Day 1: Arrival in Zurich
We finally returned, after about 25 years, to the land of chocolate, Swiss bank accounts and Heidi. Getting here involved a bit of a circuitous route that began with a drive to Larchmont (which gave us a chance to get a Gabby and Nate fix), a train to Philadelphia
another train to Philadelphia International Airport, an overnight flight to Zurich,and finally a train to the center of Zurich and a short walk to our hotel.
Our entire trip here was flawless with the exception of our disembarking the train station in Zurich on the wrong side of the tracks requiring us (me) to carry the bags up a couple of flights of stairs. Fortunately, a strapping young lad took pity on an elderly couple and helped us.
Jeri and I had a few hours to kill before Molly and Dave arrived, so we decided to shower and then go on an explore. First we went back to the train station
to figure out the correct way to leave the station to warn Molly and Dave. We sent them explicit directions on how to get the train from the airport and how to correctly get to the hotel. Unfortunately, Dave's European number was incorrect and they never got the update. This gave them the opportunity to get lost all on there own.
From the train station,
we strolled into the old town, die Altestadt,
thinking we might climb the tower of the Grossmunster, the iconic Zurich church. We have been to many iconic structures throughout the world, each covered with scaffolding including Notre Dame, the clock in Prague, the Acropolis, the Forbidden City in Bejiing, and countless others. Grossmünster did not disappoint.
The renovations also saved us a significant climb since the tower was closed. We still hadn't heard from Molly and Dave, and began to think they might be having communications problems since we saw that their plane had already landed, so we decided to start heading back to the hotel. As we wandered back through the old city,
a light rain began to fall. We were happy to find it brief and never to hard. By the time we got back to our hotel , the rain had stopped. As we walked in we noticed 2 tired Americans checking in at the desk. Great timing!
After Molly and Dave got into their room and freshened up, we all went back out to explore.
The weather started out looking like more rain, but within a short time, the sun came out and the rest of the day was beautiful. First order of the afternoon was to find some food. We sat outside at an Italian restaurant in the heart of the Altestadt and had a nice leisurely lunch.
Refueled, we continued on to the Fraumünster,
a church famous for its Chagall stained glass windows. There were also crypts there especially for Molly.
Since the weather was now pretty spectacular, we decided to walk along the river to Lake Zurich
and take a boat ride around the lake. This allowed us more time out in the sun to keep our jet-lag at bay.
We stopped at the Lindt factory in Kilschburg. Sadly, there were no tickets available (we had checked 2 days earlier, so if you want to go, get tickets early!).
The boat trip was a very pleasant 1 1/2 hours in the sun.
On our return we stopped at a falafel stand for a light dinner. The proprietor utilizing her "Jadar" pegged us as Jews. She was Israeli and had her stand here for about 30 years. We sat and ate our falafel on a park bench skirting the pigeon poop. They were quite good (as expected from an Israeli).
We ended the day with a walk back to the hotel and a comfortable bed. Tomorrow we tackle the Swiss rail sytem on our way to Zermat.
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