The Globetrotting Geek

Shabbat (1)

July 24, 2012

“Anybody can observe the Sabbath, but making it holy surely takes the rest of the week.”
Alice Walker

Luzern – Day 3

July 22, 2012

As you can see below, the afternoon started with a visit to Sprungli Zurich to pick up a few choice items (will be posted later). After that it was time to drive for a good forty-five minutes!

Following that it was off to visit a beautiful cathedral/monastery of the reformed church, where I learnt about the reformation under the three different leaders; Calvin, Luther and Zwingli. I also drank some of the holy water and am feeling much enlightened. As we came out of the monastery, it started to rain and a couple taking their wedding photo’s was unamused (see photo).

Off we went again, driving another forty-five minutes to the beautiful city of Luzern (Lucerne) where my favorite music artist, Regina Spektor, was playing for the Blue Balls music festival. Much to my dismay, her only performance was on Friday night and thus I had to give it a miss!

A major tourist attraction of Luzern is the chapel bridge (pictured below with the flowers) and the old city walls and towers. Both of these were visited promptly, before settling for a little lunch. Of note in the city is the beautiful tolling of the bells.

Shabbat comes in really late in Switzerland, as the sky barely darkens in summer till well past 7PM. Thus with plenty of time, Eva’s parent’s took us by surprise and brought us to the bar at the top of Prime Tower Zurich, the tallest building in the city. I should mention too that in Switzerland I drank an awful lot of alcohol compared to usual, as it seemed to be drunk with every meal.

Dinner was delicious raclette, a swiss specialty of cheese melted over various vegetables at the table! Served, as per usual with a stout glass of wine. Again, I needed a relatively early night.

Kunsthaus Zurich – Day 3

This morning as per usual was spent waking up at a leisurely hour, followed by a delicious swiss breakfast. Today I took the ferry into the city, a forty-five minute trip on the lake, with the flag billowing in the wind behind me.  Following that, it was another morning in Zurich! For me, this meant the opportunity to visit the renowned ‘Kunsthaus Zurich’ (art-house), a gallery with many famous and wonderful works. Below I have included a selection of my favorites, famous pieces. Amongst them are works by Dali, Picasso and Chagall.

After lunch I briefly wandered the streets again, stopping to chat with a waitress at ‘Outback’, an Australian themed restaurant. She wanted me to come in and appease the patrons searching for a true blue Aussie experience. Next was a quick stop at Sprungli to buy a thing or two (see later post).

Returning to the Empting family, my afternoon continued in Lucerne/Luzern and the surrounding countryside…