My Bahá'í Pilgrimage During a Crazy Global Pandemic
February 29, 2020
Post 4: Lovely Lucerne
[Post 3] [Post 5]
The charming city of Lucerne felt like any other modern metropolis—until we reached the river and gazed across to the Old Town. The tall, colorful buildings were lined up like an elegant parade from another century. Enchanted, we crossed the old wooden bridge and felt like we were traveling back in time.
Behind us is the Chapel Bridge. It was built in the 14th century, and is one of the oldest bridges in Europe!
The Old Town smelled of cigarette smoke and perfume, and everyone was dressed very fashionably. There were no cars and crowds, so it was quiet as we wandered the cobblestone streets. In the town square, the storefronts towered like beautiful paintings.
I had never walked through streets that looked like this. I felt like I was on a movie set!
It was weird to see modern shops in buildings that looked so traditional. The stores were so lovely on the outside that we didn’t even feel tempted to go inside. Which was lucky for us—Switzerland is EXPENSIVE. Shopping for anything costs a small fortune! We were quite content to consume nothing but the Swiss charm all around us.
We did slip into one building, though; it was the most intricately painted of all, so we couldn’t resist seeing what it looked like inside. It turned out to be a hotel with a fabulous balcony where we could admire the river. We weren’t 100% sure we were supposed to be on that particular balcony, but the door had been wide open by the lobby, so—score! :)
This is the hotel that we were drawn inside of. Check out that roof!!!
At lunch time, we began wandering around in search of some Swiss sustenance. A young bearded man wearing a backpack approached us. “Excuse me, can I ask you a question?” he inquired in a Swiss accent. We assumed he was a fellow tourist, but then he asked, “Are you afraid of the coronavirus?”
We all gave him the same answer: not really. We were frequently slathering on hand sanitizer and being conscious not to touch our faces. Still, I immediately found myself questioning our answer. Should we be afraid? The cases were multiplying in Italy every day, and Switzerland shares an open border with Italy. That means people are free to come and go as they please. It was only a matter of time before the virus spread to Switzerland.
The bearded man introduced himself as Florian and told us that he and his friends were doing a social experiment of sorts. “People here can be kind of closed off, and we want to change that culture. Make it more warm and inviting,” he explained. “So we thought, why not just start by having conversations on our own?”
He waved three other men over, and there was another round of introductions. Dad, who is the king of conversation and the most updated on world news, chatted with them about COVID-19 and asked for lunch recommendations. They knew a great place and offered to walk us there. Katie and I exchanged uncertain glances. Living in big cities the past few years, we’ve experienced our fair share of street scams. But we felt safe in a group, and these guys seemed genuine, so we accepted.
All the places we visited in Switzerland were so clean! This pristine river is a testament to that.
As we walked, Dad shared with Florian that we were on our way to pilgrimage in Israel and told him about the Bahá'í Faith. Florian seemed interested. He liked the idea that all world religions come from one God. He had studied many religions and felt they all shared the same basic message of peace and love. “We’re all connected. Or, at least, we should be. That’s why we’re out here having conversations,” he said. We told him that, as Bahá’ís, we strive to have uplifting conversations and connect hearts, too.
One of the other guys, Mark, said that he used to be extremely reserved and unhappy, but once he pushed out of his comfort zone and started opening up to people, his entire life changed for the better. Katie and I could relate; we had intense social anxiety as young teens, but once we pushed through our fear and shifted our focus on helping others, we became social butterflies. Or maybe moths—we’re still introverts and enjoy solitude when we feel like it. Anyway, we had a fabulous conversation, and it was good vibes all around.
When we reached the restaurant, we thanked our new friends and bid them farewell. They had good taste; the place was beautiful and the food was delicious (even if pretty expensive). What a stroke of luck to have met such a cool group of guys!
After dinner, we walked to the city docks. It was cool and quiet, and a lone swan floated in the blue dusk on the lake.
Yay! Another awesome day in Switzerland. What magic would tomorrow bring?
This lone swan was like a magical fairy tale creature bidding us farewell from Lucerne.
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