Day 2: National Museum, Lausanne, and Sweet Mercy found in Lake Geneva

 After a solid sleep and a bakery breakfast, we packed up, stored our bags, and headed to the National Museum.  

The museum featured Swiss history over the past 1,000 years, and includes a large display of giant rings, gothic art, weaponry, and period rooms.  It also has temporary exhibits with a movement to include art from everyday people.

Owen and his friends are really into knives right now, and this display certainly beat knives.

Kate says she is certain this is a face she has seen in her dreams.

Owen's teddy compared compared to another on display.

This was by far and away our favorite exhibit.  Anything stick out to you???

The cement tiles on this roof were stunning and I saw similar designs in other Swiss cities.

We left Zurich and took a fast train to Lausanne on our way to Montreux.

The Lausanne Cathedral was a highlight of the day:  a 13th century gothic building with stunning stained glass windows and panoramic views of the city.

The horned statue of Moses from the mistranslation of Exodus: rather than rays of light, the word was translated as horns.

We pointed out to the kids the building's shape of the cross.  This church also boasts a pipe organ that has 7,000 pipes, which took 150,000 man hours to build and was the only organ made in the United States for a European Cathedral.  It was finished in 2003.

Similar to the Zurich church, we missed out on one of the best parts of this cathedral: the Rose Window built originally in 1220 and symbolizing the cosmos with God as creator.  Also not pictured, this cathedral was also vandalized during the Reformation, and the noses of many statues were hammered off to prevent idol worship.

We went up to the tower to see the views and the 7 bells.  Since 1405, someone has been on lookout in the bell tower without interruption.  It was initially to watch for fires but even after that need was addressed, the city loved knowing there was someone on duty to watch out for them.  Cassandre Berdoz was the first female chosen as the lookout and has been deputy since 2021. 

Owen: "Why is there are golden chicken on the church?  Is it like their Angel Moroni?"  (I did look it up and the rooster is a common symbol representing a spiritual awakening and light of Christ.)

Ouchy Promenade: We were able to walk a small portion of this with the kids before the complaints rolled in.  To be fair, we had walked 10+ miles already.

First dip in Geneva!  We spent time doing flips and tricks and cooling off for the first time all day.

That night, we checked into the most hot, uncomfortable AirB&B of all time.  One of our favorite features was the bed hitting the furniture.

This was the night of Switzerland v. Argentina in the World Cup.  The game kicked off at 3am and the normally quiet Swiss were raging loud for the next 2.5 hours.  It was a heartbreaker for Switzerland after they tied up the game in the 67th minute, but lost in extra time.  (Owen had the common sense not to wear the Messi outfit I had set out for him the next day.)  Between Owen's hacking cough throughout the night, Zac's snoring, and the blazing heat, we did not sleep until about 6am.