Zurich

We’re graciously being hosted by Therese’s aunt and uncle, who live just outside of Zurich. We’re being treated to breakfasts, dinners, and some good conversation. This morning, we went into Zurich (in the rain) for a city tour, complements of Therese. Most of the shopping places are closed for Sunday, which is kind of nice. From the train station, we went up to the University to get a broad view of old Zurich. We wandered down the narrow, bricked streets which house a large portion of the shopping district. We walked along the river and into one of the larger churches in the area. By that point, I was pretty damp, thanks to a delaminating rain shell. I suppose I shouldn’t be too bitter, since it did last through many a college adventure and the bike trip.

We stopped by the art museum, which had some lovely stuff. (My favorites were a huge piece by Monet, some Marc Chagall, a Van Gogh, and, surprisingly, a piece by Cy Twombly.) There were a surprising number of things there for the (relatively) small size of the museum. After the museum, we went back to the main Zurich train station to get delicious hotdogs (take an impaled baguette, put sauce(s) in the hole, and ram a similar-to-a-hot-dog sausage through the sauce). I got mine with mustard and an especially delicious “garlic” sauce. We got dessert from Spignoli(?) - a super awesome pastry/chocolate place that’s pretty famous. I don’t remember what they were called, but we got these tiny cookie-sandwich type things (hazelnut, cappuccino, and champagne-deluxe) with the cookie parts made out of something like a macaroon and the filling being super creamy and rich. Once fed, we headed to the water. Lake Zurich, to be precise. We took a short round-trip cruise on one of the commuter ships, and though it was rainy, Zurich and the other cities that surround the lake were quite beautiful.

Some really great green beans, potatoes, sausage, bacon, and smoky tenderloin(?) for dinner, thanks to Therese’s aunt. After-dinner entertainment was the women’s world cup, and while Solo and Wambach are still my current soccer-heroes, it was a sad end to the night. Tomorrow we go further north to meet with another of Therese’s aunts. Soon we’ll be US-bound; I would not mind staying here a bit longer, but alack.