Kenzie and I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare on Friday morning. I passed out immediately on the flight, but woke up just before we landed, right on time to look over the Swiss alps. Zurich is just north of the alps. Once in Zurich, we took our free shuttle to our hotel and got situated. The public transportation in Switzerland is very clean and easy to use. Our train ride was about 15 minutes from the center of the city, so we ate lunch and were on our way to explore.
Kenzie is a great travel buddy. She was in charge of the map and we located all of the places that we wanted to see. My favorite sights were:
1. The Swiss National Museum
2. Fraumunster--known for its unique stained glass windows.
3. St. Peter's Church--has the largest clock face in the world.
4. Lake Zurich, of course!
The Swiss National Museum
Kenzie all dressed up
On Lake Zurich, in the main city center
Zurich
After we saw our historical sights, Kenzie and I went to a famous chocolate shop called Peclard. It is a three story cafe with comfy chairs and couches for lounging. We spent a long time picking out our pre-dinner snack. The man at the counter spoke English, so he helped us to decide what to get and even let us try some of their many specialty truffles. My favorite was champagne flavored. Kenzie decided to get a few more truffles, and I decided to get a chocolate log...I don't really know how else to describe it but it was the best chocolate I have ever tasted. Here is a picture:
It was so rich that I was washing it down with the sugar cubes on the table!
After our dessert, it was dinner time. We walked around Banhofstrasse which is one of the most well-known shopping streets in the world. Unfortunately, it was far too expensive for me, but we found a yummy place for some dinner. There is a lot of Italian and German food in Switzerland so we found ourselves at a pasta/pizza/mix of everything place. The serving were so big that me and Kenzie were able to split our ravioli stuffed with mozzarella...yum.
At that point, we were so tired that we decided we needed to head back towards our hotel. (It was only 9:00, but I had gotten up at 5:30 that morning).
The next day, we were up bright and early to catch our train to Lucerne and check in to our hostel. The train ride was very comfortable, and our hostel was a 20 minute walk along the lake from the center of the city. Lucerne is about one hour via train from Zurich and has a similar feel to it because it is also on a lake. Lake Lucerne is my new favorite place. It is so peaceful and serene and the mountains are on all sides. Here are some pictures from our day in Lucerne:
The Lion Monument-in honor of the swiss guards who were massacred during the French revolution. It is carved into the side of a huge cliff just a short walk from the lake in sort of a quiet nook. This was definitely my favorite sight in the city. Mark Twain called it "The most moving and mournful piece of stone in the world."
The Chapel Bridge-oldest wood bridge in Europe until it burned down in the 90's. They rebuilt it (obviously).
Tower connected to the bridge which used to be a torture chamber among other things
Trees here are crazy looking
We couldn't go paragliding because it was too windy, so we took a boat cruise across Lake Lucerne to Weggis and explored the town on the other side of the lake. It was a perfect day to be out on the lake!
Again with the trees...
Birds were flying next to our boat on our way back.
The hostel.
After our boat ride, Kenzie and I settled on a german place for dinner, Rathaus Brewery. Along the way, we ran into an excited bachelor party. They were carrying a boom box and the groom requested a dance with Kenzie. It was very entertaining and I was happy to stand to the side and take pictures. We learned in Switzerland that it is customary to give the groom-to-be any extra change, but we needed all of our swiss francs for dinner! For dinner, I had a Bretzel (giant pretzel) with roast beef, onions, and lettuce--like a pretzel sandwich--and tried some of the local beer. It was my favorite meal in Switzerland. We also went to an Irish pub and a few other places in the area. We met some friendly people from Germany and Switzerland. It was a fun night, but we needed to go to bed so we could catch our train at 7 AM the next day!
I am so happy that I got to experience Switzerland. Next time I find myself in the Swiss alps, I will definitely try to fit in a paraglide and some fondue!
Cheers!
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