***This vacation was taken before I started blogging and before I started photos of my meals. It still contains relevant info on sightseeing and dining.***
My travels to Switzerland brought me to the quaint, little town of Lucerne. Because of its location, the natives here speak either French, German, Italian, or Rumantsch. The economy is based on tourism.

Wandering about the town center, I admired the architecture and explored the shops.

I felt a keen sense of the city’s past while wandering about this picturesque landscape. The Nine Walls city rampart walls are still intact, not giving in to modern structure or commercialism which started to take form in the 19th century.

There are quite a few unique attractions to visit. My tour stopped at the Glacier Garden. This glacier pothole goes back to The Ice Age. It has its own park and museum to give tourists a feel of Lucerne’s past history, back to the days it was covered by glaciers. We then proceeded onto a stop at the Lion Monument. This stone carving signifies Switzerland’s mercenary soldier’s taking part in The French Revolution representing the French king. The inscription on the stone makes mention of the Swiss soldier’s bravery and loyalty.

Our tour group was given a break to venture out on our own for a while. I chose to visit the Richard Wagner homestead. The composer’s home contained representations of his furniture at the time plus valuable musical instruments of the period. Great tour for classical music buffs!

The final tourist stops for me were the two famous bridges in town. The Chapel Bridge is a wooden footbridge crossing the Reuss River. It was constructed in the year 1333 to protect the city from attacks. Inside the bridge are a series of 17th century paintings representing the city’s past history. I then proceeded to the Spreur Bridge. The paintings under this bridge represent the dance of death, represented by skeleton drawings.

In the evening, we ate at a restaurant in town which include a traditional Swiss music and dance performance where we all joined in at the end holding hands in a circle and singing in unison. I had to rely on side dishes of veggies and salad. Vegetarians can partake in a traditional Swiss cheese fondue offering.

Vegans need to bring your own snacks and pre-packaged dry meals. There is one vegetarian restaurant in town called “Wirtshaus Schutzengarten”. There is also a veggie-friendly deli & market in town called “Grabe Mart”. I can not attest to their quality or vegan food quantity, as I did not have time to check the places out. In addition, there are a few health food stores such as the popular national chain “http://www.reformhaus.ch/”.

The next morning, my tour group took a gondola ride about 1000 feet to the Swiss Alps for a picnic and gorgeous landscape view! Vegans of course, need to bring their own lunch options. Mount Rigi and Mount Pilatus are popular destinations. Lake Lucerne also makes for a scenic backdrop for lunch.

My holiday in Lucerne, Switzerland was quite pleasurable. Not many vegan options but at least there were a couple of options if you prepare enough. I enjoyed my stay in this breath-taking town!