With most of the day ahead of me, I decided to walk up the big hill to the
Cathedrale de Lausanne.
At the heart of the old town, the majestic Lausanne Cathedral overlooks the city. Seen as one of Europe's most beautiful Gothic art monuments, it attracts more than 400,000 visitors annually.
Between 10pm and 2am, a watchman stands at the top of the Cathedral's bell tower and shouts out each hour to the residents. As the Cathedral's night watchman, this role was historically meant to watch over the city, but it now remains to perpetuate a 600-year-old tradition. I didn't go at 10:00, but I would have liked to. I was still trying to get used to the time change.
The view of the bell tower is dramatic from the city streets.
The ornately carved entrance to the Cathedral.
The rose window is among the masterpieces of European artistic heritage. Its panes depict the medieval view of the world arranged around the figure of God the creator.
The Lausanne Covenant is widely regarded as one of the most significant documents in modern church history. Emerging from the First Lausanne Congress in 1974, with John Stott as its Chief Architect, it was an important rallying call to the evangelical Churches worldwide. It defined what it means to be evangelical and challenged Christians to work together to make Jesus Christ known worldwide. It is a covenant with one another and a covenant with God himself.
According to Wikipedia, "The great pipe organ of the Cathedral of Notre Dame of Lausanne was inaugurated in December 2003. It is a unique instrument in the world. It took ten years to design it, and it is composed of 7000 pipes, two consoles, five manuals, and one pedalboard. It is the first organ in the world to be designed by a designer. It is the first organ to contain all four principal organ styles (classical, French symphony, baroque, German romantique). It is also the first organ manufactured by an American company (Fisk) for a European cathedral. It cost 6 million Swiss francs, took 150,000 man-hours to build, and weighs 40 tons."
The Lausanne Covenant is widely regarded as one of the most significant documents in modern church history. Emerging from the First Lausanne Congress in 1974, with John Stott as its Chief Architect, it was an important rallying call to evangelical Churches worldwide. It defined what it means to be evangelical and challenged Christians to work together to make Jesus Christ known worldwide. It is a covenant with one another and a covenant with God himself.
About 20 of these "posters" are along one side of the Cathedral. It was clearly an argument of Religion versus Science, but they were all in comic strip form. They were in French, so I couldn't read them, but I found them fascinating.
A look from a screen-covered window in the Cathedral.
I walked by this window on my first day in Lausanne, but the antique store was closed. I came back on Monday, and it was still closed. If you look closely, you will see a little sewing machine. It is such an unusual ring. It would be a good gift for my sister, Sandi James St. Pierre. She is a sewing wiz! Sorry, Sandi, it wasn't possible.
Lunch was terrific. I sat outside and had a FRENCH SALADE NIÇOISE with tuna, skinny green beans, peppers, tomatoes, and a hard-boiled egg. It was so fresh. Yum
After 3 trains and a bus, I finally reached my hotel. And it is a lovely hotel, high in the Alps. I had forgotten how fresh the cool air smells in the Alps. The train rides were stressful because I had 6 minutes for the first change, 3 minutes for the following change, plus 2 minutes to find the bus. Not so easy when you don't know the next train's location. But I made it. WHEW!
The restaurant at the hotel had one of my favorite dishes, Fondue aux tomatoes avec pommes de Terre. Translated, it is tomato fondue with small potatoes. I saw outside in the cool air with a glass of wine and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
The view from my room
I wandered around the town today, but other than gorgeous mountain scenery, there was little to see and no market or businesses. Just for Dennis, who always wants to know the population, the answer is 200. Yep, that is all that live here - 200 people.
Sadly the church wasn't open. I love to go in and say my prayers for family and friends.
When I hike up to the St. Bernard Pass, I plan to visit the area where they breed and train the famous dogs.
Dinner was at the hotel. I had grilled perch with perfectly cooked vegetables. I haven't had perch since the last time I was in Switzerland. These were small and so flavorful. The star of the meal was the french fries. These were the best fries I have had in a long while. They were piping hot, crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside with a generous sprinkle of salt.
Either I goofed, or my travel company goofed, and I didn't catch it. I have another night here. That will be okay, but I am chomping at the bit to start on the trail. It could be worse. I could be stuck in an airport instead of one of the most gorgeous places on earth. Sleep tight all.
