Switzerland Day 8
Day 8 (Sunday) - Zurich and the trip home
On Sunday, Kristin and I woke up and went for a walk in Zurich at about 7 am. At that time of day the city was still asleep, and as quiet as I have ever experienced any city to be. The tranquility of the morning amplified the beauty of the city. We strolled along the city streets, taking snapshots of anything that looked European. This part of Zurich is littered with classic European alleys, cobblestones, and strong stone buildings. The types of things that are built to last not years, but centuries.
The sun was just peaking up above the rooftops, lighting up the church steeples that dominate the skyline, casting a yellowish glow over the upper parts of the stone buildings. The Limmat river was calm, pushing its water quietly along, and reflecting the ancient cityscape on its surface. After a week that was so busy, this moment of serenity helped to mark a pause in our journey and prepare us for the trip home and the return to our day-to-day lives.
We took note of the architecture and the incredible details on the buildings. Everything was decorative, from the rooftops, dormers, and eaves, down to the doors and cobblestones. No detail was too minor for the Swiss people to craft into a masterpiece.
Kristin and I walked for a little while up the river, towards the Grossmünster church, and then we spotted some tourists and joined up with them. Together again, the six of us made our way to Grossmünster to take in the grandeur of it.
While admiring the intricately carved door a woman approached us and informed us that the church was closed today, as they were celebrating the addition of a new priest. We spoke with her for a few minutes, thanked her and took a few more photos. I guess we didn’t realize she was there to open the doors and prepare for the church for the ceremony, as we stupidly stayed and took more pictures. Finally, when she didn’t move we realized she was waiting for us and we stepped aside. Chris asked if we could look inside and she hesitated, looked around to make sure no other tourists were around and invited us in for just a minute. I guess Chris has a brazen way of getting the VIP treatment, and so we stepped in and had a quick look. The church is a sacred place and I apologize that I have no pictures for you. This part of the journey was only for those that were there.
It was shortly after 8 am, and by now a few cafes where just opening up, so we stopped at Motta and had some breakfast.
After breakfast we went to the Landesmuseum to check out some Swiss history.
I’m not sure we made it through even half of that giant museum before succumbing to exhaustion. Chris and Lori decided to take a walk while the rest of us went and sat by the river. I tested out the water with my hand, it wasn’t bad, but there was no one swimming in it today. Andrea and HP told us you could jump off a bridge and float down the river, but on our last day, with no hotel to clean up in, we were content to just lounge on the edge of the river, drink some tea, and watch the ducks.
We had told Chris and Lori we would meet them at the hotel at 1 pm, and it was 12:45. Kristin and I decided to do one last touristy thing in the 15 minutes we had left and took a very brisk walk down to the Fraumünster on the other side of the river. We picked our way through crowds, down small back-alleys, and along tiny walkways next to the river, finally coming out to a large plaza over which the Fraumünster stood.
We arrived back at the hotel at 1:15, which was just-in-time plus another 15 minutes. From there we all headed over to the biggest train station I have ever seen, Zurich Hauptbahnhof. It has 3 levels, 26 tracks, measures 300 yards from one end to the other (I think we had to walk most of those 300 yards to get to our platform), and services almost 3,000 trains daily! It also includes hundreds of shops and restaurants. Over 400,000 passengers transit the station every day. This place is big.
We took the train to the airport where Kristin and I split a $35 cheeseburger. No, there was nothing special about the burger, just a regular airport burger, but what can you do, they have you captured in there. We were back to regular life, no more Alpine air and no more magical Swiss lands.
The flight was 8 hours back to Boston where we boarded the Blue Apple Bus to Mansfield. From there Kristin and I drove home. We finally arrived back at 2 Edmund H Nichols Rd at 11:30 pm. We had one-upped the movie “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” as our trip home was “Trains, Planes, and Automobiles, and Buses”, but we were finally home. It had been a great trip, one that will not be forgotten. I write this blog to remind myself of the time we had in Switzerland and to urge myself to make sure I don’t wait another 45 years to get back there.
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading. Thanks to Paul for organizing the trip and all the work he put into it - outstanding job Paul! Thanks to Kristin and Chris for all the pictures they contributed to this blog. Thanks to our hosts in Zurich for a great dinner, and to my housemates in Wengen for putting up with me for a week.
auf Wiedersehen!
