My husband K got up at 6:45 and I stayed in bed until 6:52. It was an unbelievable 47°.
Our daughter J came over at 7:35 and we all went down to breakfast. We had to give our room numbers to the guy at the desk and he took us to an open table. It was really rather crowded. I didn't get in the line that was immediately past the door. Rather, I went to the island with the breads and such. I picked up a pretzel roll and a chocolate muffin. I delivered those to the table and went to the original line. I was very excited to find Birchermuesli. I've had that in other hotels and on cruise ships in the Mediterranean and Baltic and really like it. I had a tough time slicing some cheese to go with the cold cuts I'd gotten to make a sandwich with the pretzel roll. I was happy to find a banana. They are really too expensive at home. I scooped out some oatmeal and went over to the bread island to put some Ovomaltine crunchy spread on my plate, and currants and strawberry jelly in my oatmeal. They didn't have brown sugar, thus the jelly. I got both orange juice and a Multivitaminsaft. It was a good breakfast.
We went back up to our rooms at 8:20 to get washed up and gather things for the day. We were soon back downstairs picking up headsets and looking for the pink tour lollipop sign for the gentle tour. We were settled on the bus at 8:55. Anna Maria, our bus guide, boarded and we headed off at 9:10.
Things we learned:
1. The Zürich train station is the largest in Switzerland.
2. In 1523, Zürich turned completely Protestant.
3. Catholic churches were rebuilt in recent times for Italian immigrants.
4. In Switzerland, both the cost of and quality of living are quite high.
The bus took us up on the hill, where the university was. Here we saw the ornate facade of ETH Zürich (English: ETH; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich; German: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich).
I was surprised, when we passed the FIFA headquarters. I knew they were headquartered in Switzerland, but didn't realize it was here. Evidently, you can do in and do stuff in there.
At 9:42, we had a restroom/photo stop at the Zürichsee (Lake Zürich). As you can see, the clouds were quite interesting. The wind was rather bracing. The ducks didn't seem to mind. There was a swimming area to the left of the dock with flags. That wooden houseboat-like thing is actually a sauna.
If the day had been sunnier, the lake might have been the star of this stop. Instead, it was the restroom. It automatically flushed, when you unlocked the door. No nasty surprises for the next user.
We were on our way again shortly after 10:05. At 10:26, we were let off the bus in the Old Town near the river. We were glad that we'd chosen the Easy tour with Ileann. The other one was climbing up the hill to the university area for the view. We did not need a climb for the view.
As we walked along the river around 10:35, we saw more swans "in the wild", as J put it. Here they had the old women's beach in the background.
By 10:36, we were near enough to see the Fraumünster with its green roof across the river. It used to have a convent. It now has windows by Marc Chagall, which would have been nice to see. It is now property of the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Zürich. Seemingly close by is another of the four main churches of Zürich, Peterskirche (Church of St. Peter). It has a huge clock on each side of its tower and they are the largest clock faces in Europe. The outer diameter of each is 28. 3 ft and the minute hand is 18.8 ft. It was consecrated in 1706 as the first church built under Protestant rule. If you look carefully at the roof of the tower in second photo, you will notice 2 windows on each side. They were used as watch towers for fires.
We came to a statue of Ulrich Zwingli, which, like the statues of other Reformers, looked pretty grim.
Suddenly, we saw a very pretty duck swimming by. It was a red-crested pochard.
The Rathaus was ahead in its unusual location over the river. It is owned by the canton and has its legislative offices here.
We crossed the Rathausbrücke (town hall bridge) and headed back in the direction of the lake. We passed a wonderful-looking chocolate shop, but had no time to stop.
At 11:10, we reached the Münsterhof town square with its very interesting Brunnen (fountain).
By 11:30, we reached the bus. It was 51°, felt like 48°. People were given the choice to stay and make their way back to the hotel on their own or take the bus back. We opted for the bus, because it would put us closer to where we wanted to be. We gave Ileana a 3 CHF tip and boarded the bus along with quite a few others.
The trip to the hotel ran into a lot of traffic. Then, not far from the hotel, we were stymied by a truck on a one-way street. He was in our lane a bit and the driver felt he couldn't get around him. Traffic piled up behind us. The guide tried to convince the truck to move to no avail. A driver from a car behind us came up to try to sort it out. Eventually, our driver decided to try to go around him and immediately turn. He succeeded, happily. We were deposited at the hotel at 12:10.
We went up to our rooms to use the bathrooms and to be sure we had everything we needed for the afternoon.
When we left at 12:24, we decided to walk through the park. We discovered there was a safer way to cross the street. We turned right out of the hotel and walked a short distance to a tunnel that led under the road. On the other side, we found the sidewalk along the river and a bridge over the Limmat to the Platzspitz, which was the name of the park.
We turned to our right to see where the park ended and saw the river splitting into a navigable part and part that went over a spillway. We also saw this interesting fountain, whose name seems to be just Platzspitzbrunnen.
Since we'd seen plenty of the Limmat, we chose to follow the path on the far side of the park. This followed the Sihl river, which also flowed out of the lake. It joined the Limmat just before the spillway. It was much muddier. There were some nice daisies growing wild.
There was an interesting gazebo that Wikipedia tells me was built for the first Switzerland National Exhibition in 1883. Just as it was then, it is used for musical performances.
By 12:33, we were at the back of the Landesmuseum Zürich. We looked around as we went around to the front of the building. I didn't photograph them, but we were amused by some Playmobil figures in some windows. There was an ice cream truck on the side, which was getting no business on this cold day.
We didn't tarry, though, because we really wanted lunch. At 12:40, we reached the main train station and took the unconscionably long set of stairs to go under it to reach its shopping area.
The first place we saw was a Migros grocery store. There were standup tables outside of it and we figured sandwiches from there would be cheap. As we looked for what we might like to eat, I took photos of things that caught my eye. "Key Lime Pie Muffin" seemed like a lot of English for a Swiss store. All the vegetables, fruit, meat, etc. suggested to us that folks might go here and shop before heading home or might get groceries on the way out of the station.
As you can see in the photo, we got three good looking sandwiches to share, as well as a pastry and Cokes. We managed to find a table that was unoccupied, thankfully.
Just after 2:30, we climbed the steps again to to go to the Landesmuseum Zürich, which is the Swiss National Museum. The entrance is in the very photogenic old section of the museum. The original part dates to 1891 and the architect drew on the late medieval and modern times to create the building. The new part was added in 2016.
When we went in, I paid the 30 CHF ($33.64) entrance fee for the three of us with my Capital One MasterCard, because it has no foreign currency fees and I get money back. I was given a "coin" to use for the locker downstairs for our coats and bags.
Their collection holds over 870,000 objects in 14 collections. We were not going to see all of that before the place closed at 5 pm. The exhibits were labeled in German, French, and Italian- three of the four national languages- and also English, which was really helpful.
The first area we visited had a few printed objects that were quintessentially Swiss, even the one written by a German. That was Friedrich Schiller's drama of Wilhelm Tell, the legendary story of Switzerland's fight for independence from the Hapsburg that led to the cantons uniting and becoming Switzerland. There was a copy of Zwingli's tome on religion, De vera et falsa religione ("On the true and false religion") . A probably first edition of Heidi, the other Swiss character that most Americans of my age know. And, finally, a copy of the Geneva Conventions, which is plural, contrary to what you normally hear.
We passed through an exhibition of photographs and found ourselves below a set of stairs. There was no way around it; they'd have to be climbed. At the top, we found these signs hanging, with the the English not quite matching the German. There was also a sculpture by Bettina Eichin which was a monument to the human rights declarations that the new Swiss Federal Constitution of 1848 was based on. The sculpture is the words of these declarations, including the Virginia Bill of Rights from 1776. It was surprising to see that amongst the influences.
Right around the corner was what was arguably our favorite part of the exhibit. There were benches for you to sit and watch an animated movie about the constitution. Happily, there were English subtitles. They were helpful for K and J, of course, but also for me for terms I didn't know. It reminded us all of "I'm Just a Bill" from School House Rock. So much fun!
There were lots of signs, which I dutifully photographed. There were polls on issues to be possibly placed before the electorate and you could drop a slip of paper in your choice of decision. Of course, J and I participated in that.
There were displays such as the piles of newspapers to show the number of newspapers as literacy increased around the country.
There was a facsimile of the bound copy of the constitution from 1848. It looked very impressive.
Among the historical objects on display was this fascine knife used by the army from 1842-1852. J humorously pointed out that it was an actual Swiss army knife.
At the end of the exhibit, there was a large crate of copies of the constitution in German, French, Italian, and English. The sign encouraged taking one. So, of course, I did.
At the end of the exhibit, we could find no more things to see and wound up having to find our way to the beginning of our touring of the museum. There, we asked someone how to get to the rest of the museum. The young woman who had scanned our tickets directed us to what turned out to be a beautiful upper hall by a staircase in the old part of the museum. It even had a nice view of the courtyard.
We turned right out of the hallway and entered a beautiful exhibit space. There was another photo display, but I was far more interested in the features of the room.
The next room had a large display of rings. Some of them were incredible! It was hard to believe anyone had ever worn them. Here are a couple.
A large room with various small areas held the collection of Schloss Hallwil (Castle Hallwil). They seemed to have all of the art from it.
After that, we ran into more historical items, including entire rooms that had been removed from buildings. They were really quite interesting. Some of them, even had mock-ups of the styles of the time.
This being Switzerland, of course there was a mannequin in the Swiss Army Guard outfit that they wear when guarding the Pope.
Time was running short and we wanted to go to the gift shop and use the restroom. We were just having a devil of a time finding our way out of the exhibits. One thing we passed was the entrance to the archaeology section. I had to pause to take a photo, because hanging from the ceiling was a topographical map of Switzerland as seen from below the surface. Archaeology looks at what is below the surface. Clever!
Yesterday's meals had been expensive. So, we went back below the train station for dinner. We'd seen a pasta and pizza place called Pizza and Pasta Spiga and went there. It was also a gelato place and had a couple of tables. K and J secured one, while I ordered a Margarita pizza and a pizza with Salame ( basically pepperoni) for for 14 CHF each. Three sodas were each 3,50 CHF. The pizzas were not really cut, but we had a plastic knife and hacked at them. They were a little greasy, but tasted good.
We left at 5:32 and went upstairs to see the famous piece of art that J's friend had recommended. It is "L'ange protecteur" by Niki de Saint Phalle and completed in 1997. It is huge!
We also had the pleasure of seeing this giant billboard: "Chocolate flows in us"
We headed back through the park, but walking along the path along the Limmat this time. We got a nice view of our hotel and the blocks leading up to it.
We reached the so-called "Inspiration Point", where the two rivers met and got a good view of the spillway. The water was so clear!
When we looked back over the spillway's bridge, we could see the bridge that led to the hotel.
When we looked down at where the two rivers actually joined, you could easily make out the water from the muddy Sihl.
In the concrete barrier there, there was a strip explaining, in German, that the Irish author James Joyce felt that this was his favorite place when he lived in Zürich in the early 1900's. His book, Finnegan's Wake, actually contains the names of both rivers.
It was 6:03, when we got back in our rooms. I took a few minutes to take a photo of today's chocolate.
We got ourselves ready for our evening outing and went back to the lobby. There, J called for an Uber. When we got in it at 6:45, we were surprised to see sunshine. At 7 pm, we arrived at the Tonhalle concert hall. J paid 11,47 + 2 CHF.
We were not here for the group (Züricher Symphoniker and a choir) nor for the piece ( Verdi's Requiem). No, just as when we did the Baltic cruise and went to a concert in Amsterdam, we were there for the hall. It is not that this one is noted for its great acoustics, although it is considered "acoustically superb". Its claim to fame is that it was inaugurated in 1895 by Johannes Brahms. K was incredibly taken by the idea that Brahms had stood on that stage. So, he'd gotten us tickets before we left home. I took his photo at the front door.
Inside it was a bit of a madhouse. People everywhere. J and I got through the ladies restroom line fairly quickly. I was not thrilled to find out we'd have to climb two floors to get to our seats. There was a nice view of the lack from the first floor, which we call the second floor.
At 7:16, we were seated in Galerie links Reihe 6 Platz 9, 10,11. Not only were our seats in the balcony, but they were also along the wall on a side. I saw pretty much nothing. J and K sitting on either side of me and being taller than me had more luck. But, you really don't have to see much in such a concert. In fact, since it was sung in Latin and the program was helpful and gave German translations thereof, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out where we were. The program did not say that a lot of things would be repeated.
The hall was lovely and we got good photos before and after.
The concert was over before 9:15, having lasted about 1.75 hours. J found an elevator and we used that to go down. Outside, J called an Uber and we had to wait until 9:22 for it. The guy was not Swiss, but said that it costs a lot to live there, but the standard of living is very good.
At 9:35, we were back in the hotel and J had paid 10,72 +a tip of 2 CHF. We had to wait a bit for the elevator, but were in our rooms to pack at 9:40.
It was rather noisy and we could hear another room. K thought it was coming through the vent.
My phone said that it had taken 10,719 steps to walk 3.9 miles and that I climbed only 1 floor, which is seriously not true.
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