Confiserie Bachmann, a patisserie in the city of Lucerne

After having a self-created walking tour around Lucerne, we were kinda hungry and started to look around for some food or snacks. So we went back to the city centre of Lucerne to see if there are nice things to try. 

We stopped our walk immediately when we saw a big ice cream statue. We didn't need to understand the language to tell that Bachmann is either a patisserie/ a cafe. Macarons? Ice cream? Okay, my dessert lover personality is officially curious now.

If the ice cream statue does not make you move, how about a stack of colorful macarons? The funny thing about this macarons statue is that a high school friend of mine also took picture with the macarons when he visited the city of Lucerne. He did a collage of it to show both our picture together at the same place. LOL. 

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Oh right, I have not told you what is this place, right? The ice cream and macarons statues are actually belonging to Confiserie Bachmann, a patisserie in the city of Lucerne. The patisserie is apparently a family business and it sells all kinds of desserts from chocolates, pralines, macarons, biscuits, cookies to of course, macarons. Confiserie Bachmann also sells savoury items such as sandwiches but we are more interested in its sweet delicacies. We bought a bag of Prussiens which is also known as "Coeur de France" (French heart). Like what the bag suggests, Prussiens will be lovely to enjoy together with a cup of coffee. 

Other than the Prussiens, we also bought a small box of assorted cookies. They look so nice I could not bear to tear it open. But at the same time, I can't wait to taste them. So yeah, I am in a sweet dilemma. XD

It is not difficult to spot Confiserie Bachmann in the city of Lucerne as it is located pretty central right at the middle of the city centre. The store has a very bright pink sign too so you will not miss it at all. 

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The Chapel Bridge and Water Tower of Lucerne, Switzerland

If you include a hiking up to the winter wonderland of the Swiss Alps in Titlis, you may consider to stay in the nearby city of Lucerne. Lucerne is basically acting as an gateway to central Switzerland. The city is sited on Lake Lucerne and it is surrounded with beautiful mountainous panorama. 

There are a lot of public transportation choices in Lucerne like trains and buses but it seems that the locals love to cycle here. 

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The highlights of the city of Lucerne are definitely the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower. The Chapel Bridge is a covered wooden footbridge spanning diagonally across the Reuss River. The bridge is decorated with pretty flowers at its side. It is a popular attraction with the tourists and rumour says that if you come and walk across to the other side of the river via Chapel Bridge with your loved one, your love will lasts for eternity. 

The unique feature of the Chapel Bridge is the interior paintings displayed under its rooftop. These paintings dated back to the 17th century. It is a pity though that many of them were destroyed along with most of the centuries-old bridge in a 1993 fire.

From the Chapel Bridge, you can see the riverbanks of Reuss River. The riverbank is basically filled with a lot of cafes and restaurants. The setting is kinda similar to Boat Quay area in Singapore. 

If you see the Chapel Bridge, you will notice that there is a Water Tower in the middle of the bridge. The Water Tower is not named because of its function of storing water or anything. It was simply named as "Water Tower" because it is built on top of the water. Simplicity in the complex world. 

How to go to Lucerne:

If you are going to Switzerland by taking a flight, the nearest airport to Lucerne is in Zurich. From Zurich airport to Lucerne, you can take a direct train. The direct train from Zurich Airport to Lucerne will depart every hour. The total train ride is approximately 60 minutes. 

Alternatively, you can take train from Zurich Main Station. The total train ride to Lucerne from Zurich Main Station is approximately 45 minutes. 

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Walking Tour in Lucerne, Switzerland

After spending the 3/4 day having fun at Titlis, we drove back to the city of Lucerne. By the time we reached Lucerne, it was already around 4 to 5PM in the afternoon. We did not really sign up for the guided tour (because we don't really know the timing of the guided tour) but since the city is not that big, we decided to go for our own walking tour in Lucerne, Switzerland. Our personal walking tour started at the Lake Lucerne Basin. From here, you can take a panoramic picture of the city of Lucerne. 

From the Lake Lucerne Basis, we walked to the twin spire building which turns out to be the main cathedral for the city, Hof Church. Hof Church is the most important Renaissance church in Switzerland. The church also serves as Benedictine monastery too since the 8th century.

From the Hof Church, we continued our walk to the Oldtown area of Lucerne. The oldtown area are actually the settlement at the right and left side of the river where the Chapel Bridge is located. In our random walking tour, we saw a lovely building which turns out to be a music instrument shop called MusikHug. 

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There are many lovely restaurants and cafes in the old town of Lucerne. In the middle of the surrounding restaurants and cafes lies Fritschi Fountain. Fritschi Fountain was built in 1918. The fountain was built in the name of Brother Fritschi, which is a popular figure in the city of Lucerne. 

One thing that you should check out when you are in Switzerland is the clock shop. You don't have to look for a specialised one in particular. An ordinary souvenir shop sells clock too. In particular, you may want to check out their cuckoo clock because I don't think you can find something as cute as the cuckoo clock handmade in Switzerland. 

"Life teaches us to make good use of Time while Time teaches us the value of Life."

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Lucerne City at Night Time

I was so surprised to find out that the hotel which I stayed back then in 2011, NH Hotel, has now changed its name to Ibis Styles Lucerne. Some reviews over at Tripadvisor mentions that the hotel has changed names at least three times. Not sure what's wrong with the hotel management but anyway...

After having dinner at the hotel, we wander out to see Lucerne city at night time. Our hotel is within walking distance to the city centre area where you can see the world-famous sights in Lucerne, the Chapel Bridge and the octagonal Water Tower. The night lights on the bridge are reflected nicely on the lake. 

There are not much things to see around 8PM so our tour guide brought us to the train station to see what store still opens at this timing. As expected, the train station feels so void. It is really different pace from the Asian culture, whereby the train stations in Asia are still bustling mad at 8PM. Okay, to be honest, the business of Asian train stations last until the last train near midnight. So, this is new to me. Hahaha. 

Saw a funny advert about lottery. Why the advert mentions the word "lose" at the bottom? Wondering if this means to stop people from gambling because they can lose whatever they earn anytime. 

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Thankfully, there is one mini market which was still opened in the train station. When you are in Switzerland, you must buy a lot of chocolates. So many limited edition chocolate from Switzerland's famous chocolate brands like Lindt. Even the Ritter Sport looks different in Switzerland. I have never seen this flavor called Stracciatella before. Mind you, all these chocolates are bought in the normal train station mini market. 

Other than the chocolates, we also tried different kind of biscuits and cookies. All of them looks quite interesting and yummy. 

All the other stores apart from the mini market have closed so we wandered back to our hotel. One last picture of the Chapel Bridge before we wrapped up the day. 

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