Luzern

22th June 2007



luzern seemed much more beautiful than zurich. it was older and it has less of the orderly feeling that was starting to irk me. went to the lion monument then down to the old town and got immerse in shopping. there was sales everywhere. some of the clothes are like 50% off. a lot are less than 20francs. considered cheap when you live in Milan for 4 months.



the old town of luzern is bordered by a wall that used to guard the town. we climbed up the tower and walked on the walls. wah. it was another round of stunning view. luzern is really beautiful. the mountains are so near to it. there's water, there's mountain. nature all by its side.



we peaked down the wall on the other side. and guess what? we found hairy cows! OMG. so cute!!



went down to the other side of the wall which leads to a shortcut back to our hostel. the sun was setting. the scene felt surreal. was it a dream? no, it was real. i often have this feeling when i'm in switzerland. is this real? it's like from my imagination. it's just so beautiful. like part of the fairy tale image i had when i was young.

we passed by many beautiful houses including this cute little swiss cottage and a stunning modern house with underground carpark. sixiu says its her dream house. ha! i'm serious. it's really breathtaking and the windows reflect the sky.

people there manicure their gardens and maintain them really well. sunflower in the garden just makes me feel happy.



little girl having fun drawing on the ground. the life here seems so good.

we got onto the main road and tried to look for the supermarket. the people in switzerland are super friendly. before we even ask, this cyclist suspecting we're lost and looking for the hostel shouted out the directions to the hostel. LOL. super nice. also when we were in zurich, a man offered to help us take a group photo. we didn't even ask. he just saw us taking photos. i really like the people here.



23rd June 2007

next day we were going to the snow mountain Titlus. i was very excited. but first we visited the other part of the town where there was this disney castle-like church. on our way down the road, you see there's the mountain view in the backdrop of the town. everywhere you look, there's this beautiful backdrop.

the church turned out to have a cemetry. i took some photos cuz i wanted to compare with the cimitero in Milan. i haven't blogged about it but soon!! the organ started playing while we went into the church. i think it's a culture here. the church will play once in a while. it's nice. i like it.

the sunlight penetrated through the windows. it was pretty.

out of the church we could see the streets and the cloudy blue sky. we walked passed a shop and i saw the traditional swiss costume in the display window. we went to the lakeside. the weather was clear that day so we could see really far and. really pretty. there were ducks, tree-lined pathways next to the casino and a attempt at dragon boats. haha.

the dogs here must be in heaven. saw this white one. it was so happy! it was influencing me to be happy too. it kept wanting to play fetch and even before its master threw the stick, it was already in the water bouncing. it makes me wanna smile.

this is a swimming pool by the lake. i'm curious why people need a swimming pool here when they can just jump into the lake. but anyway, as you can see, you can swim out to the lake from the house. cool. but there was a sign when i was there that said you can't swim that day. maybe it's still too cold. i heard the water's 19 degree celsius only.

yeah. it was time to meet up with our tour guide for our mountain trip. took a cab down to near mount Pilatus (the place where you can get the best view for mountains) to meet up with a tour bus from zurich. the tour guide told us that there was a legend that friendly dragons used to inhabit Pilatus. so they painted dragons on the cable car. i dunno how eliable is the guide but i believe him anyway cuz it makes Pilatus more interesting. from there bus, we proceed to Titlus on bus.

wah. all the way, we saw great scenery. then we got on our cable car and went up up UP :) see the blue water, the tour guide later told us that blue water meant that it's cold. like 5 degrees celsius!

真的真的很美! it's amazing! that's the best i can describe how i felt. as we ascend, we heard melodious 'clang..clang...clang...' it was the cows in the fields and it was echoing throughout the valley. beautiful... in each souvenir shop, you can find the cow bells. now we know what it represents. haha.

up up UP and soon we were among the clouds. everything started to turn misty... and cold. the three of us had only our normal jackets thinking that the thick winter jackets will be provided. ha. we didn't want to rent so we brave the cold>.<

up on the snow mountain, the ice was glaring. i had no shades and it hurt my eyes. i was squirting. at the same time, the ice was slippery and we couldn't see far. exciting and fun to manage our way around. we were trying to find the ice flyer station where we could take a ride through the snow cap mountains and peak. burr...

finally took the ride. it was a very strange experience. i couldn't see far. everything was misty. occasionally, i see some structures or the opposite car coming into view. the mountain walls were sometimes close by and we pass it. our feet were dangling out there and there was nothing underneath us. where are we? a dream?

next we went to the glacier/ice caves. it wasn't so cold after we've been out in the open at 5 degrees. the lights were always changing mysterious colours and there was faint music in the background. fairly touristy. on some parts of the ice walls, there was funny hand depressions. looks like someone was displaying some kungfu here or sth. LOL.

soon it was time to descend and mountains came into sight again. the whole experience was so out of this world. was it even real, i thought.

and we were back in Luzern. the weather was still fine. we walked around a little and explored the newer part of the town (which is still like 200 years old). by this time, we were running out of memory and battery. we were sharing our resources so many photos are taken using sixiu or cindy's camera or using their memory card.

24th June 2007

went to the art museum where i saw Picasso and many other modern painters. it made me think a lot about painting. and i was impressed somehow.

this day was slow pace. we walked around leisurely and tried to see the remaining sights and spend our last francs.

then we took our 4.25pm train back to Milan. at the train station, there were people in traditional swiss costume and a band playing to welcome a group of people. they were raising flags. i thought they are swiss national players. such a warm majestic scene.

(pictures soon)

and so there is about a month left for me in Milan. i start to have mixed feelings. i have adapted to life here and i would really miss this life. at the same time, home is always the best place to be and i miss my mom and dad and brothers. and, my stupid elder brother is getting married this july on the 7th. i'm going to miss it :( i want to go home. but i want this to last longer too. i never want to forget my experience here in Milan. maybe this is what the blog is for.