The Globetrotting Geek

The Alps – Day 5

July 25, 2012

It’s about time to describe the breakfasts I have been having every morning. They are some of the most lavish I have had in my life, replete with berries, cheeses, breads, cereals, drinks, fruits and jams. Of particular note are the cheeses visible in the photo, ranging from Tete de Moine (as in the below video), to Gorgonzola, to Brie.

The breakfast spread was positively delicious and was eaten for all five days I was there!

Each morning we consumed a good punnet of raspberries alongside a good few blueberries too! Also available were currents of both the red and black varieties. It was also at the various breakfasts that I discovered a real liking of swiss pastries, from the buttery gipfle to the brioche. Zopf, Swiss Sunday bread, somewhat like challah is delicious too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today was my last full day in Switzerland and it was spent traversing the Swiss country side, the highlight of which was a trip to the Alps! As it was Summer, the Emptings and I were prepared for at worst some cloudy weather. Unfortunately for us, fate had other plans and we faced a windy barrage of raindrops, pelting us as we caught the chairlift to the summit of one of the mountains. As we walked back down, we came across a little cafe which we entered for shelter. I tried a traditional Swiss drink, the Rumpunch, a very sweet, syrupy, hot drink. I didn’t like it much.

 

Exiting we saw a rare sight: wild eidelweiss growing on the side of the road. I of course took photographic evidence and was then informed by the Emptings that it was in fact illegal to take flowers away from the Alps, and so left it there.

On the way back to Zurich we drove via a town called Elm, that was completely annihilated by a rockfall caused by over mining the mountain nearby. If you look closely in the photo below you can see where they fell from. The fall left only two survivors, who were up on the hill that day, in contrast to most of the village that was engaged in some celebration. Elm was rebuilt and is home to a factory producing some famous Swiss drink whose name escapes me, but is milk based (and awful too!)

The evening was spent back in Baden, with both Carmen and Eva, and we whiled away the hours recalling the times we’ve had together and the mischief we’ve all gotten up to since.

 

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.

 

Zurich – Day Two

July 20, 2012

Today began with a large breakfast with the Empting family with whom I’m staying. It consisted of many different cheeses, artisanal breads, berries, fruit and cereals. There was on particular cheese of interest that translated roughly to ‘Frenchman’s Head’ cheese that was scraped off with a circular blade to form a shape somewhat like that of farfalle pasta. After the adults retired, Eva and I happily polished off the leftover punnets of raspberries and blueberries.

From there I traveled by train to Tiefenbrunnen station, about 30min walk out of the CBD. There exists a charming walking path along the banks of Lake Zurich, and I thoroughly enjoyed my walk (see pictures below). Making it into the city center, I walked along the main shopping street, Bahnhofstrassen and tried to get a feel for the place. Most striking were the wide streets with generous foliage along the sides.
At 12:00 I was to meet Eva at another station by a fountain, which after a little searching and a detour into a music store I found. For lunch Eva took me out to a fantastic vegetarian buffet place, that charges by weight. Lunch as displayed below, was delicious and I left wholly satisfied. Mmmm… vegetarian bolognese.

Eva then returned to her university, ETH Zurich, with me in tow. On the way we found a letter written to a family here, on display in a window. Eva then informed me that Einstien had in fact studied at the same university as her when he was younger! As she discussed her courses I realized that though she is in first year, the standards here are high such that she is studying the equivalent material for our  second year. For those keeping track this means 2nd year level mechanics (Lagrangian Dynamics etc.), an analysis course (Real Analysis) and, other equivalent courses.

The afternoon I spent wandering around again, sampling a lovely piano in the aforementioned music store for a good twenty minutes and, visiting numerous chocolate shops. I treated myself to a Swiss Movenpick Icecream: strawberry, 4.50CHF. Of note is the dessert shop Sprungli, which is from the same family as Lindt & Sprungli, separated since a few hundred years ago.

I met Eva at the hauptbahnhof at 3:45 to catch a train to Baden, where I was to surprise my friend Carmen who, working in a hospital full time, had no time in which to see me. This was a troubling affair for me as she worked in a small hospital in a rural town! For 20CHF I purchased a return ticket and went to Baden. However, when I got there I had little idea how to catch a bus to the hospital. Luckily, I heard two women speaking Hebrew as I was exiting the train and asked them for advice. They took me under their wing, even going so far as to board the bus to the hospital with me, being happy to help a young, Israeli tourist.

Once in the hospital I was challenged to explain in swiss german, that I wanted to find Carmen Flury, an employee in some unknown part of the hospital. I was first directed to the 11th floor where they puzzled for a minute trying to figure out what I wanted. Eventually, an english speaking intern came in and redirected me to the palliative care unit a floor below. It was there I was presented with the opportunity to give Carmen a near heart attack, as she didn’t know I was coming! I spent as much time as possible with her before returning to Eva in Kusnacht at 6PM.

Once back in Kusnacht I knocked on Eva’s door to find it answered by her boyfriend Jonothan. A lovely guy who spoke good English. I, Eva, Jonothan and her family, then proceeded to dinner at a Kosher restaurant in the Jewish quarter, located inside the community center. The guard at the door was very suspicious at first and wouldn’t let us in until I spoke to him in Hebrew, reassuring him that we had good reason for seeking out a kosher restaurant, despite most of us not being Jewish, flustering the Empting family somewhat. For dinner I tried a Swiss dish, some kind of sausage, that was fine, if a bit heavy for my liking. Following dinner we returned to walk along Lake Zurich before going home.

My last few hours of consciousness were spent talking to a few people around the world, sorting out a mess or two, and reconnecting a bit with home.