We had several hours on the train so we caught up on our journaling and enjoyed the views of the countryside. Lugano is situated on the shores of Lago di Lugano. Mount Bre is to the east of the town.
M viewed Bellinzona on her way to Milan and pointed out some sights as we passed the town. We arrived in Lugano and stashed the bags in a locker before heading down the winding stairs to the lake. One place we stopped at first was San Lorendo Church.
This was the most ornate church seen to date. A lot of paintings covered the ceilings, arch ways, and side walls.
Tons of statues lined the center aisle along with the side aisles. Prayer altars were located along the sides of the church. It was sad to realize that all the wealth in this church came from people who were paying the priest to have their sins forgiven. They believe that the priest is their mediator to God when in all actuality Jesus is. Viewing this very lovely church just had me thinking..."treasures stored on earth and not in heaven."
After leaving the church we continued to head down toward the lake and entered the shopping district.
M didn't get gelato in Milan so she definitely wanted some here. We headed to the lake area, which was crowded with the summer crowd, and
M got her gelato.
We walked along the lake just taking in the sights and enjoying the nice summer weather. Eventually we had to head back to the station to catch a train to Zurich. Of course since we walked downhill all morning this meant that we had to walk uphill to get back to the station. Instead of walking the winding roads back to the station we decided to take a short cut.
This short cut involved a lot of stairs but it dropped us out on a street below where the station was. As we walked back to the station we ran into Samet heading from the station. Seeing his expression was priceless. He was just arriving in Lugano. We spoke of the sights in Lucern and then parted ways. We booked a private room at the Zic Zac Hotel in Old Towne Zurich. Since we were going to be heading to Schaffhausen in the morning this was the best place to stay the night. We arrived at the main station in Zurich (HB) and took the tram to Old Towne.
Finding the hotel was a challenge. It was nestled in a small alleyway off the main road we were walking. Since Zurich is more German than French asking for directions was interesting. We wandered and saw the sign for the hotel but there was no door. Thinking we passed it we back tracked. Eventually a nice waiter took pity on us and showed us were the stairwell was. It was definitely hidden and I'm sure the waiters at the street cafe below the hotel are use to wandering backpackers. The hotel was a Rock-and-Roll themed hotel. All the floors and rooms were named after famous musicians/bands. Of course we couldn't get a cool room like B.B.King or Aerosmith, we were given the Georg Michael room. I don't know what was more freaky, the huge mural of Georg on the wall or the color combination. Oh well. It was a private room and the bed was clean and comfortable. We had to share a bath with other occupants on the floor but it wasn't so bad. They had little packages of gummy bears on the pillows and M was able to pick up the football game on the small TV. M is a big football (soccer) fan and since the Euro2008 was just a few weeks before our visit a lot of that atmosphere was still evident in the towns we visited. A quick, hot shower and then it was off to bed. The next day plans were shaping up to be just as busy as today's.
We had several hours on the train so we caught up on our journaling and enjoyed the views of the countryside. Lugano is situated on the shores of Lago di Lugano. Mount Bre is to the east of the town. M viewed Bellinzona on her way to Milan and pointed out some sights as we passed the town. We arrived in Lugano and stashed the bags in a locker before heading down the winding stairs to the lake. One place we stopped at first was San Lorendo Church. 
This was the most ornate church seen to date. A lot of paintings covered the ceilings, arch ways, and side walls. 
Tons of statues lined the center aisle along with the side aisles. Prayer altars were located along the sides of the church. It was sad to realize that all the wealth in this church came from people who were paying the priest to have their sins forgiven. They believe that the priest is their mediator to God when in all actuality Jesus is. Viewing this very lovely church just had me thinking..."treasures stored on earth and not in heaven." 
After leaving the church we continued to head down toward the lake and entered the shopping district. 
M didn't get gelato in Milan so she definitely wanted some here. We headed to the lake area, which was crowded with the summer crowd, and M got her gelato.
This short cut involved a lot of stairs but it dropped us out on a street below where the station was. As we walked back to the station we ran into Samet heading from the station. Seeing his expression was priceless. He was just arriving in Lugano. We spoke of the sights in Lucern and then parted ways. We booked a private room at the Zic Zac Hotel in Old Towne Zurich. Since we were going to be heading to Schaffhausen in the morning this was the best place to stay the night. We arrived at the main station in Zurich (HB) and took the tram to Old Towne. 
Finding the hotel was a challenge. It was nestled in a small alleyway off the main road we were walking. Since Zurich is more German than French asking for directions was interesting. We wandered and saw the sign for the hotel but there was no door. Thinking we passed it we back tracked. Eventually a nice waiter took pity on us and showed us were the stairwell was. It was definitely hidden and I'm sure the waiters at the street cafe below the hotel are use to wandering backpackers. The hotel was a Rock-and-Roll themed hotel. All the floors and rooms were named after famous musicians/bands. Of course we couldn't get a cool room like B.B.King or Aerosmith, we were given the Georg Michael room. I don't know what was more freaky, the huge mural of Georg on the wall or the color combination. Oh well. It was a private room and the bed was clean and comfortable. We had to share a bath with other occupants on the floor but it wasn't so bad. They had little packages of gummy bears on the pillows and M was able to pick up the football game on the small TV. M is a big football (soccer) fan and since the Euro2008 was just a few weeks before our visit a lot of that atmosphere was still evident in the towns we visited. A quick, hot shower and then it was off to bed. The next day plans were shaping up to be just as busy as today's.
It was Euro2008 Switzerland/Austria that was just over, and it was during the Olympics. =D The gelato was fantastic, the men were pretty, and the stairs were killer, but I adore the lakes district. On my list of top places, definitely.
ReplyDeleteThanks for keeping me honest. Yes the stairs were a killer but it gave a great view of the lake.
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