Lucerne Day 2

Hey everyone, sorry for the delay but here goes. On Friday we went up to Mt. Rigi for what proved to be a picturesque day. The first step of the journey was to take a boat from Lucerne harbor into Visnau, a Sam lake side town. The ship offer really pretty views of Lake Lucerne, the Alps and interesting little villages with traditional style homes. It was breezy, but it was worth the view. From there we took a cogwheel train up Mt. Rigi to the summit.

Having been to the top on 3 separate Swiss trips, I can honestly say this was the best. It was warm and sunny, the snow had eroded into a plush green grass and the visibility was further than we've ever seen before. These students are very lucky to have gotten a weather day like this. Without the ice, we were about to wander down the mountain on to some grass dunes which offered spectacular views over the cliffs of Rigi. The view of Lucerne below spreading out into the distance was special, as it was crystal clear. We had lunch up there and proceeded down the mountain.

Upon return to Lucerne we went to the Angela Rosengart museum of art. She was a famous art dealer and collector in Europe and had a close relationship with many prominent artists, including Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee. Because of this access, her art collection is truly impressive, with 37 Picassos and many other priceless works of art. Whether the student was an at fan or not, it was very interesting and an important cultural experience.

The day wrapped up with some free time in the city and a late night game of catch phrase in the hostel. The whole experience in Lucerne the past few day s really brought our group closer together.

Tomorrow (Monday) we will head to Basel city hall, (called the Rathaus) for a tour that is not offered to the public, just to groups of international students like us. Will be a nice chance to see how government in Switzerland works.