Lucerne

On my second free day, I decided to make another attempt at going to Lucerne.   But first I had to go back into Zurich to the train station there.    Upon my arrival at Zurich Hauptbahnhof I started to go upstairs to the main level where I would try again to purchase a ticket to Lucerne.  While I was on the escalator I noticed that the people in front of me were dressed very strangely.   Which isn't that weird in a big city but these people looked like they were getting an early start on Halloween.  I wanted to tap them on the shoulder and say "Excuse me, you do know it's only August right?"  As I was entertaining myself with all the one-liners I could pull on these people I let my eyes wander around a little bit.  Which only brought to my attention the fact that almost everybody in the train station was dressed extremely weird, leaving me, the self-entertaining queen of wit, the odd one out.  There were people dressed in just about every costume you could possibly imagine, (most of them inappropriate) and my personal favorite was the guy dressed as bugs bunny.  :)  When I finally got to the top end of the escalator it was only to discover that there was a major festival going on in the city with the main part being held at the train station (don't ask, I don't know why either) .   For anyone who might know anything about the Berlin Love Parade, this festival was very similar only smaller.  It's filled with a bunch of crazy liberal techno freaks who bring their crazy techno music and LOTS of beer and dress up for no apparant reason.   So naturally, knowing me, I couldn't get out of there quick enough.   This time my attempt to get my ticket went much smoother and I was finally on my way to the beautiful Lucerne.  

-Lucerne is the heartland of the Swiss Confederation and a central base for Swiss tourism.  It's easily the most beautiful town I've seen so far.  It is surrounded by crystal clear lakes and beautiful mountains.  The Kappellbrucke is the city's most famous symbol.  It is a covered wooden bridge that crosses the river.  It was built in 1333 and formed part of the city's original boundary but had to be renovated after a destructive fire in 1993.