I had read about Glasi Hergiswil in one of my guidebooks. They are a well known Swiss business that has been open since 1817 on the shore of Lake Luzern. They also have quite the set up. The experience starts at the free museum that walks you through the history of glass and the factory. Kind of cheesy, but it's the only way to get to the real jewel of the tour: the manufacturing floor.
That furnace is run 24 hours a day, costs $3 million, and has an expected lifespan of 5-10 years.
On the day we visited, they were making large and small vases and dolphin shaped candle holders.
We stood on the platform for awhile watching them. And then we headed over to the do-it-yourself glass blowing area.
This is pretty cool. For 15CHF they let you blow your own glass ball. We let Marion give it a go.
She did a great job! Hopefully it makes it back to the US in one piece.
How crazy is that that they let you stand that close to the glass furnace though? I was surprised by that. But not as surprised as I was by this.
One little sign to stop people from going into that area. It's moments like these when I realize what a litigious society America is.
After the museum/factory portion, you exit the building and cross a driveway to the next building. The next portion is an exhibit that demonstrates various properties of glass. It also has alot of hands on items. Marion loved the glass drum set.
The exhibition ends at one of the stores. We chose to go outside and enjoy the playground.
Behind the slide is a contraption made up of glass and metal.
You buy marbles on the right,
climb up the stairs in the back, and drop the marbles. The marbles make their way down through the contraption and end in the chute at the bottom.
Brian and I could have stayed there for hours.
Instead, Brian and Marion played at the sandbox while I went across the street to the larger factory store.
It was a great day. Interesting, informative, play areas for the kids, and shopping. The great weather made it that much better. People were swimming in the lake and drinking at the bar that Glasi Hergiswil had on the lakeshore. There is also a restaurant to enjoy a meal. Go enjoy Glasi Hergiswil!
1 comment:
That's really neat!!! We've been to the glass factories in Venice, but none have a do-it-yourself area or a playground for kids. Looks like you had beautiful weather also. Love to all.
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