Bernhards Random Ramblings BACKUP

[More Verkehrshaus posts] While most of the locomotives at the museum are electrically powered, there is some steam on display. SBB Ce 5/6 Nr. 2965 "Elefant" (1915) I'm fascinated by the mechanical engineering that goes into building locomotives, and is readily visible in particular with steam locomotives. One can walk under the locomotive and examine it from below. Starting in the 1890's steam-powered, fast-spinning snow rotaries became practical for use on railroads. The X rot 100 was built in 1896. X rot 100 (1896)

[More Verkehrshaus posts] Vierwaldstaettersee If one has a little bit time while visiting Luzern, a stop at the Verkehrshaus (transportation museum) is a must. For me this was the main motivation to come here, as the Verkehrshaus has an excellent reputation for their extensive collection, in particular locomotives. At the entrance we were greeted by "Sissi" the shield of the tunnel boring machine used for building the east bore of the Gotthard base tunnel. With a diameter of 10 meters it weighs 225 tons. "Sissi" Once inside, I headed straight to the locomotive hall and was greeted by one of my all-time favorite locomotives: The Crocodile , SBB Ce 6/8 II built for heavy freight traffic over the Gotthard pass. SBB Ce 6/8 II Nr. 13254 "Krokodil" (1920) Another uniquely swiss construction are the "Red Arrows", which quickly became so popular that SBB repurposed them for tourism and entertainment trips. SBB RCe 2/4 Nr. 203 "Roter Pfeil" (19...

Kapellbruecke The Kapellbruecke is one of the signature structures in Luzern. On the inside it features triangular paintings from the 17th century. A large part of the bridge and many of the paintings were destroyed in a 1993 fire. In one section of the bridge the burned paintings were rehung unrestored as a reminder of the fire.  Yes, I was there ... and next time should look a bit less serious ... ... maybe more like the guys on the Fritschibrunnen, which commemorates carnival motives. I was quite impressed by the Hofkirche St. Leodegar im Hof catholic church, not only for its nice interior, ... ... but also for the unusual covered arrangement of the cemetery around the church.  Of course, we visited the Loewendenkmal , not far from the old city part of Luzern, which is small and an easy walk. The Rathaus Brauerei has one of the shortest pipes from beer tank to beer glass: ~30cm Playing with lights and shadow

Holzbruecke und Wasserturm

Lindenhof Since it was such a nice evening, on the way back to the hotel the group took a small detour via Lindenhof to check out the view. Niederdorf and ETH Zurich Limmat and Grossmuenster Lindenhof

Kinderueberraschung If US Customs catches you with this super-dangerous device in your luggage, you will not only loose it, but also might have to pay a fine of $2000 or more. This chocolate egg with a toy surprise inside is still considered contraband by the FDA. Still scratching my head how a child would manage to choke on a toy capsule that is 1 x 2 inches in size...

Aside from a very productive team event, we're having fantastic weather this week in Zurich. The forecast for the weekend and next week doesn't look that great, though.