On to Luzerne (6/6)

The view was still there when I woke up this morning – and I had to pinch myself to realize it was real. After a really nice breakfast in the hotel dining room, I went back upstairs and enjoyed the view as long as I felt I could, and still leave at check-out time. It occurred to me that, rather than take the train to Luzerne, the lake was right in front of me and I could take the BOAT to Luzerne. So . . . that’s what I did. I got on the boat a little after 11:30 AM, and rode for about two hours – about five stops – to Luzerne.  It was really a treat! The lake is lined with mountains and hills – and the hills have chalets on them.  I kept imagining a loom or a sewing machine in the window of one of those chalets . . . About a half hour before we were to land in Luzerne, it started to rain so those of us sitting outside had to scramble inside for the rest of the trip. It turns out there was a tour group from England on the boat. They were going to spend three hours in Luzerne before going on to Interlaken tonight.  I was grateful not to be on that tour, as I have made reservations for three nights in Luzerne!

By the time we docked, it had pretty much stopped raining. Knock on wood, Google maps and I are getting along much better these days, and I found my way to the hotel with no trouble. From the sublime to the first-floor walk-up, it’s a bit of a come down to stay at this place after last night’s luxury.  I’m in the annex of a hotel, no elevator, shared bath, and no fan in the room. (Fortunately, I can open the window – and it looks safe to do so.) It’s a perfectly fine place to be – just a contrast from last night. The location is good – close to the lake and to the middle of town, so I have no complaints. Once I stowed my stuff, I took off for the main art museum, seeing that it was open until 8:00 PM tonight.  There’s a two-day museum card that you can buy in Luzerne, that allows you into all the museums for two days. After discussing it with the (helpful) museum staff, they suggested I could go to another museum – the Sammlung Rosengart Museum (there’s that name, “Sammlung,” again. I’ve heard it a number of time in Switzerland, as connected with museums) first, and then come back to the main museum afterwards, because the size of each collection would allow me to do both in the time I had. That way, I could make best use of the card. I appreciated the help and the information about the size of both collections.

The Sammlung Rosengart Museum is in a former bank building – perfect, as it turns out, for displaying art. There is one floor completely devoted to Picasso, another floor completely given to Paul Klee, and a third floor that is about half Picasso, and the rest both Impressionists and Cubists.  It is a fantastic collection, built, I think, by the Rosengart family. There were a lot of Picasso drawings, as well as his oils, and there were a couple of plates he painted and one or two small statues. There are also two collections of photos of Picasso – quite wonderful! Klee was born in Switzerland, but went to Munich to study and later to teach art.  His was some of the art the Nazis described as “degenerate,” as they were rising to power.  Klee left Germany for his homeland in the mid-1930s and spent the rest of his life in Switzerland.  He died in 1940 of a chronic illness. There were a LOT of paintings and drawings – probably not his major work, but a huge collection that clearly shows the development of his work.  The balance of the museum is from the late 19^th and early 20^th century – Modigliani, Braque, Monet, Renoir, Miro, Cezanne, Chagall – and on and on.  I really enjoyed the museum and its wonderful collection!

Then I went back to the Kunstmuseum. It doesn’t have its own building, but is on the fourth floor of a big, modern building next to the train station.  As a result, at any one time, they have an exhibit from their permanent collection and a special exhibit of some kind. The permanent collection exhibit was art that involved animals.  Most of the stuff, although fun, was not very exciting, with the exception of one statue of a bull that was amazing! (Didn’t recognize the name of the sculptor.) The special exhibit was of an American – Taryn Simon, who had some very interesting work. One set of works was about various people, in different parts of the world, to whom something had happened, and how that affected people around them.  The situations she examined were an officer under Hitler, a man in India whose land had been claimed by the relative who reported him dead, a doctor in Kenya who was attempting to cure people of AIDS and other diseases, and who had nine wives, and another situation in North Korea. Another set of work was from a library in New York that keeps photos/images. The artist had created collages on particular themes from some of these images. Another part of her work recreated floral arrangements from big international meetings on treaties or other disputes. The floral arrangements were photographed, the flowers were then pressed, and put into a sculpture. And so on.  I’m not sure I “get” all of this person’s art, but it was really interesting.

When I left, it was time to find a place for dinner.  But first I had to walk over the Kapellbrucke, a wooden bridge over the river, left from Medieval times.  It has triangular paintings hung from the ceiling of the covered bridge, that depict historical and cultural events.  I’m not clear on the history (yet), but it’s a fascinating structure. I ended up having dinner at an outside restaurant along the river. Lovely! Then I wandered in the direction of my hotel, but finally decided to walk toward the lake to get my bearings, so I wouldn’t get lost. What I find so interesting – and a bit depressing – is that the old part of town (which in Luzerne looks like a lot of the town) has beautiful, old buildings.  But new, and high-end businesses have moved into those old buildings. Many of the brands are (now) international, so in terms of the names of the shops, I could easily be in London or New York City but the shops are in these beautiful, old buildings in Luzerne.  The good news, I guess, is that the old buildings are put to use and are maintained. It would just be nice to see things that are Swiss, rather than multinational.

On the way back to my hotel, I found, quite by accident, a fabric store.  It was closed – everything closes at 5 or 6 on a weekday.  I also saw that I’m less than 2 blocks from a Bernina store. So . . . it looks as if some exploration is in order, after I make full use of my museum card.

Well, now that I’ve caught up on the returns from yesterday’s primary election, it’s time to get to bed. I’m beat!