Switzerland - Lucerne

Well, we know how to time our visit - on the same day as the worst flood in Lucerne in 30 years! It seems to have been raining in Switzerland for several days. It was certainly pouring with rain when we arrived in Zurich on Sunday afternnoon. It continued to pour for most of Monday, so there really wasn’t much we could do in Zurich except wander around the shops in the old part of town which were full of lots of beautiful things we couldn’t afford…

We had to wait for the afternoon before we could get a train to Lucerne as there were apparently problems with flooding along the way. However eventually we were off and arrived in Lucerne at about 5.30pm. Our humble hotel is in the middle of the old town which is nice, and after we checked in and dropped off our things we went for a wander along the riverside to find something to eat, finally settling on a English pub called Mr Pickwicks. We noticed during our walk that people were busily dropping off loads of sandbags, lining them along the river and stacking them in front of shop doors. The pub we ate in had a pile ready to go just beside the door. We returned to our hotel wondering just what today would bring.

Early this morning we could see that the river had indeed burst its banks and flooded some of the lower lying places. We were still able to cross over to the other side to visit the train station to see about trains to Geneva tomorrow and to find out if it is worth taking a day trip to Mt Rigi given the conditions. We were advised that there is no problem getting a train, and that we should wait until midday to see what the conditions are like to go to the mountain. As I write this we are still waiting… From there we decided to venture back onto the side of the river on which our hotel is based to check out the Glacier Gardens which were really interesting. Discovered in 1872, it is a now exposed rock surface on which you can clearly see the impact of a glacier. The area includes a museum with some lovely old furniture, and a hall of mirrors which was brough to Lucerne after the 1896 national fair in Geneva, and which did my head in completely… thought I was never going to get out!!

We were probably there for about two hours, and walked back to the train station to discover that the street we could walk along before was now closed to traffic, and that pedestrians were now having to roll up their pants and wade through. I would like to congratulate the makers of my hiking boots; once again they have proved their waterproofness! Mr Pickwicks has now got half a metre of water banked up against its doors (and hopefully not flooding throughout…). Guess we won’t be eating there tonght!

So, as I type, the waters are still rising. However it is quite clear that the authorities here are well organised and prepared to deal with whatever eventuates! However we might be here for another day yet…