Last Monday my father, Dom and I spent the day exploring a little of Zurich. On my brother’s recommendation, we started out by taking the train to a viewpoint a short way out of town. Uetliberg is considered the city’s “home” mountain which seems a somewhat arbitrary designation given the fact the city is surrounded by mountains. We quickly passed from the central train station, through the outskirts of town and into the countryside. There were all different types of architecture, from very modern to quite tradition, the latter often VERY Swiss. After about 20-25 minutes we came to Uetliberg, the last stop on the route. From there we walked about a kilometer up to the top of the hill where we found a large communications tower, a snack bar and a hotel and restaurant. The view back towards the city and the Zurichsee was wonderful. Unfortunately, it was quite a hazy day with high overcast so the mountains were barely visible. On a clear day it has to be a spectacular spot.
The path up the hill is part of the extensive walking tail system that extends throughout Switzerland. Signposts at every intersection gave the distance to various amenities such as train stations, restaurants and restrooms. Having skied in Switzerland I was familiar with the fact that seemingly every wide spot on the hill has a small restaurant or a lift going up another hill and I had heard the walking trail system was much the same. My brother told us a story of friends from Zurich who went to British Columbia and did some hiking. They tromped over several ridges and were shocked and amazed to never find a road, restaurant or restroom. I would have been happy to walk the 6 kilometers along the ridge and down to the lake to the next train station but Dom and my dad outvoted me and we backtracked to the Uetliberg train station.
Because we had day passes and a map of the public transportation system we decided to get off part way and take another route back to the center of Zurich. So a couple of stops later we hopped off and looked around for the tram we wanted. All we saw was the train station. Another look at the map showed us we needed to walk several blocks which we proceeded to do. Once there we checked the posted schedule and discovered the route we planned to take was a commuter line and did not run midday. Hmmm. Another look at the transport map and we figured out another way to reach our destination. It was a bit of a puzzle but we really enjoyed using the superb train, tram and bus system.
Once back in downtown Zurich we found a spot for a traditional Swiss lunch. My father said the restaurant was similar to German beer halls. A room the size of a high school gymnasium, and decorated a bit like a Medieval hall, was full of tables. Seating was somewhat communal although we ended up at a table for four. We all opted for wurst (sausage) and rosti (hash brown potatoes), accompanied by onion sauce and beer of course. It was delicious.
Afterwards we wanted to see the Chagall stained glass windows at a nearby church. Unfortunately, the Fraumunster was closed that afternoon. Instead, we walked down to the lakefront where we saw tourists feeding the swans, gulls and pigeons. It was beginning to threaten rain in earnest so not a lot of people were around. Dom and my dad decided to head back to the hotel for a rest but I chose to walk back.
I headed up Bahnhofstrasse, one of the world’s great ritzy shopping avenues. There were the usual high fashion stores (i.e. Prada, Gucci, etc.) and, like in Italy, the window displays include (shocking) prices for each item. The night before, on our way to dinner, we had passed by a Bogner skiwear shop. I went back there and took a closer look in the windows. There was a gorgeous jacket with a fur trimmed hood that I could see myself wearing. Unfortunately, I could not see myself paying over $3,500 for the privilege. I also visited another sporting goods store and found some more reasonable skiwear—the Descente jacket I liked was only $800—but not reasonable enough.
I did stop at the Sprungli store—an awesome pastry, chocolate and sandwich shop—where I bought two boxes of pastries and tea cookies. Afterwards, I continued on strolling through part of the old town, admiring the architecture, decorative painting, window boxes and men playing chess in a city park. Back at the hotel room, while Dom napped I quiet decadently read my book and ate “bonbons.” It is a darn good thing that pastry shop is in another country because the contents of those boxes were incredibly delicious.
Later that evening we met up with my brother and had dinner in the older part of Zurich. The restaurant served traditional Swiss fondue and raclette but I opted for venison and spatzli. My dad was the only one of us who had raclette, a meal that involves melting cheese at the table in a special electric oven/grill. The cheese is then eaten with potatoes, little sausages, gherkins, pickled onions and other accompaniments. Dom had about had his fill of restaurant food and ordered only soup and salad. We drank a nice bottle of Swiss Pinot Noir. The country makes some very good wines, both red and white, but almost none is exported.
When we finished dinner the rain was falling in earnest but luckily my brother had two umbrellas. He escorted us to our tram stop, tried to give us one umbrella but we were able to crowd together in a shop doorway until the tram arrived. By the time we got off, perhaps five minutes later, the rain stopped and we were still dry when we reached our hotel.
The next morning we had breakfast with my dad after which we dropped him at the train station as we made our way out of town. We asked Bridget (our GPS unit) to take us home and she did a good job of it. Interestingly, she took us a slightly different route than when we came north. It rained off and on throughout the six and a half hour journey and we arrived back in Partigliano early in the evening.
We really enjoyed our brief excursion and it was fun spending time with my father and my brother. I have always liked Switzerland. As I told Dom while we were there, it appeals to me because it is so “Swiss”—very neat, tidy, and precise. However, I also find that a bit unnerving as, to an American and pseudo-Italian, it seems somewhat unnatural. Still, I would go back in a minute especially if the trip involved skiing.
Here in Partigliano the weather has improved. Yesterday we spent some time out in the fields bringing in firewood and moving the rest of the olive tree clippings to the burn pile. Later in the afternoon we drove to Lucca with the intent of walking through town. Unfortunately, the annual comic art festival was in full swing and there was a real traffic jam outside the walls. In the end, we simply drove around town and came back home.
Today we had what I think of as one of our typical Sundays. We rose early and went to a marcia podistica (walker’s march) at the town of Fosciandora. This locale is further up the Serchio Valley, further into the mountains and the walk was quite “vertical.” All of the routes were shorter than normal (1 km. vs. 2 or 3 kms, 5 kms. vs. 6 kms., etc.) but nonetheless a good workout. The views back down the valley were also spectacular. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so no proof of that here.
On our way home we stopped at Bini Bar for cappucini and pastry. I attended 11 am Mass at the local church and then came home and fixed lunch. Usually we have an egg frittata but today I made fried eggs accompanied by ham and cheese patties and toast. Our afternoon was rather lazy. Dom rearranged our wine “cellar” under the stairs while I hung some laundry, read on the patio and later, after it cooled off, napped and read upstairs. A friend stopped by about 5:30 for a quick visit and a glass of wine after which we watched the Brazilian Grand Prix, the last Formula 1 race of the season. It was a REALLY exciting finish with Felipe Massa, a Ferrari driver and my favorite, winning the race but losing the driver’s championship to Louis Hamilton only because the latter managed to pass another driver on the last curve of the last lap for a 5th place finish. Had Hamilton finished 6th he would have lost the championship. Boo hoo!
During the race I made dinner—stir fry pork and vegetables—and now we are whiling away the evening enjoying the fire, watching TV and writing blog posts. It has been a great day and we are looking forward to a great week.
