Well, here we are in our hotel room in Zurich. We checked out of the farm Airbnb in Vaduz around 9, crossed the river into Switzerland over the bridge next to the Old Bridge we walked across yesterday, hit the A3 and an hour and a half later, here we were. The parking garage I had selected was full but the one right next door, the one the hotel had recommended, was available and so one interesting turnaround in an alleyway and the deed was done.
Hotel Rossli is in the shadow of the Grossmunster Cathedral. Judy had read about the cathedral and wanted to see it. I brought it up in Google maps and lo and behold, we walked a few feet and there it was in all its glory.
It’s an impressive building with an interesting history. It was probably first built around 1100 CE. The legend goes that Felix and Regula were chased by heathens to Zurich where they were beheaded. They picked up their severed heads and staggered a few feet to where they wished to be buried. Later, Charlamagne’s horse, chasing a stag while hunting, stumbled on their graves. Charlamagne caused Grossmunster to be erected on that spot.
Grossmunster turned out to be the starting point for the Reformed Church in northern German speaking Switzerland. Two of its leaders, Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531) and Heinrich Bullinger (1504 – 1575) were instrumental in following the lead of Martin Luther and Calvin to reform the previously Roman Catholic practices to focus on the teachings of the bible, now available, thanks to Zwingli, in German.
Zwingli was a radical: he had most of the decorative artwork removed. Both reformers caused change not only to the church but to Zurich politics as well. The Presbyterians in the US use some of Bullinger’s writings in their Book of Confessions.
We toured the cathedral, of course. Judy did the crypt and I climbed the 186 stairs to the bell tower.
Next, lunch. Following Niece Amy’s recommendation we walked maybe 20 minutes across the river to the world’s first vegetarian restaurant, Hotel Hilti. The food was great. Judy had a vegetarian stroganoff and I did the Hilti Cheeseburger, also vegetarian although I went with the Swiss cheese rather than going whole hog, so to speak, with the vegan cheese.
Zurich is the biggest city in Switzerland, and it’s an all-business kind of place. Lots of guys running around in nicely tailored suits (although hardly any ties in evidence). Lots of English spoken. Zurich is a major world financial capital.
Two business guys sitting next to us at lunch were speaking English, one from Switzerland and the other from the US. I didn’t eavesdrop too much but I’ve given and received enough sales pitches in my day to recognize one when I hear it. The Swiss guy, a banker I’ll bet, was schmoozing the American with some sort of financial deal. The risk of rising and falling interest rates was part of the pitch.
It’s been pretty warm here today, 86 F and humid but we soldiered on, walking down the Bahnhofstrasse to Lake Zurich. It’s THE high-end shopping street in Zurich and probably the
world. Amy’s favorite watch store, Beyer, had a $25,000 watch in the window. We didn’t go in for fear of making an impulse buying decision we’d later regret. Besides, $25K doesn’t even give you a phone like my Apple Watch.
At the lake, we inquired about a boat ride. The “short” cruise left in 3 minutes, 17 Swiss Francs for two, please. I waved my watch (Apple pay isn’t supported for $25K either), we walked to the ship, boarded and they drew the gangplank up and away we went.
The trip took us maybe 20% of the length of the lake, which is about 16 miles long. It’s a ferry boat. Many passengers got on and off at the dozen or so stops we made. The shoreline is heavily populated, with one town after another as far as we went. Clearly the lakeshore serves as bedroom communities for Zurich.
Now it’s hotel check in time and so we hoof it up the hill to our garage to extract enough clothing and stuff to get by for one night. The streets in Old Town, where our hotel is located, are cobblestone and hilly. No cars allowed. I insisted that we move the stuff into a backpack rather than trying to wheel a big suitcase. Mission accomplished; we’re checked in.
Normally, we’d hit the pavement and see more sights. But it’s hot. Our room is fully air conditioned if you consider two fans as air conditioning. Nonetheless, we’re laying low until dinner time.
We’re planning on staying here until after lunch tomorrow before heading to our one-week stay near Interlachen. The forecast is for a rainy day tomorrow so we may end up in the museum. If not, there’s a funicular ride recommended by Jeff.
Dinner was at an Amy-Recommended fondu restaurant. No menu to speak of, just fondu and wine. What more do you need? It was heavenly. Fifty years ago we had fondu at our honeymoon hotel on Lake Geneva. I’ll save that fondu story for when we’re there this trip.
Walking to and from the restaurant, we were impressed that Old Town, at least is a young person place. We crossed half a dozen squares – plazas on our half—mile walk. Each had loud, modern music playing. The crowds were large and young. And outside café tables were everywhere. A happening place
We’re going to be staying in one spot for the next seven days – Spiez on the south shore of Lake Thunersee near Interlachen. The idea is to take a break, here at the midpoint of our six-week itinerary. Our instructions are, from our kids, to do nothing but sit and read books. That ain’t happenin’ but we’ll try to relax rather than put on our usual day-long trek to the nearest cathedral, ruins or museum.
