Today we had a scheduled afternoon event in Lucerne: Eszter had organized a postcrossing mini-meetup, with the commemorative card she designed shown above. Postcrossing is a hobby where people exchange postcards from different parts of the world, and occasionally postcrossers will get together to sign and write postcards together. Often, the organizer will design a postcard for the event, as in the one shown above. (The inspiration for this card came from Susannah’s recent interest in quilling and the scenery in Lucerne, which led to an intriguing AI-generated image.) Since the meetup didn’t start until later, we had the morning to explore Zürich a bit more before heading to Lucerne. We took a walk through the University of Zürich’s botanic gardens before meeting up with Eszter for lunch at Hiltl, the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world (established 1898). Its buffet style allows the chance to try lots of different dishes.

After lunch we hopped on a train to Lucerne, where we visited its landmark wooden bridge before taking a stroll along the lake. Our route happened to take us past the Swiss Transport Museum (Verkehrshaus), reputedly one of the best museums in the country — so we decided to visit. It’s sort of like the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum, except that it’s Air and Space and Water and Road and Rail and Energy all in one ticket. There’s something for all ages, with real working machines in some exhibits and miniature trucks, boats, and trains for kids to ride and play on.