2006: Switzerland, Scotland, and London

Part 1: Switzerland


Tuesday, July 11, 2006  European Adventure

I'm flying to Switzerland today to visit my son, Cory, in Zürich. He's in a 2 year research position at the University of Zürich.   I'll arrive tomorrow, after a 9 hour flight to London's Heathrow and a 1 ½ hour flight to Zürich. This is my first time off of the continent, and I'm very excited.  I've been preparing for this for a while and I think I'm ready. I've got the electrical adapters  for Switzerland and the UK (they're different) and also a couple of converters. I've got a prepaid cell phone that will work in Europe. I took a little refresher course in German.  I bought  a $322 15-day Swiss Pass prior to the trip. This  will allow me to travel on all trains, big and small, in Switzerland, and also includes many sightseeing boats and funiculars, and also museums.  I'll be staying there for 12 days and then flying to London, where I will catch a train to northern England.  I have a Scottish cousin there whom I would love to meet. I plan to stay there a couple of days and then I head back home to Denver.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006 Arrive in Zürich

I flew to Zurich this morning, crossing over Belgium. As we approach Zürich I see lots of rolling hills, with lakes, forests, and clusters of homes. There are maybe 20 to 100 houses in each cluster, with forests in between.  I can see paths heading into the forests.  It's all so open and uncrowded.  

Cory meets me at the airport as I come through  customs.  I'm disappointed that they didn't stamp my passport.  Where's my proof?  We take a train from the Flughaven (airport) to the Haupt Bahnhof (main train station), located downtown.  There are LOTS of trains there.  Lots of people.  Lots of activity.  Some train schedules are marked with a large "S", which I learn is for "schnell" (fast).  I want one of those.  We catch a local train to Zürich Stadelhof , and while, we wait for another train to Cory's neighborhood, we have a beer in a little park.  The trees in the park are huge, very old and gnarled,  with large maple-like leaves.  They provide a wonderful canopy over everyone on a warm July day.  

We took the light rail to Zollikerberg, about a 15 minute ride,  and walked to Cory's apartment on Langwattstrasse.  It's going to take a while to get used to the names here.  For now, I will refer to Zollikerberg as "Zolli".  The apartment  is  a one bedroom unit, with a wonderful sofa that unfolds out flat  onto the floor for a double-sized bed.  Homes here have blinds for the windows, but they're on the outside of the windows.  You use a crank to close them.  I guess they also provide some measure of security. The kitchen is well organized, with a nice large pantry.  There's the usual built-in dishwasher, and there's also a washer/dryer unit in the kitchen!  A single unit that washes and then drys your clothes.   These Swiss are efficient.  Well, it's efficient if you're just doing one load of wash.   

Cory provided me with a typical Swiss meal - fresh bread, spread with fresh mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes, a chocolate spread, and wine.  Perfect. After eating, I crashed. 

Thursday, July 13, 2006 A Tour of Zurich

Cory went to work this morning and I slept in a bit. He left some train schedules for me.  I brought some of my exercise DVDs, such a Tae Bo, and worked out.  Around noon I found my way back to the Zolli light rail station, and rode past  Spital, Waldburg,  Balgrist,  Hegibachplatz, and Kreuzplatz, to my destination at Stadelhofen. There are flowers everywhere along the way.  Most homes have window boxes with red flowers, or some bluish green flowers.  It's beautiful.  Cory met me at Stadelhofen and we walked down to the lake, Zürichsee.  Again, there are flowers everywhere. There is a beautiful walkway around the lake.  There are people swimming, walking, reading, people-watching.  And there are swans, lots of beautiful swans.   Unfortunately, it was very overcast, making it difficult to get photos that truly highlighted the fabulous colors.  In addition to the omnipresent flowers, the buildings are many different colors. 

    

From here, we followed the Limmat River (it feeds Zürichsee) to the old town, and proceeded on a wonderful walking tour of the city.  We visited the Fraumünster, a Catholic church, founded in  853 by King Ludwig of Germany, who gave it to his daughter for a convent, and was rebuilt in 1250.  It wasn't open to the public when we visited, but we enjoyed the frescoes in the cloister (a covered walk with an open colonnade on one side);  they're recently painted - in the 1920s.  the church has a very tall, blue spire which can be seen from all over Zürich.

 

Across the river from the Fraumünster is Grossmünster.   This church was founded in 1090 and, with its two tall towers, is the most recognizable structure in Zürich. It's a beautiful, austere, building.  One of the  towers is open to the public and is purported to have wonderful views of the city.  We paid a small fee and proceeded to go up the enclosed, narrow, circular staircase of the tower.  Then, after about a dozen steps, I heard the sound of people coming down the stairs ahead of us. I had a sudden onset of  claustrophobia.  There was no way I could continue, as I felt like I would be trapped when they approached. We turned around.  I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

A little history of  Grossmünster
The Three Martyrs

In the 3rd century, Felix and Regula were members of an all-Christian Roman legion that was to be executed en masse in southwest Switzerland. They fled with their servant Exuperantius and got as far as Zürich before being tried and executed in 286 AD.  According to tradition, the governor plunged the three saints into boiling oil and forced them to drink molten lead. The trio still refused to renounce their faith and so were finally beheaded. The nearby Wasserkirche stands on the site of their execution. Impressively, the martyrs still had enough energy to pick up their heads and climb to the top of a hill, where they dug their own graves and buried themselves. 

The Catholic Period

It was on this site that construction of the Grossmünster began in 1090, and most of it was completed by 1230. It was dedicated to the martyrs Felix, Regula, and Exuperantius, the patron saints of Zürich. From the 13th century, images of the saints carrying their heads were used in official seals of the city and on coins (they still appear on the seal of Zürich).

Zwingli and the Protestant Period

The cathedral reached perhaps even greater prominence through a man who had no use for saints or relics - Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531), a contemporary of Luther and one of the great leaders of the Reformation.  Preaching for 12 years from Grossmünster's pulpit, Zwingli called for religious freedom, encouraged priests to get married (as he had done), attacked idolatry and denounced the Mass. In 1524, he ordered all altar paintings and church treasures removed from the church.

     

We continued on our walking tour, heading through Old Town, meandering narrow, winding, cobblestoned streets, lined with very colorful 3 or 4 story buildings . There were lots of shops and restaurants with patio dining. Most shops have guild signs hanging above the door, signifying the particular craft.  Many of the buildings had flower boxes.  It was quite beautiful. Back along the river, we passed some of the old guild buildings and the Rathaus (town hall).   The Rathaus was built in 1694, atop piles driven into the riverbed.  The guilds date back to the 1300s and have names such as "Haus zur Saffran"and  "Hause zum Rüden" (wolf hound), which  was basically a bar for aristocratic hunters.  The buildings all have interesting gargoyles and such. Zurich also has large fountains everywhere, with water that is drinkable. We fill up our water bottles at them. We had a lunch of beer and brats at a wonderful little open air restaurant along the Limmat, and later had dinner at a beer hall.  Yes, we had beer and brats again. But, there was no dancing.  Darn.  

       

This was a really wonderful day.  I had a great tour guide, allowing me to take my time for those photo ops.  This is an incredibly beautiful city, so clean and colorful and interesting and full of history. Prior to this tour, the oldest buildings I had ever seen were the old Spanish Missions of California and Arizona, which just date to the 1700s.  You see no litter or graffiti any where. From what I've seen of Zürich, there are  many apartments and very few homes, and the apartments all have balconies or patios with pots of flowers, most of them red, and many of them are geraniums.  

Switzerland is awesome!


Friday, July 14, 2006   Luzern

This morning Cory skipped work and we rode a train to Lucerne, or "Luzern", as it  is called here.  We caught this train at the main train station, or "Haupt Bahnhof", in downtown Zürich. Of course, we had already ridden on two light rails by the time we got to the station. These trains are the quietest and smoothest running trains I have ever seen.  The cars are very comfortable and beautiful, with upper decks. Lucerne is about an hour  to the southwest of Zürich.  The trip is through rolling hills with many lakes and rivers along the way.  The towns we pass through also have an abundance of apartment buildings, with more being built.  however, it doesn't appear to be crowded anywhere.  As in Zürich, all of the apartments have many bright red geraniums.  

Lucerne is a much smaller town than Zürich and it is extremely beautiful and has a very relaxed atmosphere.  It is also on a lake, as are most of Switzerland's main cities. We began our tour walking through the oldest part of the city. 

There are a number of bridges, with 2 particularly historic bridges:  Kappel Brücke (Chapel Bridge) and  Spreuer Brücke. Kappel Brücke is a beautiful, covered wooden bridge that spans the Reuss River just upstream from Lake Lucerne. It dates to the 14th century and is the oldest bridge in Europe. It was built to provide a lookout  station to spot enemy intruders from the direction of the lake. The entire length of one side of the bridge is lined with flower boxes, filled with a multitude of colors.  It's absolutely beautiful! The bridge's roof panels were painted in the 17th century with scenes depicting Lucerne's history.  It is joined by the Wasserturm (water tower) in the middle of the river. The tower has served as a jail, a lighthouse, and a treasury.  And,did I mention the swans?  They added immensely to the beauty and serenity of the scene.    I took a LOT of pictures from quite a few angles.  During the day, we stopped at the sidewalk cafes over-looking the river and the beautiful bridge. Iced tea. Ice cream. Lunch. Beer.  Dinner. The place draws you to it.  It is so serene.  Some history of the Kappel Brücke: here

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The Spreuer Brücke is just downstream from the Kappel Brücke.  It's  also wooden, but a little smaller.  The  Spreuer Brücke was built in 1408 as part of the defense for the city. It was rebuilt in 1566 after being destroyed by floods. It has a little chapel and some interesting painting of death in the rafters. "Totentanz" (dance of death) is the name of that series of paintings made by Kaspar Meglinger 1626-1635.   The bridge overlooks the Nadelwerk, built in 1859, which is used to control the river's flow. 

           

Lucerne is such a beautiful city.   We spent the afternoon walking around the old town, visiting the Wein Markt with its beautiful frescoes, the Kapellplatz fountain, and the Swiss Army Knife store.  I bought a USB Swiss Knife there.  Complete with encryption!  Cool!  

          

We went inside the Hofkirche, a beautiful Renaissance church, built in 1645.  Actually, it was re-built that year after a fire a few years earlier.  The twin towers, built in 1525 survived the fire and remain intact. The church is furnished with  wonderful paintings and statues; quite ornate.   

Some history of the Hofkirche: here.

           

The Löwendenkmal (Lion monument) is a large sandstone carving of a dying lion, created in 1821 as a tribute to some Swiss Guards who were killed  while serving in France in 1792.  Quite moving. 

 

Other sights we just viewed from a distance were the  Jesuit Church, with its onion domes, created in 1666.  If it weren't for the presence of the beautiful Kappel Brücke, it would completely dominate the river.   We also saw the remains of a medieval wall and tower, the Museggmauer, built in the late 1300s.

  

And then we caught the train(s) home.  What a wonderful day and what a wonderful city!

 

Saturday, July 15, 2006   Appenzell

Today was a 9 train day.  Cory had sent me some photos from a hike he had taken to Seealpsee in the Appenzeller region. The  location was stunning, with beautiful, very steep  mountains, and  lakes, and cows.  All it needed was a man in Lederhosen playing a Flugelhorn to complete the Heidi-country image.  I really wanted to see this place.  We planned to take the train from Zürich Bahnhof to Appenzell  and then to Wasserauen for a hike to Seealpsee, followed by a visit to the village of Appenzell, which is known for its folklore and traditions.  

            

The weather changed and we decided to forgo the hike and go straight to Appenzell.  It was actually much less than anticipated: a street of little shops and restaurants and nothing much else to explore.  No real sense of antiquity. We had lunch there and sampled the local brew in the shade of some odd, old trees with very thick branches.  We wandered through some shops and then the weather improved and we decided to go for the hike.   We took the train to Wasserauen. It was stunningly beautiful country, with green meadows and high, steep mountains.  There were about 30 to 40 hang-gliders circling above, like vultures.   The trail was a gravel road.  We followed it past some sheep and some cows, and then it led up an extremely steep section, and I made it with much difficulty.  The second steep section was easier, as I warmed  up, however, when I saw the next section ahead, I knew it wasn't going to happen.  We turned around and headed back.  A failure.  

There are a lot of cows here and most of them are wearing bells.  We were serenaded by a cacophony of melodious cowbells. Here's a sample:   cowbell video   As we walked back down the trail, we heard a herd of cattle mooing, repeatedly and insistently.  After about 10 minutes of this, a fellow on a bike arrived at the gate.  When he appeared, the lead cow (I don't know who made her the lead, but she was and she did) led the herd up the hill to the barn.  There was plenty of grass in the meadow where they had been grazing, so I don't think it was feeding time.  Milking time? 

            

Sunday, July 16, 2006   Zürich

Cory went to work this morning and I spent most of the day in Zürich, just enjoying the sights.  It was a beautiful, sunny day, so I headed back the lake, Zürichsee, to catch some photos  showing blue sky and blue water.  The walk way around the lake, or Quai, was crowded with people.  Walking, standing, sitting on benches, and some swimming.  Actually I think a Quai is technically a wharf, and there are places all along the lake and the river to tie up boats.   The ever-present swans were there, too. It was a gorgeous day. The city was preparing for a festival - a ferris wheel was being assembled in the Sechseläutenplatz (Six bells park), which brings to mind something unique about Zürich. Zürich has a very interesting spring festival that is highlighted by an event in this park: the burning of the Boegg, a snowman-looking effigy of winter. We have our Groundhog Day, and the Swiss have their Sechseläuten day.  

From Wikipedia, the origins of the festival:

The roots of the festival go back to medieval times when the first day of summer working hours was celebrated in the guildhalls across the city. City ordinances strictly regulated the length of the working day in that era. During the winter semester the workday in all workshops lasted as long as there was daylight, but during the summer semester (i.e. starting on Monday following vernal equinox the law proclaimed that work must cease when the church bells tolled at six o'clock. Sechseläuten is a German word that literally translates into "The six o'clock ringing of the bells". Changing to summer working hours traditionally was a joyous occasion because it marked the beginning of the season where people had some non-working daylight hours.

Here's one description of the festival events:

Zurich's centuries-old Sechselaeuten stems from the tradition of driving out evil winter spirits and welcoming the longer, milder days of spring. On Sechselaeuten-Monday, some 3,500 colourfully-costumed guildsmen, over 350 horsemen, 50 horse-drawn wagons and around 30 bands parade through Zurich to the Sechselaeutenplatz for the burning of the Boegg, a straw effigy atop a 13-metre high bonfire. The procession to the bonfire is a huge spectacle and attracts thousands of spectators. The bonfire is lit at precisely six o'clock in the evening and horsemen then circle the blaze three times to the accompaniment of the Sechselaeuten March. Tradition says that the faster the Boegg burns, the sooner summer will arrive and the longer and sunnier it will be.

Some  pictures I located on the web from previous Sechseläuten festivals (the Boegg even has a smile on his face):  

     

A very large, red, Victorian building  caught my eye and I wandered toward it.  It was the Rotes Schloss, or Red Castle, built in 1893.  I continued my walk, meandering along the Limmat River, re-photographing  Gross Muenster and  the Rathaus.  

             

I met Cory for a late lunch at a restaurant located in one of the old guild buildings, adjacent to the river.  Later, we walked to the Roman ruins, up on the Lindenhof, the hill overlooking the Limmat.  There remains a wall from the fortification that had been built around 380 AD.   

       

After that, we stopped for coffee along the Bahnhofstrasse, which is where the very high-end shopping district is located.  Think Armani and Prada. Our coffee was pretty high-end, too.    We spent the evening down  by the lake, just relaxing and watching the boats and the people. We were startled by  a rustling sound in the bushes next to the bench Cory was sitting on.  To our surprise, out walked a swan.  A very large swan.  Not knowing the disposition of swans, i.e., are they nasty like some geese can be, it was a tense moment at the swan approached.  Then, the thing stretched its neck so that it was eye to eye with Cory!  Reminiscent of ET. Of course, I helped by taking photos.  We didn't know what to expect, then, but it eventually continued its path past me and on to the water.

We completed our day by walking back to the old town and having a nice dinner at an outdoor cafe.

                

Some observations about Zürich and the parts of Switzerland I have seen so far:


Monday, July 17, 2006   Gruyère and the Chocolate Train

Today we did the Chocolate Train!  Chocolate and trains.  Two of my favorite things. We began the day leaving the apartment at 5:15 a.m. to catch the local tram, which connected to the tram taking us to the Hauptbahnhof, where we caught the 6:15 train to Lausanne, located in the west along Lake Geneva. From there we connected with a train to Montreaux, where we caught the Chocolate Train at 9:30.  There was never more than a couple of minutes between trains, and they were all exactly on time.  Amazing!  Montreaux is in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.    The area seems more Mediterranean, and there are vineyards covering the many slopes overlooking Lake Geneva.  This is a beautiful place; I wish we had some time to explore. 

The Chocolate Train had refurbished 1890s train  cars.  It was very comfortable.  We left Lake Geneva , heading  into the Alps to the town of Gruyère.  We took a bus to town and had a tour of the Gruyère Cheese Factory.  This wasn't  overly fun or interesting, but I enjoyed  the lighting on the bricks of cheese. The cheese was moved among the shelves by robotic arms as it aged.  

We then re-boarded the bus for a tour of Château de Gruyère, the Gruyère Castle, which was both fun and interesting!  Gruyère is named after a bird, the crane, which is "grue" in French.  We grabbed a map of the castle and did a self-guided tour of the place. It was amazing.  There is a little town, with a single, cobblestoned road, leading to the castle gate. All of the buildings are colorfully decorated, with flowers everywhere, of course.  The castle was built between 1270 and 1282,  and was the property of the Counts of Gruyères until the bankruptcy of the Count Michel in 1554.  It is a square shape, open in the middle, which was where  the stable was located.  There a a number of beautiful stained glass windows, overlooking the village below.  There was an interesting painting of what looked to be a scroll on one of the castle walls; it turned out to be a sun dial.  Pretty neat.  The rooms were all furnished and the brochure described the function of each.

                              

After our tour, we returned to the village and had a wonderful lunch of raclette - a soft Swiss cheerss that is wonderful when melted, served with potatoes, onions, bread, and pickles. The raclette is melted in a special grill, right at your table, and you scrape off the cheese as it melts and spread it on bread or potatoes.  It was a very warm day, and we had a very hot grill at our table, but we enjoyed it.  Very good food!  And fun!   

The castle tour and the raclette were wonderful.  When we left there, we boarded the bus  and headed for the Nestles-Cailler Chocolate Factory.  The tour of the factory was mildly interesting, as they described the differences between dark chocolate, light, white, and milk chocolate.  I don't quite remember them, but it's something like: 

This was not a tour like Charley and The Chocolate Factory.  The only machine I was in action appeared to making a nougat of some type.  After that, we walked past a long counter holding many different types of chocolate in many different forms. These were samples, available to us.  A chocoholic's paradise!  If I had been better prepared, i would have brought a napkin to hold them.  It was a very warm day, and they quickly melted in my hand.  Thank goodness Cory didn't get a picture of me with chocolate all over my hands and face. (Not really all over my face). After that, we were escorted (herded) to the chocolate store, where we were able to select from about 30 - 40 types of bars, rolls, etc. At retail, of course.   

The bus took us back to where the train was awaiting, and we rode it back to Montreaux.  Since we had left Zürich bright and early, and it was close to 6 p.m., we were tired and decided to head home.  Montreaux and Lausanne, seen from the train, are both beautiful.  They are both adjacent to Lake Geneva, and there are vineyards on all of the hillsides, and even in some front yards.    

It was a beautiful, wonderful day.  The train and bus rides through the mountain villages were awesome.  The mountains are very steep, unlike the Rockies.  Very small villages are everywhere in Switzerland, and it is surprising that they remain separate, with no sign of expanding and melding into larger towns.   I'm now a year older. Thank you, Cory, for a wonderful, memorable Geburtstag!! 

I finished my day doing my nightly chores:  recharging 3 camera batteries, my laptop, my PDA, and my cell phone.


Tuesday, July 18, 2006   Zürichsee

Cory went to work today, and I was on my own.  I decided to rest a bit after yesterday's travels.  At noon I went down to the Zürichsee, and boarded a boat for an afternoon tour of the lake.  The Swiss Pass that I bought is sure getting some use!  It's covered all of the trains I've been on except the Chocolate Train. And now, I'm using it for boats.  It was a beautiful, although hot, day.  After the Zürichsee cruise, I  took another boat, a very long but low boat, low enough to go under Zürich's many bridges.   It cruised up the Limmat River, past the Aldt Städt, to the Haupt Bahnhof (main train station).  The Landes Museum is next to the station, and I spent several hours touring it.   There were many exhibits displaying Renaissance art as well as some displaying life throughout the centuries in Switzerland.  Very interesting.  The museum admission was also covered by my Swiss Pass.  Such a deal!  Later, I met Cory for dinner in the patio of a local Italian restaurant.  

Another beautiful day!

             

Wednesday, July 19, 2006  Mt. Rigi

Cory worked this morning and I met him at noon at the Haupt Bahnhof.  I was surprised to see a farmer's market inside the station.  We grabbed some snacks (delicious cherries, red pepper stuffed with cheese, stuffed artichokes, stuffed prosciutto, and some large soft pretzels), and headed for a train back to Luzern.  Once there, we boarded a steamboat up the Luzern See to the little town of Vitznau.  The lake was beautiful, nestled into those high, straight, mountains. A person on board pointed to some homes way atop a mountain and said that Audrey Hepburn was buried there, and that Sean Connery has a home up there.  

Once in Vitznau, we took a little narrow guage cogwheel train up to the top of Mount Rigi, the "Queen of Mountains".  Again, the scenery was fantastic.  The top of Mt. Rigi, or "Rigi Kulm", is only 5,500 feet, 300 feet lower than my home in Denver, but what a view!  The climb from Vitznau was nearly 4,000 feet, and the train climbed it in short order.  We had our wonderful lunch,  bought at the farmer's market in the morning, and roamed around the mountain top, enjoying the views and the photo ops.  Later, we headed back down Mt. Rigi, once again on the cogwheel train, however, this time, we stopped just a little ways down at the village of Rigi-Kaltbad. There, we took the shortest route back down   - straight down the mountain on a cable car. - to another little lake side town, Weggis.   This was a lovely little village and, judging by the large soccer ball and boot in the center of town, along with  the Brazilian flags in the storefront windows, the town of Weggis must have hosted the Brazilian soccer team for practices prior to the World Cup.  We again caught the steamboat and  went back to  beautiful Luzern for a quick  meal before catching the train back to Zürich.  This was a great way to spend an afternoon!

The steamboat and the cogwheel train weren't included in my Swiss Pass, but I did get reduced rates.  I'm definitely getting my money's worth with that pass. 

                                       
There aren't many cars in Switzerland, but many of them look like this:   How do people haul things home from Home Depot?

Thursday, July 20, 2006 

Today I'm venturing out of the city on my own while Cory works.  I've decided to head south, through the Alps and to the Swiss-Italian Mediterranean resort town of Lugano.  This is a 3 hour trip, taking me through the heart of the Alps. This train is an Italian train, quite different from the Swiss trains.  First of all, it's not on time. It's noisier and the cars are not quite as clean, but it's okay. The cars have individual cabins, capable of holding 6 to 8 people.   At some point we go through a tunnel that goes for miles and then we emerge  on the south side of the mountain.  The names of  the towns are now in Italian as we follow a river through a valley.  There are vineyards as we approach the town of   Bellinzona, nestled in the mountains.  

I arrived at the Lugano train station, situated on a hill above the city, overlooking Lago di Lugano.  The train will continue to  Italy, which begins just south of Lugano Lake.  I saw 2 options to reach the city: 1) Walk down a steep path that began across from the station, or 2) Take the bus.  I selected the bus.  The city is quite large and sprawling and is mainly a resort.  I walked along the beautiful blue lake for a while then took a funicular ride up Monte San Salvatore.  This was my first ride on a funicular, which is a funny little train that goes straight up and down mountains.  At the top, I took all of the hikes to various overlooks, taking pictures everywhere, of course.  There is a small Catholic church at the top, and it has a terrazzo atop it for panoramic views from the mountaintop.  There are several large lakes in each direction and the valley is wall-to-wall houses.  I enjoyed lunch at a cafe on the mountain, and then rode the funicular back down to town. This is very unlike the other areas of Switzerland that I have visited. 

                     

A panorama shot from the top of the church on San Salvatore:  

When I decided to leave Lugano, I walked in the direction a sign pointed towards a bus stop that would take me to the train station, up on the hill. The streets are one-way, so there is no bus stop across from the one I arrived at earlier.  Somehow, I missed the bus stop, and kept walking, up the hill and towards the station. I figured it was about 2 miles to the train.  It was hot - about 100 degrees, but I continued.  I wound up on the other side of the hill, crossing a bridge over a main highway; I had no idea how to get to the station from there, so I went into a gas station to ask for directions. I was absolutely shocked to discover a bar inside!!  Are there no laws prohibiting drinking and driving?  It just seemed so wrong.   There was a bartender and 2 guys were sitting at the bar.  I asked first in English, but they just   stared, and I tried "Wo ist die Bahnhof?", with equal results.  Maybe it should have been "das Bahnhof" or  "der Bahnhof". I felt like they were toying with me and left feeling very frustrated. I kept walking and found a bus stop with a parked bus.  I asked the bus driver for directions, but he did not understand. A young man overheard and said he'd help me get there.  We took the bus back to Lugano, to the very place where I had started my meandering more than an hour earlier. He then pointed out the bus stop that had eluded me earlier.  This very cool guy had even stayed with me, passing his own stop, just to help.  Very nice.   

I caught the next bus and arrived at the train station, where I discovered that there is a gondola  that transports people between Lugano and the station.  Wish I'd seen that earlier.  After I boarded the train, I started to call Cory and tell him I'd be back in 2 ½ hours.  As I was looking up his phone number, I noticed that time and it hist me that I was on a train that was in motion and yet it wasn't due to leave for another 10 minutes. Uh, oh.  The wrong train! Oh, well, it was heading in the right direction. It was a commuter train, making stops at all of the little stations.  I hoped to get off in Bellinzona and catch the correct train to Zürich., assuming the correct train didn't pass us along the way.  My luck was good and I caught the right train about 4 minutes  after disembarking from the commuter train.  Ahhh.  big sigh of relief.  

Cory was working late and we decided to meet at a local restaurant, by his home.  As I left the Haupt Bahnhof, and was awaiting the next tram  to take me to Stadelhof station, the sun was setting and the city lights were coming on. It was after 10 p.m. I took a couple of pictures and then the lights were calling to me!  I decided to walk down by the Aldt Städt, along the Limmat, and shoot some night time scenes of this beautiful city. I shot Grossmünster and Fraumünster. It just kept getting better.  I kept walking and shooting.  I just missed the train to Zolli and caught the next one 20 minutes later. By the time I finally arrived at the restaurant, it was closed and Cory  had been waiting for a half hour and was worried.  Oops.  Sorry. 

             

Friday, July 21,  2006            Falling am Rhein

In the morning we went to the University, so Cory could complete his preparation for a trip to Holland on Sunday,and I could have an internet connection. when I planned this trip, I had hoped to go to northwest England to meet my 2nd cousin, Allie.  We met via email last year when I was doing some family research.  He grandmother was my grandfather's big sister, and they grew up in Macduff, a little fishing village eon the northeastern coast of Scotland.  Allie also grew up there and is well versed in the family history.   She  was recovering from surgery and my "Plan A" was to meet her after I left Switzerland.  "Plan B'" , in case she had not recuperated well enough to receive visitors, was to go to Macduff.  As it turned out, I received an email from her husband stating that she was not well enough for visitors, so I had to put "Plan B" into effect. 

I changed my flight to London to Sunday instead of Monday, so I could leave at the same time as Cory, and I also added a flight from London to Aberdeen.  I obtained a hotel reservation for Sunday night via the hotel's website, but  I also needed a room for Monday and Tuesday nights and was unable to book them.  I thought I would use Aberdeen as a home base for a  few days.  I'll worry about it when I get there.  Must be a fluke in their booking engine.

After we finished our business, Cory and I headed north by train (of course - is there any other way to travel in Switzerland?) to the town of Schaffhausen, located near the German border and along the Rhine River.  I have always wanted to see the Rhine and have dreamed of taking a cruise down it and seeing lots of castles. 

The Rhine is a beautiful, green river, presumably getting its color from glacier melt.  We exited the train when we encountered the river, prior to reaching Schaffhausen, and walked the remaining distance to the town.  It was a wonderful walk along the river and the day  was gorgeous.  At Schaffhausen we visited the Rheinfall, which is the largest waterfall in Europe.  It was pretty impressive.  We viewed it from a castle, Schloss Laufen, which dates back to the 1500s.  There were also tour boats available that were taking people up to the fall.  There was a  train  Bahnhof  at Schloss Laufen, located down by the river.  It's only open in the summer.  We found it to be very convenient on a hot summer's day.

                 

We took the train just up the track a ways, where  we spent a little bit of time around Schaffhausen, a very pretty little town. 

       

After Schaffhausen, we caught a train southeast to Stein am Rhein, a medieval village on the Rhine. This is a very attractive village, definitely there primarily for the tourists.  From the train stop, we must cross over the Rhine to reach the town.  As we approached the bridge, we saw people swimming, and I decided to go get my feet wet - we would at least go wading in the Rhine.  As I walked into the water, I slipped and fell, landing on my butt, but saving my camera by holding it high, and I began laughing.  What a sight in my wet jeans.   We continued on our tour of the village, with me acting as though it's perfectly natural to be walking around in wet clothes.  We noticed tour boats and headed towards them, but they had all just closed for the evening. Damn! We had  a lovely dinner at an outdoor cafe in Stein am Rhein.  

             

My clothes were just about dry by the time we caught the train back to Zürich.  As we were rushing to board the train, I caught this bulletin board:  Not sure what the ad was for, but the naked hockey players certainly caught my attention.

It was another beautiful day in Switzerland, and I was able to experience the Rhine River up close and personal.

Saturday, July 22, 2006   Last Swiss Day

Today  was my last day spent in Switzerland.  We stayed in town all day, visiting the campus again and then  getting in some shopping.  Chocoloate and Swiss cowbells.  Cory has me hooked on truffles from his favorite Swiss chocolate shop, Sprüngli.   The cowbells may become a windchime, inspired by the cows of Appenzell. 

Check out this cool motor scooter: Pretty comfy.

We went to lunch at a local college hang-out, The Crazy Cow I had a wonderful dish, röschtigrabe, described on the menu as " RÖSCHTIGRABE Gmüesröschti mit eme Servilasalat dezwüsche – wie im Wälschland ".   Potatoes, green beans, pork, and a nice, rich sauce.  

 

Sunday, July 23, 2006  Leaving Switzerland

We both headed to the airport bright and early this morning.  Cory's going to Holland for a meeting, and I'm going to London, where
I will catch a connecting flight to Aberdeen, Scotland.  

 My stay here has been wonderful, beyond words.   It was great seeing my son, and he was an ausgezeichnet guide.  Before I came here, Switzerland wasn't even on my list of places around the world that I would especially love to visit. That's changed.  I love it here.  It's incredibly beautiful, uncrowded, and so easy to navigate.  I love it!

On to Scotland!

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