Switzerland Day 1 - Zurich

Kristin again! We had a quick turnaround for this trip - after we came back from Oslo on Monday night, we were on the road again to Switzerland by Thursday afternoon! (Barely enough time to unpack, do laundry, and repack!)

We met up again with Steffi and Marcel, a couple that I met two years ago on a cruise in the Carribbean (best use of 2 years of CE allowance ever!), who were incredibly gracious in every way - picking us up at the airport, hosting us in their home, and playing tour guides for the weekend. Thank you again for the amazing weekend, guys!

We fly Swissair and, as always when we fly something that isn't Ryanair, were very excited about the great service, food and drinks. We arrived fairly late on Thursday night (in fact we were cutting it pretty close trying to make our flight after working my half day) and spent time catching up with Steffi and Marcel. A lovely time, but not photogenic time.

The next day, Steffi and Justin and I took the train to Zurich to start with the touristing. Justin almost immediately found this place (I personally think it's a bit of a stretch!) and counted it towards his 'Philippis around the world' tally:

We walked down to the waterfront and had a great time looking through the shops and farmer's market, getting some nice meats, cheeses, and sweets for later.

We also had to look through souvenirs for our obligatory Christmas tree ornament (found it, in the form of a Swiss cowbell). This clock was a bit bigger than what we wanted, but was really cute!

This is the view from the waterfront in Zurich. Not a bad sight!

We then strolled along the canal and up the side streets, enjoying the architecture and the lovely weather.

This statue of Charlemagne at Grossmunster Church dates back to 1491. Over time, the concrete used was weathered until the rebar skeleton (which was an odd thing to see!) was exposed, at which point it was replaced. The original is in the crypt and the new statue looks out over the city.

Full disclaimer - the church has plenty of signs asking people not to take pictures inside. While others did, I chose not to - these two pictures are from online articles about the church (see bottom for credit). See all of the pitting and wear on the original statue?

This is also not my picture. It's a stained glass window made of flat-sliced geodes and I loved it - trying to figure out a way to get a window like this in our house! I think it would fit with our decor.

This picture (and the rest in this post) are mine. Same window from the outside - a little less impressive!

This was the Viadukt, a shopping area in Zurich. They took the old train overpass and filled the spaces underneath with tiny stores. I loved the concept and the use of space!

We traveled how many kilometers to find a British store?

Next to the Viadukt was a very artistic neighbourhood - not much to do, but lots to see and photograph!

Cool idea for an alleyway! This led to a nightclub - wonder if the line leads under these umbrellas and provides any protection from the rain, or if they are purely ornamental?

I liked the knitted covers in this little parkette!

Such a cool idea - there were about 15-20 basically identical apartment buildings. Each was brightly coloured, and had its own art to set it apart. I wonder if the residents refer to their buildings according to the graffiti? "No, I live in the orange Snail building."

Also near the Viadukt was the Frietag concept store. This store upcycles plastic and industrial materials into purses, keychains, and shoes. Interesting stuff but way too expensive for me! The store takes up the 4 shipping containers in the foreground, with the glass fronts. You could also walk up the stairs to the top of the 9th container and get a great view of Zurich!

I believe the largest blue bag was literally about CAD $500-700

Bird's eye view of the Viadukt and the grafitti neighbourhood

Just below the shipping containers

We were a little surprised that Zurich had so much street art to enjoy! We headed back to the train station, passing the following castle (no big deal, just a castle beside the train station) and headed back to Steffi and Marcel's home. If Zurich was trendy and hip, the next day we were in for some stunning old-world architecture in Lucerne!

Photo credits:

Charlemagne: Robert Harding, found at https://www.robertharding.com/preview/818-160/statue-emperor-ludwig-louis-german-grandson-charlemagne-crypt/

Stained glass: Roland Zh, found at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grossm%C3%BCnster_-_Innenansicht_IMG_6435.jpg