Zurich 16-20
October 2017
After
a long overnight flight from Denver, we arrived in Zurich at 5 PM on Tuesday
evening. The first leg of our trip was
from Denver to Heathrow International Airport in London. We were not impressed with British
Airways. For lie-flat seats, there was not
much room around the seats (as compared to other airlines’ business class seats),
the lie-flat bed was very short and uncomfortable, the food was over cooked,
and the cabin of the plane was very warm.
Needless to say neither of us got much sleep. We had about a 3 hour lay-over at Heathrow
before our flight to Zurich. Heathrow is
a large, sprawling airport. It took us
about 10 minutes by bus to go from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5. Once on our flight to Zurich, things
improved. Our plane, an Airbus 321, was
not generally used for short-haul flights (the flight to Zurich was only 1
hour). According to our flight attendant
it is usually used on long-haul flights to the Middle East. But it had the most comfortable seats (also
lie-flat) and in the business section, there was only one seat on each side of
the aisle- so plenty of room to spread out.
Too bad we did not have this plane on our overnight flight!
Once
in Zurich, we made our way to the train station at the airport for a quick 10
minute trip to the main train station in Zurich. The Hauptbahnhof (main train station) is the
largest train station in Switzerland handling over 2000 trains a day. It was built in 1870 has four levels – the main
level now hosts concerts, exhibitions, “beach” volleyball, and a farmers’
market, with levels 2 and 3 packed with
over 170 stores for customers to peruse.
There appears to be nothing that you cannot buy there. On the main level, strung from the ceiling,
is a fat blue angel – Zurich’s Guardian Angel—that is supposed to protect
travelers and bring them good luck.
However, after looking at it, I think it actually belongs in a Halloween
contest. It is not in the least a statue
that gave me a warm fuzzy feeling – a couple of laughs maybe.
Not
being familiar with the station’s lay-out, we thought we were on the main level
of the station and that the stairs leading up to the street level were the only
way to get there. So we lugged our
suitcases up about 30 steps. (The next day when we went back to the train
station we found that we were not on the main level, but two levels below and
that there were escalators that would have taken us up to the street level –
oh, live and learn!). From the train
station it was only about a 10-15 minute walk to the hotel – across the Limmat
River and two blocks up on the other side.
The
Zurich Marriott is a beautiful hotel and our room is very comfortable room. The Executive Lounge is open 24 hours (food
hours are limited (but adequate) but the wine and beer are available 24 hours a
day. After checking in, we went to the
Executive Lounge for a small snack and some drinks. I was determined to stay awake until at least
10 PM so I wouldn’t wake up 3 or 4 in the morning. Bill made it until 8:30, but I did make it
until 10.
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| Limmat River and Park across from Marriott Hotel |
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| Sometimes Mother Nature needs help in holding up a tree limb |
After
a good night’s sleep (finally), we were ready to begin our exploration of
Zurich. The concierge at the hotel told
us that the temperature would be in the 90s today. So Bill changed into a pair of shorts, but we
both decided to take a light jacket with us.
It was a good thing, because although the day was sunny, the temperature
only made it up to the 60s. We walked
back to the train station through a beautiful little park on the other side of
the river from the hotel.
Some
interesting facts about the Hauptbahnhof (or main train station). The façade of the station is a huge triumphal arch, built in 1871
to symbolize the triumph of industry.
Atop the arch is Helvetia waving a Swiss flag, the personification of
Switzerland. The Helvetii were a Celtic
tribe defeated by the Romans in 58 BC to gain control of Switzerland. The Helvetii were described by the Romans as
“very good warriors with an affinity for bright and shiny metal.” As the years passed, writers began to use the
adjective helvetique to refer to Switzerland, and eventually the allegorical
female figure of Helvetia emerged and was adopted as a symbol of the Swiss
confederation in 1848, when the diverse cantons that banded together to create
Switzerland needed some symbol of unity to transcend all their linguistic and
cultural differences. This word was also
used as the Latin name for the new federal state (Confederation Helvetica) and
today this neutral name is used whenever officials want to avoid favoring any
of the country’s four languages. You see
this abbreviation “CH” on Swiss license plates, web addresses, and in the
country’s currency. Flanking Helvetia on
the arch is the goddess sitting on the boat and the goddess sitting on the
train to remind the world that Zurich has long been a transportation hub. The statue in the forefront is Alfred Escher,
the Swiss politician who spearheaded the creation of the Swiss infrastructure –
railways, universities, and banks – in the mid-19th century which
has allowed tiny, basically land-locked Switzerland to become the economic
powerhouse it is today.
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| Hauptbahnhof |
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| Fat Blue Angel |
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| Sometimes you meet the weirdest shoppers |
At
the train station, we found the street, Bahnhofstrasse, which was the beginning
of our walking tour. The Bahnhofstrasse is about one mile long and runs from
the main train station to the edge of the lake.
It is lined with banks and expensive shops. Along the way, we saw a park – Pestalozzi
Park – that was dedicated to Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, an educational
reformer who influenced school standards in the United States. He believed that a good education should
focus on the whole child and not just specific skills and that education should
be the right of everyone, not just the rich or males.We also walked through Paradeplatz, once the site of a cattle market, but today is the central hub for tram interchanges. You do have to be careful, because trams are coming in all directions. At the end of Bahnhaufstrasse is Burkliplatz where the Limmat River empties into Lake Zurich and where the lake cruise boats begin their journeys. As it was still a little chilly and hazy, we decided to do more of the walking tour and return later for a lake cruise.
We walked across Quaibrucke (bridge) that
connects the two sides of the Limmat River and back up the banks of the river
until we came to Wasserkirche (or Water Church). It was built in 1479, and at that time was
surrounded by water.
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| Water Church with statue of Zwingli |
Grossmunster
is a Romanesque and Gothic cathedral, with two three-story towers that over-
look the Limmat River, and dedicated to three patron saints of Zurich: Felix, Regula,
and Exuperantius. According to legend, in the 3rd century, the three martyrs
attempted to convert the citizens of Turicum (the original name for Zurich) to
Christianity. The governor had them plunged into boiling oil
and forced them to drink molten lead. Still refusing to renounce their faith,
they were then beheaded on
the site where the nearby Wasserkirche stands. Then the invincible saints
picked up their heads and climbed a hill, dug their own graves and jumped in.
When Charlemagne's horse happened to stop and bowed at the martyrs' graves, the
site of the church was chosen. The seal of Zurich honors these saints,
depicting them carrying their heads under their arms. The remains of the saints
are said to rest in one of the chapels of the Grossmünster. Despite the legend, construction actually
began in 1090 and additions were made until the early 14th century. The cathedral was once the parish church of
Huldrych Zwingli, one of the great leaders of the Reformation. He urged priests
to take wives (he himself had married) and attacked the "worship of
images" and the Roman Catholic sacrament of mass. He promoted religious freedom and in his
effort to fight idolatry he had many of the church's valuable paintings and
treasures removed. In 1531 Zwingli was
killed in a religious war at Kappel. The
hangman quartered his body and soldiers burned the pieces with dung. The site of his execution is marked with an
inscription: "They may kill the body but not the soul." In accordance
with Zwingli's beliefs, Zurich's Grossmünster is austere, stripped of the heavy
ornamentation you'll find in the cathedrals of Italy.
When we went inside to visit, there
was a lot of renovation and construction taking place and really not much to
see. The church is very plain, in
accordance with Zwingli’s beliefs.
Although the one tower does have 200 steps that you can climb for a
wonderful view of Zurich, there were not open because of the construction. The most interesting thing we found were the
two bronze doors. The door leading into
the church from the north side had Romanesque carvings while the door on the
south side had bronze panels with Biblical scenes. Unfortunately no photography was allowed
inside the church, but as I said early, there really wasn’t anything to take a
picture of except possible a three beautiful stain glass windows by Augusto
Giacometti that were added over the choir area in 1939.
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| Fraumunster |
Leaving
the Grossmnuster, we walked across a bridge to the other side of the river to
the Fraumunster, another of Zurich’s famous churches. This church is very distinctive with its
turquoise blue spire. A church has stood
on this site since 853 when it was a convent for noblewomen. Inside the church are two beautiful works of
art by Marc Chagall. The first is a set
of 5 stained glass panels, depicting Bible scenes. Each window makes use of a
specific color and illustrates a Biblical story. The first panel The Prophets (red in color)
depicts the prophet Elisha watching a horse-drawn chariot carrying his mentor
Elijah off to heaven. The second panel (Jacob
and blue in color) shows Jacob dreaming of a ladder extending up to heaven to
show the connection between God above and Jacob’s descendants (the children of
Israel) below. The center or third one (Christ
and green) culminates with the central image of the crucified Christ. The
yellow or fourth panel (Zion) shows King David strumming his harp and singing a
psalm, with his son Solomon, the builder of Jerusalem’s temple, announcing the
establishment of a glorious New Jerusalem.
And the last (blue) is titled The Law, showing Moses and the Ten Commandants.
An interesting note is
that in the 16th century, the narrow archway on the outer corner of
the church was deliberately made small to prevent vain women from entering with
elaborate clothing like the then fashionable wide-hooped skirts. Today the church is an Evangelical Reform
Church.
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| Rose Windown |
Chagall also designed the church’s rose
window. It is absolutely glorious. Unfortunately, again there was no photography
allowed in the church. However, we did
buy a post card with the Rose Window so I will try and take a photo of it so
include in the blog. In
the basement of the church is a crypt that shows the early ruins of the
original convent.
When you exit the church you are in
Musterhofplatz, the site of a former pig market. (“platz” means square or piazza in German,
while “strasse” means street). One of
the buildings is the oldest guildhall in Zurich – Zunfthaus zur Waag, built in
1637. Also in this square is the Zunfthaus
zur Meisen, a former guild house, situated
on the bank of the River Limmat in the Old Town. The building was home to the
vintners, tavern owners, saddlers and painters guilds in the 18th
century. It was constructed in 1757 in the style of a baroque city palace and
is considered the most beautiful of Zurich's guildhouses.
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| Zunftas zur Waag- oldest guildhall |
From the Fraumunster, we walked up
the hill to St. Peter Kirche, the oldest church in Zurich. It was built in the 13th century
and has the largest clock face in Europe (30’ in diameter, with the minute hand
almost 13’ long). The site of this
church has long been regarded as holy.
Originally a temple to Jupiter stood on this spot, followed by a small 8th
or 9th century church, then a 10th century church that
was replaced in 1230 by a late-Romanesque church, with a Gothic nave added in
1460. The church you see today was built
in 1706. Interestingly, the church tower
once functioned as the town’s watchman tower.
The guard on duty had to look out of the window every 15 minutes to
check for fires. Inside the church, the
choir area still has faint remains of the medieval frescoes. Fortunately, we were allowed to take photos
inside this church.
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| Frescos in choir area |
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| St Peter's Kirche |
Leaving the church, we began our
return to Burkliplatz for the lake cruise.
We walked down a narrow stairway – Theremengrasse – where we walked over
the ruins of an old Roman bath. We exited out of the narrow alleyway onto
Weinplatz, a square that was Zurich’s wine market centuries before. From there we walked across another small
bridge over the Limmat River to view the city hall building – the
Rathause. It was not open so all we could
do was see the outside structure. From
there we retraced out steps and made out way to Burkliplatz where we purchased
tickets for a 90 minute cruise on Lake Zurich.
Luck was with us as the boat was due to depart in 15 minutes. This was what we would call a commuter cruise
as it made about 6-7 stops at small suburban towns along the lake to pick up
passengers. The scenery was spectacular
with many of the trees showing their fall colors. The homes along the lake are beautiful with
well-manicured lawns. Most homes must
have a boat of some type, usually a nice sailboat, as there were hundreds of
boats moored on the lake shore. It was a very relaxing, beautiful cruise – a
nice rest from our walk.
After the cruise we walked back up
to Munsterhofplaze where we had lunch at the Zeughauskeller. The building was built in the 140s and
originally served as an armory. In fact
its name Zeughauskeller means that all kinds of weapons and armaments of war
were stored and mended here. Legend has it the crossbow used by William Tell
was also stored here. On the menu was a
selection “Kalbsgeschnetzeltes” that also said “if in Zurich you must try” so
of course we did. It was a sliced veal
and mushroom in a white wine cream sauce, and it was delicious! And it came
with the largest potato cake I have ever seen.
It took up much of the plate.
After lunch, we walked back up the
river toward train station, stopping to enjoy the wonderful
views of the Limmat River from the Lindenhof Park. Once the site of a Celtic and later a Roman
fort, it was a peaceful place to stop (after climbing a rather strenuous hill)
and enjoy the Limmat River. You get a
wonderful view of the Alstadt (Old Town) on the other side of the river.
From Lindenhof it was about a 20
minute walk back to the Marriott where a nice glass of white wine was waiting
for us in the Executive Lounge. My feet
sure needed the rest. The remainder of
the day was spent resting, writing this blog (before I forgot what we saw) and
partaking in a few more glasses of wine back down in the Executive Lounge (and
were it not for spell check on this computer, you would not understand one
thing I have written this evening – I think I will blame Microsoft 2016 and
Office 365 for my troubles this evening – they seem to want to take over my
computer with all sorts of weird things).
(Okay, I give up trying to put the pictures where they belong in the story. This web site has a mind of its own so I will put the remainder of Tuesday's pictures here.
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| View of Limmat River with Fraumunster and St Peter's in the background |
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| Lake Zurich Cruise |
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| Lake Zurich Cruise |
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| Lake Zurich Cruise |
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| Inside Zeughauskeller for our lunch |
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| View of Limmat River from Lindenhof |
(Pictures for Wednesday's trip will be posted as a separate post.)
The next morning (Wednesday) we
left the confines of Zurich and ventured out on a Viator Tour to the Rhine
Falls. The Rhine Falls (as the name indicates) is located in northern
Switzerland on the Rhine River. The Falls are the largest in Europe, but do not
compare in size to Niagara Falls, Victoria Falls, or Iguazu Falls. As we drove through the northern Swiss
countryside, which has many vineyards specializing in the Pinot Noir grape, our
trip took us to a small Swiss village of e where most of the homes were
built in the half-timbered red and white tradition. It was a very quaint and beautiful village
and I’m glad our tour guide made this little detour for us.
Once at the Falls, we all proceeded
down to the river’s edge to take a boat ride up close and personal with the
falls. This was an unexpected treat as
the brochure said the boat rides are only during the summer months. However, because the weather has been so
fine, they must have extended the season.
The boat ride was phenomenal as the boat driver was able to get us right
up to the bottom edge of the falls. We
did get a little wet from the spray, but it was worth it. After the ride we were able to walk along the
paths that led to the edge of the falls.
Although the falls are not very big compared to other falls, the volume
and the intensity of the water flowing over the falls was enormous. On the cliff overlooking the falls, was the 1000
year old medieval Castle Laufen. First mentioned in an official document in the year
858, the ancient walls have experienced turbulent times ‒ in 1449, the besieged
inhabitants were even forced to flee by swimming across the river.
Leaving the falls,
we drove up to Schaffhausen, the most northern city in Switzerland. It is actually located on the Germany side of
the Rhine River, although it belongs to Switzerland. That fact led to a fatal mistake by US Army
Air Corps pilots in WWII when they mistakenly bombed the city thinking it
belonged to Germany. After that the residents
painted the red Swiss flag on their roofs.
After returning to Zurich, we had lunch at the Burger King in the main
train station. Talk about sticker
shock. A fish sandwich in the states
costs $5.00 (or in some cases 2 for $5.00), while here it costs
$15.00! We then returned to the hotel
for a little naptime. It has been a
strenuous 2 days and our trip to Lucerne promises to be just as tiring. I thought vacations were supposed to be
relaxing. But we are not complaining. We
have seen some incredible sites in Zurich and we are sorry we have to leave
tomorrow. And the weather has been
perfect – sunny and in the 60s. A far
cry from what the weather channel told us the temperature would be – rainy and
highs in the 40s and 50s. But from what
everyone has told us, Lucerne will be twice as rewarding. So it is farewell to
Zurich, a dynamic and friendly city and hello to Lucerne.
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