Lausanne, Switzerland

The next stop on this trip to Switzerland is Lausanne.  Lausanne is set on the northern shore of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is a city of two halves.  Up on the hill is the old town with historic churches and townhouses, and downhill is the lakefront Ouchy (oo-SHEE) district, which is the breezy and beautiful.  Check out our guide on things to do!

There is really no way to see the old town of Lausanne without lots of climbing, and it's a good thing we have strong quads.  The steep inclines up some of the hills were well worth it from the views we saw.  

We started with an inclined walk to the Cathédrale de Lausanne, which is the biggest church in Switzerland; Gorgeous day out! 

One of Lausanne's oldest traditions is still in play at the Cathedral-the night watchman.  Every night since 1405 a watchman calls out the hours between 10pm and 2am from the tower.  The first watchmen were fire lookouts back when houses were made of wood, today they are still letting residents know all is well!

From up here there are some pretty spectacular views of the city:

 The sky was so clear you can see Lake Geneva a few miles away and the Ouchy district.

 Selfie moment

The Cathedral was an early Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.  At the church's main entrance in the Middle ages you can see tributes to Mary: Jesus overseeing her coronation and the panels just below Jesus show her death and Assumption. A few hundred years later the Protestants moved into town and took over the church.

The protestants practiced Iconoclasm and removed all of the religious symbols in the building, so the once ornately decorated Cathedral has been cleared of all its statues, decorations and color.  Can you see the slight hints of color that have been washed away?

We used our imaginations to imagine the colorful frescos that once dressed the walls that have been removed.

Check out this pipe organ (I really liked this filter on the photo by the way), it cost 4 MILLION Swiss franks, and is made of 6,700 pipes;  I wonder how long it takes to learn how to play?!?

A few tombs remain, a dog at the feet for loyalty.

There are pretty stained glass windows, but the rose window is the church's only surviving window from the 13th century.

A little more color to liven this place up (added in the 20th century)!

The town doesn't feel too crowded, and the buildings are beautiful and not overused.

We went to the Place de la Plaud, the main square of the old town, decorated with the beautiful fountain of Justice (the blindfolded figure holding her sword and scales).  

Right behind her is the animated clock whose animated figures preform in French every hour.  I wish I could tell you what they were saying, but if you speak French you'll understand:)

The rest of our time in Lausanne was spend down in the breezy Ouchy district by the waterfront; tempted to jump in Jordan???

 What a great place for a nice walk.  We saw many walkers, joggers, and runners enjoying the beautiful weather- so were we!

Most European cities can boast about their numerous  museums and galleries, but we think that Lausanne has one of the best museums that's a must see!  The Museé Olympique is a reminder that Lausanne is the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee.

The Olympic Fire:

Visiting the Olympic Museum was the perfect museum to come to right before the 2016 games in Rio, it got us hyped up! 

The museum houses everything you ever wanted to know about the Olympic Games, let's take a look...

The museum takes you through the games history, from the competitions of ancient Greece in 776 BC to the modern Olympics, it's all here.  They have tons of Olympic memorabilia, antiques, artifacts, multimedia shows, photos, coins, medals and so much more to check out!

This plate has a special place in my heart, because it was from the Los Angeles Olympic games, and the Helms Bakery is such a monumental place in LA. Speaking of food, fun factoid: did you know that in the 2012 London Olympics athletes consumed: over 100 tons of meat, 2.7 million bananas, 25,000 loaves of bread, 19 tons of eggs, and 75,000 liters of milk!?! That's a lot of food!

We really liked playing on the simulators, and got a chance to try some of the Olympic sports ourselves...running...shooting....soccer... so fun!

I'm getting stumped but it's totally okay...

The medals: we had a hard time picking our favorites, but it was pretty cool to see how they have changed over time.

"The important thing in life is not the triumph, 

but the fight; the essential thing is not to have won,

but to have fought well"

(but really, we did win here)

 We loved the Olympic Museum, and recommend it as a European museum that should not be missed.

Onto the last legs of our trip, and if you're wondering, why haven't these foodies posted anything they've eaten in Lausanne, well...that's because Switzerland is crazy expensive, so I packed a loaf of bread, some peanut butter, and jelly and BAM, that was what we ate!