Well, Ja, danke!
After landing and passport control, we caught the train to the Bahnhof (central train station). Easy, cheap, and fast, and the Bahnhof itself is a wonder: there is a huge shopping mall under the station itself. Our last day in Zürich we returned to buy food at the farmers' stalls in the train station.
It was easy to walk to our little guesthouse, which was an annex to the Hotel Alexander. The room was simple and very clean, and though expensive, a real deal considering the great location (about 5-10 minutes from the Bahnhof; right in the old town section) and the cost of everything in Zürich.
We dropped our bags, found an ATM (the Swiss Francs are beautiful) and started walking.
Some "sightseeing" highlights of Zürich:
The Lindenhof: town square with shady Linden trees, and a great view over the river, churches, Zürichsee (Lake Zürich) and the old town.
St. Peter's Church, with its huge clock.
Grossmünster Church: a huge, double steeple church with stained glass windows made of thin-cut, polished agates.
Fraumünster Church: across the very cool Münsterbrücke Bridge. This church has a series of tall, skinny stained glass windows designed by Marc Chagall.
The Zürichsee, Lake Zürich, with a walking path that goes a couple miles in each direction around the lake.
While we were out walking, we found what looked like "Ed's Weinstube" (Ed's wine bar), so we had to drop in for a drink. We walked in without really looking around, and after ordering a glass of wine at the bar we sat back and started taking it in. Ahhhh... back in Europe. Switzerland. Wine and... hey, wait!
This isn't "Ed's" Weinstube, it is Edi's Weinstube, and Ohlala! They have their own bottles of wine with...what is that on the label? Oh my god, it is a couple making love...
And as we looked around the bar it suddenly dawned on us that Edi's Weinstube was also Edi's pornography museum! And the friendly lady, so interested in our trip and engaging in conversation, might not just be any "lady," so to speak.
Well, we were here, the wine was good (and really great prices, I have to admit), so we shrugged, sat back and just enjoyed the moment. It sounds funny, but it was not "smutty" at all, in fact, the current art on display was really good.
After our drinks we wandered the museum, I got a hug and kiss from my new friend and we were off exploring once again.
Zürich was interesting mostly due to the mix of languages. You might enter a conversation in French (bon jour) then conduct the business in German (ein glass rot wein, bitte) then part In Italian (grazie! Ciao ciao!).
That first night we had the best fondue, and we enjoyed watching the prostitutes engage with the businessmen at the swanky hotel on the corner. Walking the streets at night, I was fascinated at the solar lights built into the pavement, and the swiss flags flying from every building. We got turned around, got lost then found, eventually made our way to the river, listened to the church bells strike 12 times, then headed in for the night.
We had a great lunch of items we purchased at the market and farmers' market, eating down along the river, and we walked miles along the Zürichsee, sitting with our feet in the water, sipping wine. The stores sold a lot of funny, interesting and just plain weird items, and we stumbled across Hotel California (of course. Every city has one, no?) on our way to a cafe.
One minor annoyance: they did not allow photos of the stained glass windows in the churches.
Zurich was interesting, but it is a very expensive place. Great airport, easy transportation, and very walkable.
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