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Recent retiree--35 year's experience teaching reading, English, adult basic education and volunteer leadership skills. Started this blog to exchange ideas and commentary with friends and others having an interest in joining the discussions. Greatest life accomplishments include: 1.organized my 3rd grade class to check out library books for me to get around librarian's weekly limit--Amazon.com, the Mullins Elementary 3rd Grade Class of 1956 is still waiting for "thank you" notes; 2. volunteered in the Peace Corps, island of St. Kitts, West Indies; 3.taught adults to read, earn their GEDs., and speak English as a second language; 4. bought a border collie puppy for $6, got evicted rather than give him up, and began a life-long love affair with all things "Dog"; 5. joined a physical fitness boot camp in my mid-50s--don't mess with someone who's been doing regulation pushups in wet grass at 5:30 a.m.; 6. walked across Northern England with best friend Sally--over 80 miles from the Irish to North Seas; and 7. travelled to many foreign countries for pleasure and work.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Watery Wednesday - Bridges, Mountain Dogs and Lion of Lucerne

This week I'm scrolling back though some travel photos for Watery Wednesday posts. Hope you enjoy these water scenes from a September 2008 tour of Switzerland. This is the Chapel Bridge which spans the Reuss River in the center of Lucerne. Built in 1333, it is the oldest covered wooden bridge in Europe and the oldest surviving truss bridge in the world.



When you walk across the bridge you can enjoy paintings from the 17th century on the bridge gables. At this time of the year the bridge was decked out with blooming annual flowers. I can just imagine that it is a magical place in the winter when the river is frozen. This area was quite lively with tourists and city residents enjoying the open air cafes along the river, Lake Lucerne, and the distant mountains. The Swiss flag is proudly flown over many buildings.
I took many photos on this trip but--no surprise--this beautiful Bernese Mountain dog in one of the riverfront cafes was a favorite. The only thing that would have been better would be to see a whole litter of puppies like this one!

The most profound experience in Lucerne was seeing the Lion of Lucerne Monument. This stone sculpture was carved in a former sandstone quarry on the city's outskirts in the 1820s. The dying lion honors the Swiss Guards who perished defending King Louis XVI in 1792 in the French Revolution.




Mark Twain's words on seeing this sculpture: "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world."

If you have time, come back tomorrow and I'll take you on a hair raising trip by ski lift and cable car up to the top of Mt. Pilatus, in the clouds overlooking some of Europe's highest mountain peaks.


Want to see some more "watery" photography? Click here for the players.


10 comments:

Faye said...

To Watery Wednesday Visitors - thanks for stopping by. I'm having trouble leaving comments on your WW posts. Enjoying your photos though and will keep trying. Blogger is testing all our patience today!

TexWisGirl said...

lovely shots. the dog, of course, is GORGEOUS! wish i lived in a cooler climate to have a big furry mess like him. and the lion sculpture is indeed touching...

diana said...

Ben and I visited Lucerne when we traveled with his high school German Club. What a beautiful city! We also rode up Mt. Pilatus on a really foggy day. Have you ever seen frozen fog? I hope I can go back again some day.

Tina´s PicStory said...

lovely shots! - did you have problem to link up?

Jan n Jer said...

Gorgeous shots Faye...the lion sculpture is so very touching! Love the covered brige..so old but looks well maintained. What a beautiful magical place to visit!

Kim, USA said...

I could imagine it when everything is white and only the flicker of lights at dawn or dusk is what you can see it moving. That would be great to photograph ^_^ Happy Wednesday!
The Wedding

Ebie said...

This is amazing, for this wooden bridge to stand and survived this length of time.

Faye, thanks for your comments. Glad you enjoyed my road trips and photos.

NatureFootstep said...

interesting bridge. Thanks for sharing it. :)

Judy said...

Okay, now I am going to have to look up what a truss bridge is...
Lovely shots, though!! And I agree about Bernese mountain dog!!

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

That is a sad, but beautiful monument. Gorgeous photos, as usual.