Visit of the Zytturm (Clock Tower) in Zug

Thursday December 28, 2023 -- We had friends visit for a couple of days, and the day after taking them up for a 2-hour walk on Mount Rigi (those photos are HERE), we settled for a short walk through the old town of Zug, as the weather wasn't great.

We checked out our beautiful library (which was a hit), walked along the lakeshore to the birds in the volière, and best of all, took a walk up the town's clock-tower, called the Zytturm. We've lived here for 10 years now, and have never been up in our own clock tower... It costs nothing to go up, but you have to pick up the key at one of three local shops, can unlock the tower yourself, and return the key when you are done! It was fun, we had our own private tour, with views across the roofs of old-town Zug and the lake.

First we popped into one of the prettiest churches in Zug, called St.Oswald. It is kind of tucked in amongst other buildings and just next to the city castle. Apparently, St. Oswald is the patron saint of the city of Zug.   

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.

The church has a tumultuous construction history, with the start of build in 1478 and lasting 70 years. 

Much of the interior artwork is from the mid-19th Century

Two exquisite side altars

Another very pretty ceiling!

The magnificent organ!  

Outside of the church on the same street is the library. Along the way, many of the buildings have this intricate artwork on their façades. (This one is NOT the library!)

This is our library. It is huge inside, and we checked out mainly the children's section. We were surprised to find children's books in about 20 different languages!

Back at one of the main squares called Kolinplatz. In the background, the tower with the blue-and-white striped roof is the Zytturm, which we want to climb up, to look out of those windows in the roof. The Kolin Fountain was built in 1540. 

This is called the Bossard House. Built in 1543, it housed the town's administrative offices till 2019. 

This is the Clock Tower which was our goal for the day. We had read on the Internet that it is accessible with a key that you can request from one of three nearby businesses. The 52-meter high tower is the city's main landmark, and its origins date back to the 13th Century, although the current form, with the blue striped roof, is from 1557. The eight crests below the clock face are the flags of the eight cantons which were part of the Confederacy in 1481. 

A sign in the passage below the tower indicates that you can visit the Clock Tower by requesting a key! Turns out that two of the three businesses were closed for Christmas holidays, but luckily the nearby restaurant called Intermezzo was open. (I had to leave my ID when I picked up the key)

Here's our little friend opening the door to the tower!

Heading into the very narrow stairwell into the tower!

Here we all are at the very top storey of the tower, with windows on all four sides to look out over the roofs of the city of Zug. (The stairwell has a trapdoor which you can close if you are afraid to fall in!)

View west across the north end of the lake

View East to Mount Zug, and the steeple of St.Oswald Church. To the left of the church is the Zug Castle. 

Looking south along the lake to the Alps. On the very left is Mount Rigi, right of center is Mount Pilatus, and in between you can actually see the Bernese Alps. 

A zoomed view of the Bernese Alps. The trio of mountains visible above the tree are the famous Mountains Mönch/Eiger/Jungfrau, in the popular Grindelwald region. 

Heading back down the tower again. That was fun!

Leaving the tower, to return the key. 

A look back up the pedestrian area to the Clock Tower as we head to the lake to look at the birds in the Volière. 

Various birds in the Zug Volières. 

The kookaburra was the best. We even heard him laugh. In German he is called "Lachender Hans" (Laughing John). 

Just a small walk through Old Town Zug. There are a lot of other places to visit: Castles, Towers, Churches, Fountains. But this time it was mostly for the Clock Tower. 

Two days earlier when our guests arrived (Dec.26) we still had time for a long late afternoon walk along the lake. 

Late afternoon walk along Lake Zug, which has a very high water level right now due to a lot of rain lately.

It was a long walk we did this afternoon along the lake (4+ kilometers). We started at about 3:45 p.m., and the sun had already gone down as we headed back, and it was cold!

Late Afternoon Walk along Lake Zug to Cham Alpenblick

Sunday November 26, 2023 -- With so much overcast weather this month, we didn't have as many opportunities to go hiking as we wished. 

On this November Sunday, the clouds dissipated somewhat in the late afternoon and afforded us a bit of sunshine, so we made a quick decision to do a short walk along the lakeshore of Lake Zug, easily accessible from our home. Many years ago we did this walk almost weekly, just to get some fresh air after work, but hadn't walked here for a long time.

It's about 3½ kilometers to walk from our house to Cham where we catch an urban train back, and another half kilometer or more back home, so a nice 4-km afternoon walk. As we only started at 3:30 p.m., the sun went down before we finished the walk, and it got cold, so that is why we didn't continue on to the main train station in Cham.

We started out at about 3:30 p.m. as the clouds just started clearing to show a bit of blue sky. 

Mount Rigi

Lakeshore walk to Cham. This is looking south across Lake Zug.

This is a bird sanctuary

This is where the Steinhausen Dorfbach flows into Lake Zug

I was absolutely awestruck at how suddenly the Alps appeared to be so close!

View of the Alps from the urban train back towards home. 

Total about 3½ kilometers to the Alpenblick train station and another almost 700 meters back home from Schutzengel, means a 4-km hike this late afternon (about an hour of walking)

City of Zug: The Farms around the Old Lorze River

Sunday April 23, 2023 -- More unpredictability in the weather forecast, so it's impossible to arrange to travel to parts of Switzerland renowned for their fabulously blossoming cherry orchards. Fortunately for us, Zug is also a renowned cherry growing region (particularly known for the brandy called Kirsch, made from the cherries... and subsequently the patented recipe for the famous Zuger Kirsch Torte). Even just looking out from my balcony I can see so many blossoming trees, not just cherry, but apple and the high-growth pear trees.

On this Sunday we had some wonderful sunny weather (very local), so I set off to do a 4-km round tour of the neighbouring farmlands to photograph some of these beautiful trees (cherries almost finished, and pears not quite in full bloom). Part of my tour was along the old Lorze River, and I was surprised that the bear garlic, which I thought was already finished, was just in full growth here. A pleasant surprise was a display of hand-painted rocks along the way, created by private individuals to make the trail more "fun". (We used to walk this trail often, and this is new).

It was nice to go visit the neighbourhood once again! 

(Note: One of Switzerland's most famous cherry-growing areas is Nuglar-St.Pantaleon in the western part of Switzerland. We did a "Cherry Blossom Hike" there in April of 2019, that was a very successful outing at the time, we timed it well, just before the end of the blossom season. Those photos are HERE).

From my balcony the view across the farms with their blossoming trees. The "New Lorze" river is along the line of trees below. 

I don't have to go far to enjoy the blossoming trees!

Especially the high-growth (pear?) trees are stunning

The lovely 4-km walk in the farmland between the cities of Zug and Steinhausen takes about an hour. We live in an ideal spot. In the city, but on the outskirts next to farmland, between the two Lorze Rivers (Old and New). (I started at 13:40)

The first stretch is next to the "Neue Lorze" river, with lots of nice trees along the way, to the West

This one is looking east toward Mt.Zug

A line of very pretty cherry trees

After crossing to Schochenmühle (this is a restaurant), you can join the smaller river called the "Alte Lorze" (Old Lorze River)

This is the Old Lorze River. I was surprised at how fresh the bear garlic is here. 

A pleasant surprise to see the trail next to the stream was decorated with these beautiful hand-painted stones. The artist calls them "Magic Stones". People respect the request not to touch or move the stones. 

A whole line of "Magic Stones". They've nicknamed this the "Gnome Trail" (Wichtelweg)

Details of the painted stones. The gnome says "Enjoy and rejoice, but don't move anything or take them away.... Thank You"

Some of the tree trunks were even decorated like little gnome houses, so cute

A view towards the mountains, where there were more clouds than here. 

Juxtaposition of old and new. 

Aren't these high-growth trees simply spectacular? (Mt.Zug in the background)

After walking for just over 30 minutes, I was too hot in my warm clothes so I sat on a bench in the shade for 30 minutes. When I continued on the walk, the sky had already gotten overcast. I got home about 20 minutes later, just before it started to rain.

At 14:45, an hour after I left the apartment, the weather had turned.

Crossing back over the "New" Lorze River (man-made canal).