Adventure day in Zurich...just an Amazing day!!

This week I decided to do Adventure Day in Zurich.  Tom was in a meeting in Rome and wouldn't be home until later tonight so it was a good day to roam... I wasn't exactly sure what to expect but I thought it would be fun!  Zurich is about a 2 hour train ride from the Lausanne.  The train system in Switzerland is comfortable, clean, fun, and how can I say... oh yeah - not cheap.  I will say you get what you pay for.  I find it amazing, like an airplane, they have a beverage cart that roams through the train offering up coffee, sandwiches, or sweets. 

Well, back to Zurich!  The train drops you off right in the center of the city. The station is, to me, the size of Grand Central in NY.  The whole place was done up as a Christmas village with little holiday shops selling everything from ornaments to fresh meat and cheese.  In the center a huge Swarovski crystal covered tree.  Upon exiting the station you are on the main drag, the Bahnhofstrasse (I would call it the Rodeo Drive of Switzerland).  You could not walk five steps without seeing Prada, Jimmy Choo, Tiffany, Exclusive boutiques, etc... 

The strasse (street) runs from the station all the way down to Lake Zurich.  It was a beautiful day, sunny and about 3 degrees out - much warmer than my last trek.  You would be amazed with the decorations all along the way.  They had little lights hanging down off the train cables making the effect of snow falling.  Everything was done up in the spirit of the Holiday Season!

 

Most of my time spent roaming the streets, awing over Lake Zurich and the views, having a wonderful lunch (snitzel, frites, and a small bottle of wine), and ending up having a wonderful cappuccino at our family cafe...



360 degree view of Zurich from atop the tower...

My hike for this trip was to the top tower overlooking all of Zurich.  I survived over 200 steps and the view spectacular!

I ended my day relaxing on the train ride home finishing a book I have been trying to finish for a while...

Walking around Zurich and its festive holiday nature definitely put me in the holiday spirit...looking forward to the holidays and seeing everybody in the US.

Here is a video of the views from the Grossmunster-Karlsturm:

Next week, I am hoping to try and get to EuroDisney...keep your fingers crossed it works out...

Another week, another Adventure Day here in lovely, cold, amazing Switzerland!

My first adventure day...Fribourg!

Quick update for the day...

      - It Cold!  We are also schedule to receive 30cm of snow today (that's 11.8" in non-metric terms)

      - Everything else is fine.  Tom is very busy at work and I busy staying busy...

On of the things I decided to do was "Adventure Day".  Once a week I am going to drive, fly or train to a different city (or country) to look around and experience more of the amazing history I am living around.

This week I went to a town called Fribourg.  Fribourg is about 45 minutes north of Lausanne by train.  The town (really a city) is an amazing mix of the medieval and the modern.  The town has an upper and a lower region which are on the River Sarine. 

Some of the other 'claims to fame' are:

• the most Eco-friendly city in Europe.
• the home of Gruyere Cheese and the fairytale castle of the Count of Gruyere.
• the of bridges - no less than 15 little wood, stone, and metal bridges crossing the river. 
• the home of Swiss Marionettes and Swiss Sewing Machines.
• and much, much more (if you would like to know more you can visit MySwitzerland.com and search code 111551.  

My adventure began with a train ride which passed through some of the most beautiful snow-covered countryside I have seen to date.  Once I arrived at Fribourg I was amazed by two things...

      1. It was not a town, it was a huge thriving city

      2. It was -4 degrees Celsius out

 Let the adventure begin...I started by trying to find the marionette museum, so I started walking.  I saw a sign and went off in that direction...wandering through city streets, then town roads, and then mountain paths.  Finally, I ran into a young lady and asked her directions. She told me I passed the museum (not by much) but the view if I kept going was spectacular...so I kept going up the mountain...'I climbed a small Alp (Personal note: Being a smoker, climbing an Alp, and it being -4 degrees out...bad combo).  I survived and the view was amazing.  After climbing back down the small Alp, I had a great lunch of Pino Noir and fresh Fondue.  It was just what the frost-bite doctor ordered.  After lunch I took the localFunicular (built in 1869 power by hydro-electric waste run-off) back up to the upper city and visited St. Nicholas' Church.  Being it's almost Christmas I thought it was appropriate.  Not being super religious, I am always amazed by the architecture and art of the the European churches.  Oh, to back up a little -I did find the museum but it was closed (next time). 

The train ride home was warm and pleasant, then the snow started...  Hohoho...

I hope you enjoy the images of my adventure. 



St. Nicholas' Church



  

Next Adventure Day...I think Zurich is in order...

With Love as always and Happy December!!