Switzerland day 3

Another early start saw us leaving on the train at 08.30.  This time heading for Lucerne (Luzern), due south-east of Aarau.  Lucerne is the biggest city we have stopped at so far, but more about that later.  First we boarded a ferry that took us on a leisurely cruise for about two thirds the length of lake Lucerne, stopping at several towns and villages along the way.  It was predictably beautiful, and nice to see the countryside from a different point of view for a change.

Our final stop was at the little town of Brunnen, which was very pretty and quaint in its own way with lots of colourful buildings and flowers.  Why Brunnen? ... Well that's  because it is the home of the Victorinox factory where they make the world famous Swiss Army Pocket Knives.  First we looked around the museum and visitors centre, which was very interesting ... well, it was for someone like me who has an interest in knives.  The highlight for me was the opportunity to assemble my own knife in their well known 'Spartan' style.  The large blade is specially embossed with the words 'Self assembled in Brunnen' and once complete, the outside was also engraved with my choice of text.  I opted for my name and 'Switzerland 2018'.  The standard format is to have the traditional red scales (the covers on the sides) but I asked sweetly and, as a special favour for me, they allowed me to use the camouflage design instead.  I now own a 100% customised Swiss Army Knife, which will surely be a lifelong treasure.

After spending some more money in the gift shop we walked around the town a bit more to take in some of the sights before boarding a train for a somewhat faster return journey back to Lucerne.

We walked around part of the 'old town', mostly looking at the wonderful architecture and beautifully decorated buildings.  Of particular interest to us was Chapel bridge - the old 'zig-zag' wooden bridge that crosses the river.  It is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe as well as the world's oldest truss bridge, dating back to around 1335.  It is beautifully decorated with paintings and flowers.  Sadly part of it was destroyed by fire in 1993, but has been immaculately rebuilt.  The reason for the zig-zag construction was because in the old days, it was believed that evil spirits could only cross a river in a straight line, so the bends prevented them from using the bridge to cross the river.

We sat at one of the outside terraces beside the river to have some supper before climbing on another train to return to our hotel, arriving at about 19.00.

Another wonderful day, no doubt to be followed by a restful sleep.