KAPELLBRUKE BRIDGE

               Lucerne's Famous Bridge 
 

         The Reuss River runs through Lucerne, Switzerland’s old town dividing the city into two nearly equal parts. Several foot bridges span the river, but the Kapellbruke Bridge is the most famous. One of Lucerne’s signatures, it also is known as the chapel bridge.  

Built in 1333, the bridge leads to the doorstep of the chapel that was built in 1178. The octagonal tower at one end of the bridge was once a navigational light for the river. Then it was a prison, and finally a water tower.  Now it is available to rent for private parties.

Years ago the bridge was used by rope makers. The covered bridge is long and the rope could be stretched from one end to the other. The bells of the church used to ring at regular intervals so, in the days before all the famous Swiss watch, people in the surrounding areas would all be on the same time.

          The Kapellbruke Bridge is the oldest covered bridge in Europe. In 1993 a boat tied up to the bridge caught on fire. The fire spread to the bridge causing major damage. Because the bridge is so symbolic of the city, it was rebuilt. On a second trip to the city I could see that a good two-thirds of the bridge obviously had new timbers and trusses. The 101 triangular paintings depicting Swiss history have been reproduced in photocopy and are in place at each bridge truss. Lovely hanging flower baskets hang outside on both sides of the bridge.

            One morning we walked across the bridge and on the other side we walked through some of the narrow cobbled alleys. We hadn’t gone too far before we saw an elephant walking in the opposite direction. What a surprise that was! We soon learned there   was a circus in town. I managed to get my camera for one quick photo. Continuing on our walk we also saw several street performers.

            We stopped to watch an organ grinder with his little monkey. I hadn’t seen one since I was a little girl. I was so intent on the monkey that I hadn’t seen the mime until my friend nudged me. He was very good, and I had to do a double take to realize he was alive and not a mannequin.

            The famous bridge in the center of the city’s old town is quite a tourist attraction and always fun to revisit. I find it picturesque, enjoy the hanging baskets and admire the paintings under the roof as I pass across the bridge.

CHATEAU RAMEZAY MUSEUM

        Montreal's Jewel of a Museum

I can’t tell you how many churches, castles, old homes and museums I have visited over the years while traveling. I always look for something new or unusual and the Chateau Ramezay Museum in Montreal was a real gem for new discoveries. Here our 45-minute tour with Margaret, a retired British school teacher, married to a French Canadian, continued for over two-hours. What a delight she was! And we learned so much.

She told us, “Claude Ramezay built this chateau in 1705 as a family home. He started out as a soldier in a French regiment, eventually went into furs, then wood, and eventually became governor. At that time the average house was the size of the kitchen in this home. He could not bring his wife and ten children to Montreal to such a small home so he built this chateau.”

The lovely home now would have been magnificent in the early 18^th century! This building was the first in the city to be designated a historical monument. Mrs. Ramezay had 16 pregnancies, but only 10 children lived to adulthood. Three of the four boys died in war or conflicts, and the fourth boy after one such conflict moved to France to live. When Claude died in 1745, the house was sold to a fur trading company. Now the museum is run by a board of directors, not the government. In 1994 it celebrated 100 years as a museum.

In one large room we were told the mahogany paneling and ornate carvings around mirrors and paintings all came from a fur trading company before it was demolished and then installed in the chateau in 1967 for the 100^th anniversary of Confederation.

I had never heard of a butter drier, much less seen one. The copper wall mounted hand washing apparatus was unique and quite decorative. I had seen many tin candle holders, but never knew that they were wind proof and that was the purpose of them.

Candles in colonial days were often quite soft and we saw a clever candle holder that made sense to hold up a soft candle. It prevented potential fire by keeping the candle from falling over.

I was most fascinated with the pocket worn around the waist under a woman’s skirt with the slit in it. Talk about practical! My friend was most intrigued with the barrel that they put a dog in to keep the spit turning over the fire. A doggie treadmill, if you will. We both thought it was for a mouse, but of course, it was much too big. Now that was really clever!  It kept the dog out from underfoot and kept the spit constantly rotating!

It was so obvious that Margaret loved what she was doing. I loved that sparkle in her eye, and without her we would have missed a lot. It was an afternoon well spent!