Discovering my Neighbourhood

Thursday, September 29, 2022

St.Oswald Church in Zug, and the famous Zuger Kirsch Torte

(This post published Jan.15, 2024)

September 29, 2022 -- Currently visiting are my Mom and sister and a very close friend. The weather has been pretty bad since they arrived on the 24th of September, so we haven't done any outings yet at all.

This day we ventured into the Old Town of Zug, with our main goal to have coffee at a bakery which offers a local specialty called the "Zuger Kirsch Torte", a cake with a lot of cherry brandy produced locally. (In fact, the recipe is patented, and can only be called "Zuger Kirschtorte" if it uses the Kirsch brandy manufactured in Zug or in Küssnacht nearby).

We also had a look inside the St.Oswald church, which is the only surviving large-scale Late Gothic building in Central Switzerland. Along with the Bern Minster, St. Oswald's Church is considered the most ornate in Switzerland from this period. It took 70 years to build, starting in 1478.

We then walked through the castle grounds and up and down the two main pedestrian roads in the old town, before heading back home. One interesting item we missed was a climb into the clock-tower, which I didn't know we could do. (Update: We did this later in December 2023, those photos are HERE).

St. Oswald Church next to the Zug Castle in the heart of old-town Zug. This building took 70 years to build, from 1478 to 1548.

The stunning interior of St. Oswald Church. This is considered one of the most ornate churches in Switzerland from the Late Gothic Period.

The artwork inside the building is mostly from the mid- 19th Century.

A beautiful organ

More details of this stunning building

The Church of St. Oswald is the only surviving large-scale Late Gothic building in Central Switzerland. Along with the Bern Minster, St. Oswald's Church is considered the most ornate in Switzerland from this period.

From St.Oswald Church we walked over to the town's castle and walked through the grounds, and back into the old town.

This interesting three-cornered building is called the Gloriettli. It was built in 1765 as a garden pavilion.

Until 1967 the building was surrounded by gardens. Now it's attached by a walkway to the other buildings! The interior is apparently the original Rococo decor.

This beautiful building was the city mint (where coins were manufactured), built in 1580.

One of a few pedestrian roads in old town Zug, near the lake

Our main goal of this day was to enjoy the local specialty called "Zuger Kirschtorte". It was here in the bakery called Speck, where the cake was originally created in 1915. There is a patent on the recipe, and it can only be called Zuger Kirschtorte if it is made with the local cherry brandy.

Coffee and Zuger Kirschtorte for all!

In retrospect, we should have ordered a variety of tortes, instead of all the same. The cake is very heavily doused in Kirsch, and it would have been enough to just sample from one or two pieces. It's not my favourite cake anyway.

Enjoying coffee in the Speck Bakery/Café in Zug. My mom used to bake this cake as well (it was my Dad's favourite) and to be honest, I liked hers better, as it was not so overpowered with the brandy.

A final stroll along the lakeshore on this overcast and rainy day....

Sunday, January 23, 2022

A Short Piece of the Waldstätterweg: Küssnacht to Merlischachen

Sunday January 23, 2022 -- It was looking like a nice day with lots of sunshine and we really wanted to get out for a walk nearby, so we took the train to Küssnacht and planned to walk a piece of Trail no.98: "Waldstätterweg" which we had not yet done. (This is part of the 115-km trail all around Lake Lucerne). The plan was to walk the 9-km section between Küssnacht and Meggen, but on our way to Küssnacht we could see that the clouds were pulling in, the only place once again with impending cloud-cover, compared to any other direction we could have chosen.

We started on the trail anyhow, hoping that the clouds would lift, but they blocked the fantastic view of the Central Alps which you would normally have on this trail, so I called it quits and we headed down to Merlischachen, having only walked 5 kilometers. Furthermore, as soon as the winter sun is block by clouds or fog, it becomes uncomfortably cold. I prefer to try this again a different day. It was kind of disappointing...

Heading by way of Arth-Goldau, we could have gone South from here, there were no clouds in the Reuss Valley. But we continued West to Küssnacht, in the hopes that the sky was clear there as well. This is Mt. Rigi as seen from Arth.

Heading up the hill from Küssnacht, it's not looking too good!

Otherwise, it's a very pretty countryside here, and would have been perfect for a winter walk.

Spotted a buzzard, that's always a treat.

That buzzard looks too big for the tree

You can barely see to Küssnacht on the other side of the lake

A look at Küssnacht at the foot of Mt.Rigi

Normally you would get a view of the Central Alps from here

A look across the Küssnacht arm of Lake Luzern to Mt. Rigi

Cutting our hike short and heading down to the train station in Merlischachen

At the top of the lake is Küssnacht

Train station in Merlischachen, end of our short afternoon walk....

Sunday, April 11, 2021

Local Fortress Ruins: Wildenburg in Zug--Allenwinden

April 11, 2021 (Sunday Afternoon) -- Some time ago I discovered that Zug has its own medieval fortress ruins, so for a short afternoon walk, I took Urs up to revisit it with me.

It was a beautiful day, but since we had done a long hike the day before, we only decided late in the afternoon to go outside and do a 1-hour walk nearby. The sun disappeared shortly after we started, which was OK, otherwise it would have been too hot.

To reach the ruins, you have to descend into a small ravine near the Lorzentobel Bridge, where there is a pretty waterfall which drops over a slide created by limestone deposits... a lovely secret place.

We had planned on a loop trail on both sides of the ravine, but it turns out there is construction going on, and the second half of the trail is now closed. So we simply walked down to the nearest bus station.

There is a cat in every meadow!

Saturday, April 4, 2020

Afternoon Bike Ride through the Lorzentobel Ravine in Baar

(Post done on December 19, 2021)

Saturday April 4, 2020 -- As the COVID pandemic has now hit Europe, and the Governments aren't really sure how best to deal with this new situation, schools have been closed and people have been sent to work from home. Fresh air and exercise are encouraged, but recommended is to stay near your home.

Because this year is an unusually early and warm Spring, with day after day of wonderful weather, people are NOT going to keep themselves and their children indoors! Not having to go to work in an office means you can be outdoors more than usual! Near our home is a popular walking trail parallel to the new Lorze River, and currently almost impossible to travel on as it is overly congested with walkers, joggers, racing bikes with no consideration for pedestrians, and lots of moms with baby buggies, taking the opportunity to meet in groups... all things actually discouraged at this time.

We felt more endangered on this trail "near our home", so on this beautiful Saturday we decided on a bike ride, starting on the overfilled trail (we were respectful of the walkers) along the Lorze River and cutting over to the Lorzentobel in Baar, a section of the river which passes through a type of ravine, and also a popular bike trail. Considering that people were supposed to "stay at home", we were surprised that the forests and riverbanks were literally packed with families doing Saturday outdoor grills!

Our round loop was about 16 km (about 2 hours), and required pushing our bikes up the hill to get out of the ravine, followed by some welcome downhill! The highlight of the day came near the end, near the Lindenpark S-Bahn train station, where the most fantastic Japanese Cherry Trees were in full bloom. Absolutely marvelous.

Approx. 2-hour round-tour by bike along the Lorze River. About half of this tour is part of the themed trail "Lorze Industry Trail" which runs from Aegeri to Cham.

The Lorze River in the Lorzentobel (gorge). This is a popular biking trail near the city.

Stopped to take some photos of the river as we were riding our bikes along the bike trail.

A power plant below the Lorzentobel Bridges

The first bridge was built in 1910 to connect Zug to Menzingen. No longer used as a vehicle bridge, it is a pedestrian walkway, which we have yet to try out. The second bridge is the motorvehicle bridge from Zug to Aegeri.

From Aegeri to Cham is a really interesting themed trail called the "Lorze Industry Trail" with lots of very interesting information about the growth of industry in this region, using the power of the river. We have done most sections of this trail.

This wooden bridge dates from 1759. It was here that the first bridge over the Lorze River was built in the middle ages. Due to flooding, the original bridges were ripped away and rebuilt a few times!

The "railway" bridge, with five arches and a length of 187m, was built in 1910 of natural stone, in the style of the railway bridges at the time. The newer cement bridge was completed in 1985, as it was more cost-effective to build a new bridge than to repair the old one, which had started to show signs of wear. The old one is now a pedestrian bridge.