Switzerland 2: Old relatives and the long trip to Lucerne

Today, we woke up to a beautiful day.  On our way to Konstanz, Germany, to drop off the rental car, we stopped at two castles that Stephanie's family reports are connected to their family history.

The first was a little over an hour away, Schloss Sonnenburg and then twenty minutes farther, Schloss Altenklingen.  The first one had scaffolding covering all sides, so we took a picture from a distance and then moved on.  The second one allowed us to get a little closer, but only on one side.  Stephanie knocked on the door of a nearby building and talked a little with the lady inside about her history.  I will be adding pictures of both castles at a later time.

From there, we drove yet another twenty minutes, to Konstanz, Germany, where we filled up the gas and returned the car.  The Hertz dealer gave me a hard time because of three small scratches on the inside metal part of the wheel hubcap.  The guy wanted to charge me 160 euros, as this was the "lowest he could charge."  I found this completely absurd.  I spoke with the manager, wrote a statement, and will be hearing back from Frankfurt's Hertz office.

We took a very short taxi ride to the Konstanz train station and took the next train to Lucerne, stopping at Zurich to switch trains.  We are allowed to go on as many train rides as we wish, since we bought the fifteen day Swiss Travel Pass.  Since Konstanz is on the border with Switzerland, the train there was included.  The total train ride was two and a half hours.

I looked up local restaurants, including Chinese, Thai, and Mexican.  Every restaurant had entrees that started in the low twenties and went up into the thirties.  No thanks!  We went to the local coop, just down the street, where things are still expensive, but not even close to approaching those numbers.

We left late evening for a walk around town.  A one minute walk from hotel and we were at the river that goes through the town.  Chapel Bridge, a 1300s era covered bridge, was the first thing that caught our eye.

From there, we walked to the Lion Monument, dedicated to the Tuileries war heroes.  Unfortunately, the area below the lion was under construction.  I took a picture with a zoom lens and inadvertently cut off some of the writing.  It looks to be in latin, so I doubt that that should bother anyone.

We walked next toward the old city walls, stopping to take a picture of a building with an extraordinary amount of plant growth.

There were quite a few towers, with city walls connecting them.  I walked up to the second floor and then briefly out to the balcony.  Stephanie went to the top of the tower but didn't end up walking the walls.

We walked toward the outside of the walls and walked along the road there, following the wall.  It was here that I was fortunate enough to spot a quintessential photo opportunity.

Here you will see the quintessential photograph.  First, you have the standard elements, the castle walls, swiss alps, and the moon.  However, I was fortunate enough to find the fourth elusive element, a tractor.

We followed the wall to its end and went through the final gate back into town.  Just nearby was the second covered bridge, Speuerbrucke.

As we returned to our hotel, we saw that they had funneled the river through one small space, which made the rushing water look beautiful.