November 26, 2012

Today was a travel day, from Zurich to Geneva. This means traveling nearly the full length of Switzerland and passing through and around part of the Swiss Alps. The trip itself was uneventful and unfortunately, there was very little opportunity for sight seeing as the weather was cloudy and rainy and you do pass through the Alps (by tunnel). Once we reached the shores of Lake Geneva, it was difficult to separate the cloud from the lake as both were grey. Oh well, it's winter and to be expected. Getting to my hotel was straight forward and I'm settled in having done a little exploring to get my bearings and visit the supermarket to get supplies. Tomorrow I'm of to C.E.R.N. (the European center for Nuclear Research), the home of the Large Hadron Collider, the world's most powerful"atom smasher".

November 24, 2012

This was my first full day in Zurich. In afternoon I had a guided tour around Zurich booked but my hotel has provided a map that shows a suggested walking tour of the city so I decided to head into town and follow the walking tour for as long as I can before I have to get to the meeting point for the tour. To help out with this I purchased a 24 hour pass for the trams so that I can hop on and off as needed during the day. The walk started from the Hauptbahnhof or Central Railway station, and after crossing the river Limmat (which flows out of Lake Zurich towards the Rhine) the walk headed into the little alleyways and squares of Zurich. This area is not the oldest part of town (that's on the other side of the river where the Romans established a settlement that grew to become Zurich) but it is quaint and historic and fun to walk through. You might be walking through a narrow street and suddenly you emerge into a small square which has a fountain in the middle. This is not just for decoration, it's also for a drinking water supply, as I have discovered in other cities as well. On at least one occasion on this walk as I was taking a picture an individual came out of a nearby store and filled their water bottle from the fountain. Altogether I spent about three hours wandering around in these lanes and alleyways and, eventually, along the river front to Bellevue Platz before heading off to join the tour.

The lanes and alleys have a character all their own.

And suddenly you emerge into a small neighborhood square.

Churches are tucked into neighborhoods as well.

Some squares feature elaborate fountains that have (and still do) served as a source of drinking water.

Some squares are larger and more elaborate and serve as "greenspace".

The notation on this building lists the families and, in some cases individuals, who have lived in it in the past.

While I was setting up this shot, someone came out of a store on the square to fill a water bottle.

The river Limmat which flows out of lake Zurich. The steeple belongs to the Fraumunster church.

This is the Grossmunster church, the largest church in Zurich.

One of the issues with a bus tour is that you never really have enough time to explore each place visited. You're in and out on a fixed schedule and there's only just enough time to see the important stuff. As I had a second day in Zurich I used the bus tour to pick out a few places to come back to the next day by walking and using the trams. The bus tour also started at the Hauptbahnhof and initially traveled around the outskirts of the area I had been walking through in the morning. Then we went up the hill behind Zurich and passed the two universities located in Zurich (revisited), back down the hill and over to the Fraumunster church. There we were shown some amazing stained glass windows by Marc Chagall (no pictures allowed!!). Back on the bus, and down Bahnhofstrasse (revisited) and on to a lakeside park for a beautiful view across the lake to the Zurich waterfront. Then we headed out of town for a place called Felsenegg which is located on a ridgetop that overlooks Lake Zurich and the town of Zurich. It is reached by cable car followed by a short walk along the ridge to the lookout and restaurant. The view towards Zurich is great but looking in the other direction you can see the Alps. Unfortunately, it was overcast so the view was not as spectacular as it can be but at least we could see them and the view was quite good. Once back at the bus again, we drove down to a ferry crossing point to cross over the lake for the drive back to Zurich along what is known as the Gold Coast. After a qucik trip through another part of town that was on the way back to the Hauptbahnhof the tour finished up where it started.

Looking up Lake Zurich with the Alps in the distance.

Looking across lake Zurich to the city.

 

The Grossmunster church from across the Limmat river.

 

The three windows visible in this picture of the Fraumunster church were done by Marc Chagall. There is a fourth window on the right side of this part of the church.

 

Looking across the Limmat from the Fraumunster church.

The restaurant at Felsenegg. There is a large recreation area here and the restaurant serves as the starting point for the walking trails that lace the area.

The view towards Zurich from Felsenegg.

The view towards the Alps from Felsenegg.

This picture and the following were taken from the ferry as we crossed Lake Zurich on the return journey to Zurich from Felsenegg.

Before heading back to the hotel I went shopping at the Hauptbahnhof. You may wonder why but in Europe the main station, and many of the smaller stations, are built under or over a shopping complex and Zurich was no different. Particularly, I wanted to visit the supermarket in the center to stock up on supplies for breakfast and supper. The hotel will give me breakfast but for the money they charge I can do much better on my own either by eating at cafes or by getting supplies at a supermarket. I have generally been doing the later unless breakfast is specifically included in the room rate.

November 25, 2012

Today is Sunday so Zurich is relatively quiet early in the morning. I headed out relatively early to catch the city in a quiet time. My first goal was to get up to the two university campuses which sit side-by-side. Behind the buildings is a publicly accessible terrace with great views over the older sections of town. Both universities are well respected with a substantial list of noted graduates - Both claim Einstein and Roentgen as graduates and Pauli and Schrodinger were both professors in Zurich at one time. The views were as good as I had hoped but what really got my attention was the church bells. Over a period of about 15 minutes first one then another would start to peal sometimes consecutively, and on one occasion, concurrently. I just sat on a bench and listened to the bells ringing out.

The view from the terrace behind the university buildings.

Once the bells stopped I headed back down the hill and into the alleyways again, taking a different route with no particular destination in mind for the moment. Eventually, I arrived back at the river so continued up the river to the bridge that spans the mouth of the river as it flows out of Lake Zurich. From there I picked up the walking tour I had begun yesterday which now took me along the waterfront, past the City Hall, to the Fraumunster Church.

I thought the decorations on this building were interesting.

 

This is the Water church, so called because it used to be on an island in the Limmat until the channel was filled. It is affiliated with the Grossmunster church.

This statue of Ulrich Zwingle, a major figure in the Reformation sits in front of the Water church. He was associated with both this church and the Grossmunster church.

At this point you start to notice that there is a distinct change in the type of shops that start to line the little streets of the are. This is the oldest part of town and it has also become some of the most expensive. Several streets away from the river is Bahnhofstrasse. This is one of the most expensive streets in the world to shop on with all the big name, expensive stores/brands located along the 1 km or so stretch of street from the lake to the railway station. I walked along this street for a couple of blocks before heading back towards the river through the very oldest part of town.

Bahnhofstrasse, one of the most expensive shopping streets in the world.

 
Eventually I emerged in the square adjacent to St Peter's Church which has the largest clock face in Europe (2.55 meters diameter) in the steeple. Interestingly, the steeple is actually owned by the city while the rest of the building belongs to to the church. From here it was a short climb up to Lindenhof, the site of the Roman fort and customs post. While the hill is not particularly high it does afford good views across the river and towards the lake. Then, back down the hill and to the river once more and onto another bridge across the Limmat.

The clock face on the steeple of St peter's church, the largest in Europe at 2.5 meters.

 

A street view in the old part of town; St Peter's steeple in the background.

This restaurant/bar proclaims that Goethe and two other poet/philosopher contemporaries met here in 1779. It's tucked away in a little square near St Peters church in the old town.

 

The view from the Lindenhof hill across the Limmat.

 

This is the main building of the Polytechnic university, again from the Lindenhof hill.

We passed this church early in the bus tour and I revisited it the day after.

The Lindenhof hill, the site of the original Roman settlement and fort.

 

The view from the riverbank near the bridge where I sat eating roasted chestnuts.

There was a roasted chestnut stand by the bridge and I decided to sample these again. I had previously tried them in Innsbruck but I suspect those were not roasted well as they were nowhere near as good as these in Zurich. The last photo was taken from the bridge as I was sitting on a bench eating the warm chestnuts. It seemed a fitting end to my stay in Zurich.

 Doc