August 8 –
Well my business at the BIS done, the family is on the move again. We breakfasted, packet up and hopped on a train to Zurich. The skies there were just as grey as the one’s in Basel but it was at least dry. We had an interesting time finding a taxi that could hold all 4 of us and the luggage but eventually we found one driven by a nice Croatian man who didn’t really speak much English so he and Frank tried to chat in French. Very amusing!
We got to the hotel but our rooms weren’t ready yet so we abandoned the cases and started to explore Zurich. The lake is very pretty and would have been more so with some sunshine but today it was not to be. We walked down the Bahnhofstraße – the shopping mecca for the brand conscious! It’s more than a kilometer of designer shops and we were happy to just peer into the windows. Of course, the object for the day was the toy stores…. first was Franz Carl Weber where Frank was in toy car heaven but in the end only actually purchased one car.
We grabbed lunch at the Zueghauskeller – a well-known place that serves traditional Swiss food. I had lunch there a few years ago when I was in Zurich for a day and at that time I was amazed to see three businessmen share a bottle of wine and a 3-foot-long sausage! My family was a bit dubious at this claim until today when the family at the table behind us was sharing one about 4 1/2 feet long (I think technically it was 1.5 meters…) The meal gave us enough fuel to wander around the old town a bit and check out the two Münsters: the Fraumünster is the smaller of the two but has beautiful stained glass windows designed by Marc Chagall. The big church, literally called the Großmünster, is just across the river and is incredibly stark compared to other churches we’ve been in – no candles in either place! According to the leaflet I picked up, the Großmünster was the starting point of the Reformation in Switzerland and therefore the reformer Huldrych Zwingli removed whatever gave the church a wordly appearance – including the alter! The result is a very minimalist interior which is clearly devoted to worship only.
The rain began as we left the Großmünster so we headed back to the hotel to pick up some rain gear. Then we ventured back out to find the other big toystore in town: Pastorini Speilzug which has 5 floors of wooden toys! Gillian perused the puppets but decided to wait before buying. The rain was heavier now so wandering around town had lost its appeal. It was time for a typical rainy day activity…. go to the movies! We found a theater nearby showing The Simpson’s Movie in English with German and French subtitles so that’s where we headed. We confirmed that Switzerland is an incredibly expensive place when the bill for 4 movie tickets came to CHF 72!
What made the experience even more interesting was the reaction of the Swiss audience to the movie. The guy down the row from me was rocking back and forth violently with laughter. While I enjoyed the film, I didn’t think it was *that* funny. What I did find funny was the insertion of an intermission about 45 minutes into the movie where we were encouraged (in English!) to go buy ice cream! The guys a few rows in front of us chose to buy beer instead – what a civilized notion – and then 15 minutes later, the stupidity continued!
When the movie ended, it was no longer sprinkling outside; it had progressed to absolute downpour so we got completely soaked on the walk home. We opted for pizza and beer at the restaurant next to the hotel – which was incredibly yummy – and are now trying to figure out how to get all four pairs of shoes to dry by morning!
/san/
[Pedometer: 19,098 steps – or should I say strokes! – or about 9.5 soggy miles.]
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