Our First Visitor, Rob Jawns!

We had our first Zurich visitor around mid-July, Rob!  He has been spending the summer at Grenoble, France, doing an internship at Minatec (Micro and Nanotechnology Innovation Centre).  He decided to make the long trip to Zurich for his cousin's rowing competition and to visit family in town.  Oh, and maybe spend some time with us!  

Since it was his first time here, we went for two signature Swiss items:  Sausage and Chocolate!

Rob posing for a picture.  He reluctantly complies.

For chocolate, it's off to Confiserie Sprüngli.  On the way, we walked along the famous Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich's main downtown street and home of some of the world's most expensive and exclusive shops.

A white peach tea, cafe latte and a cold glass of chocolate milk for me.   By the way, that glass of chocolate milk was 6.50 CHF (Yikes!  Rob got a nice introduction to Swiss prices quickly)

Rob's uncle was kind enough to invite us over for dinner at his fabulous home in Altstetten (Zurich Kreis 9).  We were so humbled by his family's generosity and had a wonderful evening.

The next day, we met with Rob for Sunday brunch at a new restaurant, Gran Cafee Motta!

Motta is a Milan-inspired coffee house sitting right in the middle of the Limmat River.

No meal is complete without coffee. Rob and I were supremely jealous of the cafe latte in comparison to our tiny espresso shots.  

Open-faced sandwich with roasted vegetables in a tomato sauce.

Open-faced sandwich with ham and egg.

Rob has been very patient with all of my photo taking.

We made our way to three different churches in Zurich:  St. Peter's Church, Fraumünster and Grossmünster.  

Built in 1534, St. Peter's Church apparently has the largest church clock face in Europe (8.7 meters = 28.5 feet).  Currently owned by the Swiss Reformed Church (Reformed branch of Protestantism in the 1520s).

Beautifully detailed interior.

The church organ and ceiling.

Fraumünster is built on the remains of a former abbey for women aristocrats.  We could not take pictures inside, but this building has 5 large stunning stain glass windows designed by Marc Chagall.

Grossmünster is a Romanesque and Gothic-style cathedral.  According to legend, it was founded by Charlemagne.  The twin towers are a recognized landmark in Zurich.  Photos are not allowed inside, but for a small fee, you can climb the tower and get impressive views of the city of Zurich.

To end our quick tour of Zurich, we took a water taxi back to the main train station so Rob could catch the return train to Grenoble.

Such a squat boat!  Why, you ask?

Because it travels up and down the Limmat River and has to go underneath very narrow bridges!

While it was a short trip for Rob (he arrived Saturday afternoon and left Sunday afternoon), we hope he will revisit with Xiaowen and stay a little longer!

Thanks for reading!

-Herr Cervelat

At the Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum) and Lake Zurich

While it has been exciting exploring different areas of Switzerland, we have to admit we haven't checked-out Zurich thoroughly.  Our initial plan was to go to a very well recommended restaurant, Alpenrose, just north of Zurich HB in Kreisboro 5.  Zurich is divided into twelve districts (Kreis).  (Sounds like the Hunger Games.)  We were aiming to go for a nice Saturday brunch, but when we got there, they were not open!  It seems that on Samstag und Sonntag (Saturday and Sunday), they are only open for Abendessen (dinner).  

So, we ended up going to Migros instead for lunch, which was fantastic!  For those of you who know about Wegmans, we feel that Migros is the Swiss' Wegmans.  Like Wegmans, Migros does not sell cigarettes (or alcohol).  However, some retailers acquired by Migros such as Denner (think discount Migros) do sell them.  The Swiss Ms. continues to prefer Migros over Coop.

Migros is continuing to win her heart (and her stomach).  Almost as good as the food bars at Weggies!

I thought that by getting food at Migros, it would be much cheaper than eating out.  WRONG.  This plate of food cost me about 22 CHF.  If you felt how heavy it was that would probably make sense.

We then made our way to the Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum) and had a great time learning about Swiss history.  Rather than take post pictures of the entire museum (you wouldn't want that), I found two parts of the museum very interesting.

Swiss Money

The money really embodies Swiss culture.  It is incredibly thoughtful and makes a lot of sense.

The evolution of Swiss Money.  The money in circulation is the bottom row.  Note how the size of the bill gets bigger with larger values:  the size of the 1000 CHF is larger than the 10 CHF.

1000 CHF!!! Who would carry that around with them?  Note the triangle on the left side of the bill.  There is a unique indent to help distinguish the different bills' denominations (i.e. 10 CHF has a dotted circle, 20 CHF has a dotted square).  This feature, in addition to the bill size, is an aid for the sight impaired.

At values below 10 CHF, there are the 5, 2, 1 and 1/2 CHF coins, which all scale in weight!  (i.e. 5 CHF is 5 times heavier than the 1 CHF coin, 2 CHF coin is four times heavier than the 1/2 CHF).  Then there are the 20 and 10 rappen coins.  The five rappen coin (not pictured) is the smallest of all and the color of a penny.(100 rappen = 1 CHF)

Terrestrial Globe 

On our visit to St. Gallen, we learned that there was quite a fierce religious war in 1712 between the Canton of Zurich (Protestants) and Saint-Gall (Catholics).  As such, many cultural objects that previously belonged to the Abbey Library (which we visited), were transferred to Zurich.  Later on in 1718, Zurich agreed to return most of the cultural objects taken from Saint-Gall, except for some 100 items (manuscripts, books, paintings) and most importantly, Prince-Abbot Bernhard Muller’s cosmographical Globe (pictured below).  Saint-Gall asked for the rest of the cultural objects, but Zurich denied taking them, and the globe remained at the National Museum.

Fast forward to the year 1996, the issue of unclaimed cultural objects is brought up again, and the public becomes involved.  Eventually, by 2006, settlement between Zurich and Saint-Gall was reached through outside mediation.  In the end, Saint-Gall accepted Zurich's ownership of the cultural objects at the National Museum, Zurich indefinitely loaned some manuscripts to Saint-Gall, and most importantly, Zurich commissioned a copy of the Globe at its own expense and donated it to Saint-Gall.  For more information, you can go here.

The original globe sitting in the Swiss National Museum at Zurich.  We couldn't take a picture of the copy when we were at the Abbey in St. Gallen, so we're excited to show you!

Saint-Gall welcomed its copy into the Abbey with a celebration in August 2009.

After our museum experience, we decided to treat ourselves with a delicious cup of hot chocolate at Sprüngli, a Swiss luxury confectionery on Bahnhofstrasse.

Right on Bahnhofstrasse (Zurich's main downtown street, think NYC's Fifth Avenue).  Home of delicious hot chocolate and other tasty treats.

Typically at restaurants in America, you would get complementary tap water with your meal by request.  Not in Switzerland.  Water is typically not given out, and only available for purchase.  The only instances we received water were when we ordered coffee and a small glass (4oz or less) was given as a palate cleanser.  Additional glasses at 1 CHF each.

The next day, we decided to continue our adventure of Zurich, but instead of taking the train to Zurich...we took a boat!

The ticket from Thalwil to Zurich covers all means of transportation, including this boat.   Behold the good ship Albis.

Fully catered with getränke (drinks) and food!

Happy to be on a boat cruise on a Sunday morning.

Enjoying a cup of espresso as we travel up Lake Zurich to Bürkliplatz.

Once we arrived at Burkliplatz, we noticed another, much larger ship filled with people.  We learned that every Sunday, there is a brunch buffet cruise that leaves Burkliplatz and circumnavigates Lake Zurich on a relaxing 2 1/2 hour cruise!

We decided that we would save it for another time and hopped over to cafe Odeon for Sunday brunch (and unlike Alpenrose, it was open!)

According to Wikipedia, Cafe Odeon has the reputation of being an intellectual meeting place.  Some famous visitors include Albert Einstein, James Joyce, Lenin and Mussolini.  When we're famous, Wikipedia will add our names to that list.

My Rösti, a Swiss dish of grated potatoes, with two gooey eggs and loads of cheese.  The conversation may not have been overly intellectual, but it was just the right speed for a Sunday morning.

Thanks for reading!

-Sir Cervelat