Lucerne Part II

On Sunday morning we attended Maurizio Pollini’s performance at the Lucerne Film Festival. The concert was in the KKL (Lucerne Culture and Convention Center), which is located adjacent to Lake Lucerne and across from the train station.

I wasn’t familiar with Pollini prior to the concert, but he quickly demonstrated why he is one of the world’s foremost classical pianists.

During the performance I couldn’t help being distracted by a woman a couple of rows ahead of us whose hair was literally the shape and size of a giant beach ball. I don’t think one could try to come up with a more obnoxious and inappropriate hairstyle for wearing to any type of performance where someone will likely be behind you. Fortunately our view wasn’t obstructed by the gargantuan rat’s nest of a hairdo, but the same couldn’t be said for some other pour souls stuck behind this woman.

After the concert we decided to take a boat ride on Lake Lucerne. The sun had finally come out and it was very nice.

Of all the lakes that I’ve seen thus far in Switzerland, I have to say that Lake Lucerne is the most beautiful. It is lined by picturesque mountains and the lake’s asymmetrical shape results in distinct sections that present unique landscapes given that the mountains often obscure the other sections of the lake.

We got off the boat in the town of Vitznau and took a cog wheel train up to Rigi Kulm. On a clear day Rigi Kulm offers panoramic views of the lake and surrounding countryside. Unfortunately, there were some clouds that obscured the view but it was nonetheless very impressive.

The train ride was very scenic – particularly when there were unobstructed views of Lake Lucerne. The following are some photos that I took during the ride back down to Vitznau.













After arriving back in Vitznau we boarded a boat heading back to Lucerne. The return trip was very nice as well and we enjoyed the afternoon sun while dreading the two hour car ride that remained upon our arrival.