 1291 representatives from the three original Cantons (what the Swiss call states) gathered in this meadow and founded a new country by pledging loyalty oaths to the new confederation.  From this day forward, Rütli Meadow became known as the "birthplace of Switzerland."

Exploring the meadow

Everyone from our tour group wandered around a bit before Tony gathered us together to tell a story about the country's founding.  Then we lined up for a quick group photo.  The rain began to fall again, so we took that as a sign it was time to head back to the boat.

Our guide Tony talking about the history of Rütli Meadow

A really fancy ferry boat pulled up to the dock.  This was our ride back.  Once aboard, I hung out on the outside deck admiring the scenery before the rain intensified enough to drive me back inside.  The boat continued across the lake to another town, this one called Brunnen, where Eric and our bus was waiting.

A very picturesque place to start a new country!

It was now late in the afternoon, and traffic was heavy.  The road our bus took back to Lucerne was narrow and had many areas of road construction to navigate.  So our return trip wasn't very speedy.

Group photo

To pass the time, Tony played some music over the bus intercom.  Since we'd all just visited Altdorf, the William Tell Overture was part of his playlist.  Listening to this song, I couldn't help thinking of a quote I'd heard long ago - "An intellectual is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture and not think of the Lone Ranger."

Now, back to the boat!

Besides listening to Tony's musical selections, the other entertaining part of our trip back to Lucerne was spotting port-a-potties.  "Toi-Toi," was the name of a local portable toilet company, it's logo prominently displayed on the door of each potty.  I thought the name was so funny, I kept saying "toi-toi" whenever we passed one.  (Kind of like a game of "slug-bug" without the punching.)  There were a lot of construction zones and each had at least one outhouse.  I'm sure I drove Kim crazy by the end of that trip!

Our very fancy ferry

Finally our bus reached the outskirts of Lucerne and from there it wasn't long before we were dropped back near the hotel.  Dinner was on our own that evening, so Kim found a nearby brew pub that was oddly showing American football games on it's big screen tv's.

This portable toilet name made me laugh!

Kim and I had a great three days in the beautiful city of Lucerne.  But tomorrow our tour was traveling to another Swiss city, the mountain town of Appenzell.  Hope you'll join me for the next chapter of my trip - and I promise this one will posted much sooner!