Zurich Walkathon

MOM and DAD!!







I should have really started out my series of European entries with a tribute to the people who made it all possible, my mom and dad! Pictured here in Zurich. Thanks to Dad for making all of the arrangements, being a "first class" traveler, instigating thought-provoking discussions, and inviting us in the first place. Thanks to Mom for letting us tag along and being a good sport with our 10 miles a day of walking, even when she was either dieing of thirst, or her kidneys were hurting. And also a special thanks to Mom for making the Louve such a memorable experience! But I digress. More on that later!! Zurich was our third stop on the trip. We took a 5 hour train ride from Geneva to Zurich that was absolutely breath-taking. I think I have mentioned before that Switzerland is and absolutely immacculate country. So well cared for. The train went through countryside that was along the shores of lake Geneva with beautiful vineyards that were all over the hills and went right down to the edge of the lake. In Zurich we stayed in a Best Western that was very nice, and small. We shared accomodations with my parents and were told that the room was a mere $350 a night (again, thanks dad!) We did have a nice little balcony that looked out over Zurich, so at night we four would sit on the balcony and eat the hotel apples while we chatted through the sunset. It didn't actually get dark and 11 pm at night.







This is the view from our balcony. During the day, we walked. Dad did not have meetings in Zurich so we made a reservation to take a day-long tour to a famous sight in the Alps. Unfortunately, it was pouring the morning of the tour, so the tour was cancelled. We took a city tour of Zurich and explored the streets. One note about Zurich; I am not normally a "sweets" freak, however, in Zurich, we discovered the best icecream I have had in my LIFE. I kid you not, it was incredible. Pistachio. Incredible. The second night we went to the same place so we could get more pistachio ice cream. In retrospect, it was a blessing in disquise that the tour to the Alps was cancelled as it enabled us to have that pistachio icecream two nights in a row!



The streets of Zurich were extremely clean. "Old Zurich" was quaint with cobblestone streets and expensive shops. The people in Zurich were mostly speaking German and Italian. We were kind of suprised at how many Italians were there. We did a lot of walking. Which I always like.



(below is a street in Old Town Zurich)








The water in the lake and River was so clear, it was almost clean enough to drink. You can see the bottom of the river, and it's deeper than you think!