Thoughts from Zürich

It’s been our last day here in Switzerland for the time being and somehow, we’ve found so many things and thoughts to bring home with us.  We needed the umbrellas again this morning, sadly, but thankfully the weather brightened up this afternoon and though we weren’t confident enough to leave them at home, we didn’t have to use them.  In the picture above, they are dripping into the stand at the Fraumünster, whilst we perused the windows by Marc Chagall, which we love.

Crossing over the bridge in search of the last couple of things on the list, we found a few ducks in the fountain which prompted us to smile and to get the cameras out.

Looking more closely, there was a reminder on each one:

Life is good.

Can’t argue with that one.

Over the river, in the Bookbinders shop, we’d admired these colourful boxes as we passed by the other night and wanted to take a closer look at them when the shop was open.  We spent a happy half hour or so in there, making one or two little purchases and noting the message beautifully written on the wall.

Mmm. 

I agree with that one as well!

We spent the rest of the day filling in one or two gaps and rounded it off in the Zeughaus.  We missed Amy, who returned home this morning, and raised our glasses to her before coming home to pack our bags for the homeward journey.

We’re not quite ready for home yet and still have one or two adventures up our sleeves, but for now, it’s uf Wiederluege, Ciao and Tschüss and Merci vilmal to Switzerland.  Tomorrow, we’ll be hearing HochDeutsch once again, albeit with a Schwäbisch accent.  We’ve had a great time here and take home so many lovely memorable moments.  We’ve been so busy having fun that we are way behind on our journals, but no matter.  There will be time.  They will be done, for sure.  But for now,

Bis spöter!

Umbrellas on the train

Well, we’ve been so lucky so far, we could hardly complain that it’s raining today.  It wasn’t when we set out for Rapperswil this morning, planning a fairly easy day without Amy and Edward, who had decided to spend the day in the city before Amy returns home tomorrow.

But by the time we’d got there and had a coffee, the rain was coming down pretty hard and we were getting wet in spite of our umbrellas.

We put a brave face on for a while and managed a quick look around, but soon decided our best option was to make our way back to the station and go somewhere else.

It wasn’t just the weather: Rapperswil hosts a big “SeeFest” this weekend, with a three day party by the lakeside, so it wasn’t as if we could enjoy the view of the lake, either.  So, we made our way back to the station and returned to Zürich by train.

We got off the train a little before the city centre and finished the journey by tram, thereby avoiding the Hauptbahnhof altogether.  It wasn’t raining quite so hard in the Bahnhofstrasse, but we scooted into Globus for a happy hour or so, browsing.

The Panorama Knife amused us, though we remain unconvinced of its effectiveness in cutting.  Still, it looked good and the matching wooden board was beautiful.

Mary and I were very taken by the Sal-y-Limon bracelets there too.  They were arranged en masse and the glorious block of colour caught our eyes immediately.  As always, though, one isn’t really enough, sadly.  But a collection would be most acceptable!

The sentiment on a cushion suggested the right idea.

So off we went, to spend the last part of the afternoon doing a little catching up; blogging, emailing, ironing and generally getting ourselves together.  The youngsters were still out shopping, so we picked up a little something for afternoon tea and came back to the flat.

On a rainy afternoon in Zürich, what better accompaniment to afternoon tea?

Cooling down

Let’s start the day with the tram, shall we?  Our “commute” is so efficient, we can be at the station in just over five minutes.  Yes, we could live here!

We were heading for Brienz today, to take a small steam powered rack railway up the Rothorn.  The weather forecast wasn’t too good, so we chose a destination with a few options, should the rain appear.  Waiting on the station platform this morning, we were standing opposite another favourite advertisement: Battery Man.  (Bring your empty batteries back, he advises)

We took a normal double decker Swiss train to Luzern and then changed to the rather swanky modern Luzern-Interlaken one.  That curved wall on the left of the aisle is the loo – a very large door slid open to reveal a huge cubicle with loo and wash handbasin, which was all very fine until the thought occurred to me whilst using the facility, that perhaps the door lock wasn’t 100% secure…and we went around the corner…and the door might slide open…and reveal the show to everyone sitting in the carriage!!  Oh my goodness!  Thankfully the door was secure and no such horror occurred, but I couldn’t help but think that at some point it might have done!!

No such modern facilities on the century old Brienzer Rothorn train, however.  We sat in open carriages and began the clunky journey up the mountain.  The weather wasn’t too bad, so far, at least.

As soon as we began, the view opened up and the valley below looked lush and green.  The mountains beyond are the same range as we could see from the top of the Nufenen Pass the other day, but this time, we’re looking at the other side of them.

Lake Brienz was that incredible shade of green-blue again today and sitting in the comfort of the open carriage, we were enjoying the fresh air when, was that a spot of rain?

Well, it might have been, but we’ll press on, ignore it and hope it goes away.  That’s the train track below by the way, curving its path through the meadows.

Unfortunately, somewhere nearer the top we couldn’t ignore it any more.  The valley below us was shrouded in mist and it was clear that the weather was changing quickly.  We pulled down the canopy so we could at least stay dry, but it didn’t bode well for the fine views from the summit.

By the time we reached the top, it was blowing a gale, pouring with rain and we were feeling rather chilly.  What happened to the sunshine?  Not only that, but the temperature must have plummeted 15 or 20 degrees in the hour –the combined effect of the altitude and the weather front passing through.  I braved the storm for thirty seconds or so to take this photograph, struggled with my umbrella, which turned inside out and ran back under cover again.  We didn’t feel like going right up there to the top in such conditions and stayed with most of our fellow passengers under the shelter of the terminus building.

Some hardy souls were more determined to visit the restaurant than we were, however!

The next train down was in 30 minutes or so, so we watched the weather and hopped from foot to foot to keep warm.

But as we did, a small chink of light broke in between the clouds.

Ten minutes later, the storm had passed and the air was clear again.  Should we stay or go?  Looking at the numbers of people coming down from the restaurant to the train station convinced us – we should stay in the queue and stick with the plan to return.

The way down was warm and sunny again!  The alpine weather can change in seconds and how pleased we were that it did.

Clear views of the mountains – where we’d been yesterday, the day before and the day before that.  Hard to imagine really.

More photographs being taken all around us, for our fellow passengers were mostly Japanese tourists and those who weren’t asleep took as many pictures as we did!

How could we not?  We switched on panorama mode, we tried different settings and snapped away.  The train was travelling at a stately pace, we had plenty of time and lots of disk space – why not keep going?

The alpine scenery is so attractive and we all love it so.

Then, just when I thought I’d taken enough of the same kind of photograph, something new would come into view and add some interest.

Or the view from around the corner was even better than the one before.  The colours today were different, too, we thought.

How’s this for the perfect picnic spot?  A small shelter, a table and benches all made from timber with a little stone barbecue set up right there on the side of the mountain, high above the lake. 

Back down by the lakeside in Brienz again, the beautifully decorated Jungfrau steamer was there, meeting the SBB train, the Rothorn train and the Postbus.  Such coordination is what makes all of this work – remarkable efficiency.

We didn’t hang around Brienz for long, though our train to Luzern was a little more shambolic than we’re used to here.  Earlier in the day, there’d been a power cut in Luzern and the railway officials were still trying to get everything moving again.  We were keen to get going because we had a date with a fondue pot!  Yes, even though it’s summer, we couldn’t resist…

Saying goodnight to the cow above the Chuchi fondue restaurant and also to Amy and Edward who were going off on the town whilst we olds came home to blog and put our feet up, we took the short walk to the tram stop and jumped on the #5 which brought us home.

It’s much cooler tonight, thank goodness.  The newspapers declare that the heatwave has broken.  We might need umbrellas again tomorrow.

Can’t get enough mountain air

Instead of a picture of the Hauptbahnhof today, how about one of our local station, a masterpiece of late 1920s architecture, built in granite from Ticino. 

Unusually, we were catching a different type of train today.  One of the boy’s in fact.

Spacious and airy, this train had begun the journey in Hamburg, just after midnight.  It had come via Frankfurt, Kahl (yes, really, Karin!) and Hanau before heading south towards Bern, where we hopped on and then finished this l-o-n-g journey in Interlaken Ost, where we got off.

Changing trains there was a bit of a rush, but we made it onto our little blue and yellow train which was going to take us to Lauterbrunnen, a village high in the Bernese Oberland.

Things were quite busy there, too, with many tourists milling around, not really knowing where to go for the next stage of their journey.  Some were heading up to the Jungfraujoch, a rather exciting journey which we’ve made a few times on previous visits.  Others, like us, were planning to turn left, not right, and head into the village before taking the cablecar towards Mürren.

Here in Lauterbrunnen, having considered the size and relative stability of the cablecar, my hero decided that perhaps he’d give it a try.  Maybe it wouldn’t be such a scary ride as he feared…

Of course, as soon as we were aloft, all fears were forgotten (well, until we went over a pylon, which sent the car rocking a little and there was a temporary intake of breath!)  How could one feel scared when those magnificent mountains are there, shining in the sunshine?  The Eiger had a little cap of cloud on the top, blowing in the breeze, it appeared.

Five minutes later we were at Grütschalp and out we got, to move to the next stage, which happened to be a small train.  We’d been expecting a smaller cablecar or a gondola, but much to my hero’s relief, the vehicle had at least four wheels and went along a track, not leaving the ground for as much as a second!

I have no idea who these people are, but they offer some scale to the picture of the view from the train.  Pretty good, eh?

With all the train windows open, our journey was accompanied by the usual Swiss Mountain Orchestra of cowbells!

Once in Mürren, we strolled along the path into the village, stopping every few metres to take yet another photograph of the beautiful view.  Considering that rain was forecast for today and my hero was carrying our two umbrellas, we were feeling pretty fortunate, I can tell you.

We refilled our water bottles from a mountain spring, gazed over the green fields to those snowy peaks and sighed.  Could there be anywhere more lovely than this?

The entertainment came in the form of hang gliders, coming down the valley one by one from somewhere high above us.  Not content with simply sitting and floating downwards on the thermals, these chaps were performing acrobatics by “skipping” over the canopy a few times, or spiralling down by swinging around and pivoting on it.  Hmm.  Fun to watch, but way better to have both feet on terra firma we thought.

The Eiger had lost its cap of cloud by now and was looking splendid against the clear blue sky.  Those people who caught the train to Jungfraujoch will have travelled inside the mountain and peered through windows in that north face.

They would have emerged at the structure which looks like a castle, to the right of the snowfield in the picture.  Funny to think that some of them could be there right now, looking over to us in our pretty green village.

Meanwhile, we were enjoying a wander and noticing a little yarnbombing here and there.

Not to mention a little bunch of Edelweiss flowers in a pot by a cute front front door.

Of course, we had to make the downward journey by cablecar as well, and this was perhaps a little less comfortable for those who dislike such things, but at least it was over and done with rather quicker than the upward trip.  Coming back down to Lauterbrunnen, we caught sight of the Staubbach Falls, but more noticeable were those clouds coming in.  We were so pleased we’d enjoyed the best of the day.

Back to Zurich then, by means of another little train, the return journey of the German ICE train which was headed back to Hamburg, but which we left in Bern, and finally, the Swiss SBB service to Zurich HBF.

What a day!  Each one gets better and better and though we missed having the youngsters along today, we knew they were having a similarly great time at Titlis, in the snow.  We’d arranged to meet up for dinner at the Kropf, a favourite restaurant of ours, and just managed time to come back to the flat to freshen up before going out again.

I’ll leave you with the same picture we started with this morning; the Enge station, but in rather different light as the storm passed quickly through as we were making our way to the restuarant.

But a couple of hours after the heavy rainstorm, it’s as if nothing had happened.  Back to the hot and sticky again tonight.

Going up

Ok, so you know the routine by now.  Having taken the tram to the station we caught a train from there.  This time, we were on a strict schedule, because with the help of Markus in the SBB booking office, we’d reserved places later in the day.  Firstly, we had to get ourselves to Andermatt.

The train journey is another scenic marvel.  First, there’s the approach to the Gotthard Pass from Arth-Goldau to Göschenen where the winding spirals of the pass itself begin.  The train weaves in and out of tunnels, winding around tight curves to work its way up into the mountains.

Forgive the terrible photograph taken through the train window, but this is the church in the village of Wassen which can be seen three times on the journey as the train spirals up in a double loop.

We changed trains in super-quick time in Göschenen, from where it was a fairly short ride up to Andermatt.

We’d climbed quite a way in just a short time.

Here, our Post-Auto awaited us.  We’d reserved five seats and hoped the bus wouldn’t be full!  First, we planned to take the route over the summit of the Gotthard Pass, crossing into Ticino, the Italian speaking part of Switzerland.

Not long after we’d started, we passed the old-style Post-Auto, just preparing to leave for a shorter tour than ours, I hope, for the horses’ sake.  Personally, I was glad to be comfortably seated on our air-conditioned Mercedes bus, though I’m sure the old style would be fun for a while.

The views along the whole route were spectacular and we soon ran out of superlatives.  In spite of an iffy weather forecast, the sky was clear and the visibility pretty amazing.

From time to time we glimpsed the old Gotthard road, over which I’d travelled with my parents in a Ford Anglia, sometime in the late 1960s, to visit our friends in Ticino.  I didn’t think much of it then, but recall how proud my father was at the time.  To think, he’d driven our old car all that way over the Alps!  Now, looking at the road, I can see how justified that pride was…what a star!

I’m not sure the road today is that much easier, but we were in safe hands and enjoyed the incredible views from the window.

This was a service bus of course and it made a stop in several small villages along the way, announcing its arrival with a sound of the horn – the first four notes of the William Tell overture, repeated!  In addition to those, we also had a few stops of around half an hour each, this one being the pass summit, where the cows were enjoying a little scratch against the barrier.  The air was fresh and cool, there was a clear blue sky and the accompaniment to our conversation was the sound of cowbells!

There was a small lake at the summit, too, and the driver joked by saying we could have a coffee, take a walk or swim a few laps.  I think that might have been a colder choice than we might imagine.

We continued down to Airolo, where another break gave us a chance to have a drink and catch our breath.  All of this travel is pretty tiring, you know!

From here, we started the second part of our journey, over the Nufenen Pass, the highest pass open to vehicles in Switzerland.  As we drove along the valley from Airolo, we could see the bridges and ledges along which we’d just come.  Sometimes, perhaps it’s good to look straight ahead!

If anything, the Nufenen Pass was more spectacular than the Gotthard.  The mountain views from near the summit were spectacular and we all agreed, it’s hard to imagine ever getting tired of such a view.

Up here, we could see well into the Berner Alps.  The highest mountain on the horizon was the Lauteraarhorn, though its peak was shrouded in cloud.  But what a great day to be up here.

Looking slightly to the left, the Gries glacier sat snug in the valley up there, shining beautifully in the sunshine.  Here, we were into the Valais, the French speaking part of Switzerland – were our linguistic skills being challenged today or what?

From there, it was another interesting drive down the other side of the pass to Oberwald, from where we planned to take the third and final part of our journey, over the Furka Pass, back to Andermatt.  But, sadly, Markus had made an error in his timetabling.  Instead of the Post-Auto continuing on the route we anticipated, it was going on to Meiringen – not what we had in mind at all, and not really an option we could consider.

Oh heck.

Never mind, our Swiss Passes allow just about anything and with a train due within a few minutes, we made a quick adjustment.  We were sad to miss out on the Furka Pass, especially since not all of us have been inside the glacier at Gletsch before (and one who has doesn’t remember anything of it at all).  But perhaps we save that for next time?

So, the little red train took us back to Andermatt and on to Göschenen, from where we caught another train to Arth-Goldau and back to Zurich. 

Tired, but happy, we ate supper in the Appenzeller Restaurant in the station this evening, rounding off with a Zuger Kirschtorte bought from Sprungli on the way home.  We’ll go our separate ways again tomorrow but will have fun when we meet up again in the evening with tales of our adventures in Switzerland!

Hope you’re having fun too?