Friday, July 31, 2009
Here’s Crystal standing beside a giant potted plant in a painted planter. The city is covered with these plants. It reminded us of the cow parade we enjoyed so much in Copenhagen.
I’m taking a chocolate and blogging break now to rest up for dinner. I’m not sure whether we’re resting up to walk to dinner or to be mentally up to chose a place. Last night we were somewhat put off by the prices at some restaurants, but we ended up finding a restaurant right on the river that was reasonably priced, delicious, and even had live music starting at 8:30. We enjoyed it all.
Zurich is a small, compact downtown. We were able to see everything on our list by 12:30 today, so we took a little cruise on Lake Zurich to relax. It was a lovely day for picture taking, and we took plenty of them. We had a slow start, as we had to find a bakery for breakfast. Things just didn’t get going till about noon here. We were able to find a stand with some rolls and juice, though. We ate them at a lovely park called the Lindhof. It was at the top of a small hill and had a view of the city. We had plenty of pigeons and small birds (finches?) hoping to enjoy our breakfast with us. Fortunately, a dog eventually chased them off.
The city is along the Limmat river, which is lovely and tree-lined. The Marriott Hotel is right on the banks of the river. There is plenty of shopping here, but it’s pretty expensive and high-fashion. They have some interesting local crafts, none of which were priced to tempt us, but we enjoyed looking.
The main churches here are the Fraumünster, Grossmünster, Wasserkirche and St. Peter’s. The Fraumünster had some really large and beautiful windows done by Marc Chagall. Sadly, most of the churches here don’t allow picture taking inside. We climbed the tower of Grossmünster cathedral for a beautiful view of the city. I’m glad I do a lot of stair climbing in my workout routine at the gym. It’s given me a very valuable skill for our trip.
We’ve been following the steps of Charlemagne here, as well as in Munich. I feel like this is part of our ancestral tour, as we trace one of our ancestors through him. The Grossmünster church has a statue of Charlemagne. It was one of two churches Charlemagne gave to his daughters here. He ordered Grossmünster to be built on the graves of the early martyrs, Regula and Felix, who were buried here.
We’re able to use our Euros here, but they give us change back in Swiss Francs. I can barely understand their German in Switzerland. Even sechs (six) sounds like sachs (sax?). I’m good at asking directions in German. Then, I just go along with the gesturing to figure out the answer. (Over that way, or over here!) Some times they throw in a few “nichts” (which sound like “nikts” here, which must mean it can’t be done. We’re getting on just great.
We’re also getting a lot of British culture here, as they have several British stations on TV. It’s mildly amusing, although I don’t always get what they’re talking about. Tomorrow is Swiss day. We’re leaving Zurich before the parade.
Here’s Crystal standing beside a giant potted plant in a painted planter. The city is covered with these plants. It reminded us of the cow parade we enjoyed so much in Copenhagen.
I’m taking a chocolate and blogging break now to rest up for dinner. I’m not sure whether we’re resting up to walk to dinner or to be mentally up to chose a place. Last night we were somewhat put off by the prices at some restaurants, but we ended up finding a restaurant right on the river that was reasonably priced, delicious, and even had live music starting at 8:30. We enjoyed it all.
Zurich is a small, compact downtown. We were able to see everything on our list by 12:30 today, so we took a little cruise on Lake Zurich to relax. It was a lovely day for picture taking, and we took plenty of them. We had a slow start, as we had to find a bakery for breakfast. Things just didn’t get going till about noon here. We were able to find a stand with some rolls and juice, though. We ate them at a lovely park called the Lindhof. It was at the top of a small hill and had a view of the city. We had plenty of pigeons and small birds (finches?) hoping to enjoy our breakfast with us. Fortunately, a dog eventually chased them off.
The city is along the Limmat river, which is lovely and tree-lined. The Marriott Hotel is right on the banks of the river. There is plenty of shopping here, but it’s pretty expensive and high-fashion. They have some interesting local crafts, none of which were priced to tempt us, but we enjoyed looking.
The main churches here are the Fraumünster, Grossmünster, Wasserkirche and St. Peter’s. The Fraumünster had some really large and beautiful windows done by Marc Chagall. Sadly, most of the churches here don’t allow picture taking inside. We climbed the tower of Grossmünster cathedral for a beautiful view of the city. I’m glad I do a lot of stair climbing in my workout routine at the gym. It’s given me a very valuable skill for our trip.
We’ve been following the steps of Charlemagne here, as well as in Munich. I feel like this is part of our ancestral tour, as we trace one of our ancestors through him. The Grossmünster church has a statue of Charlemagne. It was one of two churches Charlemagne gave to his daughters here. He ordered Grossmünster to be built on the graves of the early martyrs, Regula and Felix, who were buried here.
We’re able to use our Euros here, but they give us change back in Swiss Francs. I can barely understand their German in Switzerland. Even sechs (six) sounds like sachs (sax?). I’m good at asking directions in German. Then, I just go along with the gesturing to figure out the answer. (Over that way, or over here!) Some times they throw in a few “nichts” (which sound like “nikts” here, which must mean it can’t be done. We’re getting on just great.
We’re also getting a lot of British culture here, as they have several British stations on TV. It’s mildly amusing, although I don’t always get what they’re talking about. Tomorrow is Swiss day. We’re leaving Zurich before the parade.
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