one day in lucerne.

Happy Thursday! Though our European adventure ended three months ago, I still have two
more countries to cover: Switzerland and Germany. I'll start with Switzerland today :) 

{cv} and I wanted to make the most of our only day in Lucerne, Switzerland, so we took an early {and I mean early} train from Paris. After a quick turn in Basel, we were bound for this small Swiss city.

When I say the views from the train were unreal, it is a vast understatement. Even though we were exhausted from our early morning departure, we couldn't help but be glued to the mountain views.

Little towns like these were around every bend on our way to Lucerne. 

Even with the rain, it was positively beautiful.

Once the train pulled into Lucerne, we were inundated with signage for the Blue Balls Festival. 

Yes, it sounded weird, but there were actually a few acts we recognized. More on that in a sec...

The rain made it infinitely more difficult to take photos, but I snagged a few cheapy plastic hoods at our local camera store. These ugly monstrosities managed to keep my Nikon dry, though I looked like a complete crazy person using it. This lake on a clear day is absurdly beautiful. On a rainy day, the charm factor is still out of this world. Don't you agree?

Though I don't think the Swiss are known for their beer, {cv} had to capture the crazy volume of yellow during our afternoon happy hour. We also beasted those Swiss chocolates at the far left while sipping those beers. It may not have been the best combination, but we were carpe-dieming.*

*self-coined word

The Blue Balls Festival {complete with its crazy "fair" food options--Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, etc.} ended up being the perfect way to cap off our day in Lucerne. Because of the rain, we chose to hang out in a pub around the corner during Robert Randolph's set. Thirty minutes before Gary Clark Jr. was set to take the stage, I ran to the pub bathroom--during which {cv} realized we'd actually been sitting at the bar with Gary the whole time. He was gone by the time I got back to our table, but we managed to snag front row standing room at his amazing show which made up for the missed connection.

Lucerne played a gracious host during our 24-hour stay. Though it is a bit on the touristy side, it is a terrific place to start a Swiss adventure like we did. A rainy travel day forces you to appreciate the fact you're thousands of miles from home. At home, we spend those days inside. While traveling, we learned the weather makes your stay that much more memorable.