Evening in Zurich

 By the time our train arrived in Zurich it was time to eat.  I told Brigitta and Peter that I would treat them to dinner.  Since they are vegetarians, we went to a vegetarian restaurant downtown called Hiltl.  It was founded in 1898 and is the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world.  

I suspect that when it was founded, the concept was rather strange, but it managed to survive.  Today it is very popular.  It is a two-story restaurant with an enormous buffet on the ground floor.  The buffet does not work as one would in the United States.  After filling your plate, you weigh it and receive a ticket with the cost.  It is quite expensive, especially if you go back for a second plate, as I did.  But this is Zurich, and everything is expensive.  When you are done eating, you give the waiter all your tickets and pay.   Even though I am not a vegetarian, the food was very good, especially the Indian dishes.

After our dinner, we took a long walk through the "Altstadt" (Old Town) to a local train station from which we could return to Uster.   Along the way we stopped at an overlook with a beautiful view of the "Altstadt".

The spires are of Zurich's cathedral, and next to them, if you look very, very closely, you can see the snow-covered peaks of the Alps.

 

Flowing through the city is the Limmat River.  The illuminated buildings in the background are of the University of Zurich.

In the background is the clock tower of St. Peter's Church, an iconic landmark of the city.

Coming up, more from Zurich.

Almost in Italy

Last Wednesday, my first day staying with my cousin Brigitta and her husband Peter, we took a train ride.  Brigitta had bought a day ticket to ride anywhere on the Swiss railway system.  The night before we talked about places that we could go.  One of the places we discussed was Lugano, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, on the border with Italy.

Wednesday morning was a gray, chilly day.  That clinched it.  We were going to the sunny south of Switzerland.

We walked from their house, down the hill, to the bus stop to go to the Uster train station.

From the Uster train station, it was a short trip to Zurich's main train station where we hopped on a train to Lugano.  Brigitta had splurged on the day pass and bought first class tickets.

We headed out of Zurich, following the shore of Lake Zurich for a while.

We continued southward.  The mountains were generally obscured by clouds, although eventually we began to see some peeks of blue sky which promised better weather.

Then there was total darkness.  We came to the Gotthard Base Tunnel which was opened in 2016.  With a length of over 35 miles, it is the longest and deepest train tunnel in the world.  It cuts beneath the Saint-Gotthard Massif which separates northern and southern Switzerland, and makes direct high-speed rail service possible to Italy.  For about 20 minutes we were in the darkness of the tunnel.

When we emerged we were in the canton of Ticino, and the sun was shining.

When we arrived at the train station of Lugano, we had to take a funicular train down to the lakefront of the city.

We walked a couple of blocks through the old town of Lugano to the waterfront.  I felt as if I were in Italy... well, I almost was.  The people were speaking Italian, all the signs were in Italian, and the architecture had a Mediterranean look.

We boarded one of the boats which travel around Lake Lugano.  It was included in our day pass.

 

The boat stops at various towns along the lakeshore.  One of them, Campione d'Italia, is actually an enclave of Italian territory surrounded by Switzerland.  I guess, technically, I can now say that I was in Italy, because, although we did not get off the boat, we were in Italian waters.

The town is dominated by a large, modern building which is a casino.  Wealthy Swiss come here to gamble, and the casino is the mainstay of the town's economy.

We got off the boat at the Swiss town of Melide.  

Yes, those are palm trees growing in Switzerland.  The climate here by the Italian border is temperate enough for certain types of palms.

In Melide we went to a place that Brigitta had not visited since her childhood... "Swissminiatur".  Here there are famous and typical buildings from all over Switzerland in miniature.

Can you see the two little lizards crawling around by the figures playing the alphorns?

Watch out, guys!  Godzilla's babies are coming for you!

From Melide we got on the train again, and then got off after a couple of stops.  We were going to take the cable car to the top of Monte Tamaro, a mountain with spectacular views of the region.  Unfortunately, the cable car was closed for renovation.  So we took the train back to Zurich.  After passing through the Gotthard Tunnel, we were surprised that the sun had followed us north.  It was sunny all the way back to Zurich.

On to Switzerland

I have fallen behind on telling the story of my European trip.  I would really need to post twice a day to keep up, but I have barely had time to write one blog entry per day.  Last Tuesday, I left Germany and went on to my primary destination, Switzerland.  Early that morning I finished packing my bags, and I checked out of the hotel.  I rolled my suitcase (which after buying some souvenirs in Germany was packed to capacity) across the street to the train station.  My train was scheduled to leave at 7:52 A.M., but I was there early enough to have some breakfast at one of the stands in the station.  I must say that the "fast food" in Europe... pre-packaged sandwiches, and a wide variety of baked goods... are far superior to what you would find in the U.S.

I found the track for my train, and no delays were listed on the board.  The route was operated by the Swiss railway company rather than the German "Deutsche Bahn".  It not only stopped in Basel and Zurich, Switzerland, but it was to continue on to the main station in Milan, Italy.

At 7:35 the train rolled into the station.  I found a rack on which to store my large suitcase, and went to my reserved seat.  I settled back to enjoy a relaxing four hour rail ride to Zurich.

As we traveled closer to the Swiss border, at each stop the conductor made announcements that I was struggling to understand.  The announcements were given in German, Italian and English, but his English was not very clear.  It sounded as if we would have to change trains.  Was he talking about everyone, or just those with certain destinations?  It was supposed to be a direct train to Zurich.  When we got to Basel, I finally got the message, and it was the German that I understood.  "Der Zug endet hier." The train ends here.  I have no idea why, but we all had to get off the train, and board another one at the next track.  As everyone was getting off, I had to make my way to the luggage rack to get my suitcase.  It was very chaotic.  Equally chaotic was trying to find a seat.  I had a reserved seat on the first train, but did that reservation apply to the new train?  I couldn't find a space on a luggage rack, so I just set my suitcase next to it.  I figured as long as if didn't block the aisle, it was OK.  I then sat in an empty seat nearby and hoped that no one would come and say that it was their reserved seat.

I was able to stay in that seat.  As we traveled across Switzerland, we passed Othmarsingen, the village from which my ancestors came, and I spotted the spire of the church where my great-grandmother and generations before her were baptized.

In spite of changing trains, we arrived at Zurich's main train station close to schedule.  From there I had to take another train to Uster, about 13 miles away, where my cousin Brigitta lives.  I did not feel confident using the ticket machines, so I went to the "Reisezentrum" (Travel Center) to purchase my ticket.  The young lady at the desk was very helpful.  The ticket, if I remember correctly, cost about 11 Swiss francs (13 US dollars).  I was going to pay in cash, since I had some currency left over from my last trip to Switzerland  However, I had to pay with a credit card, because the Swiss banknotes that I had were already outdated after only five years.  (I was later able to exchange my outdated money at a bank for the current bills.)

My train ticket was good for two hours, so I did not have to rush to the track downstairs where the trains for Uster leave.  While waiting on the platform I called my cousin to let her know that I was on my way.  When I arrived, she and her husband Peter were waiting for me, and they drove me to their home on the edge of town.

The first thing I did was unpack the presents that I had brought them from Mexico.

I had purchased a guayabera shirt for Peter.  It fit perfectly, and he really liked it.

For Brigitta I had bought a "rebozo" (a Mexican shawl) in her favorite color.  I had purchased it at a museum shop in Mexico City.  It was hand woven on a backstrap loom, and each "rebozo" takes a month to create.  I wanted to get her something really special, since I was going to be their guest for the next four nights.  Brigitta loved her gift.

Brigitta and Peter's home is a beautiful house located on a hill.  From the last bus stop in Uster, it's a short hike up a gravel road, that just beyond their house becomes a hiking path with no vehicles allowed.

In one direction, you look down on the city of Uster.  You can see the Schloss Uster, a small castle which dates back to the 1200s.

In the other direction, when the sky is clear, you can see the Alps on the horizon.  It was not until my last morning with Brigitta and Peter that I was able to vaguely see the mountains in the distance.

  At night a full moon lit up the sky.

Twilight in Uster

A Rainy Day in Würzburg

My day in Würzburg was the first bad weather that I experienced on my trip.  It was overcast all day without a hint of sun, and it frequently rained lightly.  However, that did not stop me from exploring the city until it was time to catch my train back to Frankfurt.

As befits a city that was for centuries ruled by prince-bishops, many of the sights of interest are churches.  The city was destroyed by Allied bombings in World War II, but many of the old buildings, especially the historic churches, were faithfully reconstructed.

The "Marienkapelle" is a Gothic church constructed between 1337 and 1441.  It stands on the town's market square.

In spite of the rain, there were still vendors selling fruits, vegetables and flowers on the market square.

Next to the "Marienkappelle", the "Haus zum Falken" (Falcon House) is an excellent example of 18th century rococo architecture.  It was once a hotel, and now houses a library and the tourist information office.

The "Neumünster" was an 11th century Romanesque church which in the 18th century had a baroque make-over.

The Cathedral of St. Killian was built in Romanesque style in 1075.  In 1627 the interior was renovated in the baroque style.  The cathedral is dedicated to St. Killian, an Irish missionary who came to the Wurzburg area to convert the pagan population. He suffered martyrdom here in 689.

The "Rathaus" (City Hall) includes a tower built in 1453 which has the city's first public clock.

The "Juliusspital" is a hospital that was established by Prince-Bishop Julius Echter in 1576.  This impressive baroque wing was added in 1700.  The "Juliusspital" is still a functioning hospital with modern medical facilities adjacent to it.

On a hill above the city is the Marienburg Fortress.  The hill has been fortified since the Bronze Age when Celtic tribes lived in the area.  The foundations of parts of the current fortress date back to 8th century, but most of the structures are from the Renaissance and baroque eras.  I did not visit the fortress since it is closed on Mondays.  I also read that parts of it are currently closed to visitors due to renovations.

The Old Main Bridge was built between 1473 and 1543.  It crosses the Main River, the same tributary of the Rhine that passes through Frankfurt.

It was time to catch the train back to Frankfurt and pack my suitcase.  The next day I was headed to Switzerland to visit my cousins.