Day 1 of our sweet escape in Switzerland
LET THE GREATEST R AND R OF ALL TIME BEGIN! -
The last day of my 32nd year was spent in freeeeeeezing Zurich with Mum and Amy and where better to spend it, than somewhere the choccies are extraordinary, eh? Now this vicinity of Switzerland may not be every 30 somethings dream but we're actually quite taken with it; aside from Jack Frost nipping at our nose (a freaky thing --- as I typed this very sentence, that exact song lyric from The Christmas Song, was sung out by Nat King Cole on Heart FM!!!!!) and every single body part, round the clock.
Most of our first full day was reserved for explorations of the Old Town and its prettious Medieval buildings. A great deal of the day was also spent laughing too hard AT and with Mum.. so hard in fact, the giggles may result in abs to some degree!! Our trio of peculiar but intrepid wanderlusters came upon Renneweg without too much difficulty .. only, this wide Medieval street wasn't flaglined as it usually is and wasn't particularly wide after all. We snapped away in spite of its flaglesslessness to show we WERE there, all the same.
WE MIGHT LOVE IT HERE MORE THAN THE RESIDENTS THEMSELVES DO -
We hopped along to Augustinegasse a historical, narrow lane named after the former Augustinian monastery; it is known for its pastel coloured bay windows and over-elaborate frescoes. Followed by Thermengasse - remains of Roman baths uncovered underfoot were accidentally discovered in 1983 when a toy store was having renovations. In the early A.D's the Romans enlarged these cool pools, steam and callariums when Zurich was known as Turicum and occupied by less than 100 people.
The largest clock face in all of Europe at St Peter's Church is quite something to behold! It has a diameter of 8.7 METRES and the heaviest of the 5 bells in the tower weighs a whopping 6000 kgs!!! The church was originally built in the 9th Century, making it Zurich's oldest and only Baroque church. We took a pew inside after a service had ended for a quick moment; the interior was calming and striking. I know it's not right to covet, but I especially coveted the glass globules dangling from the ceiling.
HAIL TO THE DELISH CONFECTIONS! -
Local folklore has it that lone young men who attend Confiserie Sprungli, a luxury confectioners founded in 1836, 'may signal their availability to well to do women by turning over their coffee spoons in their cups.' This myth was rubbished by Sprungli's director and I can't say I noticed as I gave my heart to cake!! The wait to be seated at the upstairs café was exasperating as they sat parties of two before us and many guests had reservations.
Although, I neglected the famous Luxemburgli macarons (of which 1430lbs are manufactured each day) in favour of a slice of truffle cake with not-at-all-excessive, edible, gold leaf I don't regret it whatsoever. This dark and rich must try coupled with a bittersweet ho cho' mug of joy has the capacity to make every patron happy. Anything sugary you order, you'll be dancing with unicorns!
MUM DOESN'T LOVE US LOL-ING AT HER CLIMBING -
Grossmunster church was wearisome for Mama Monty up the 187 steps of Karlsturm and the narrow, partially spiral staircase made her wheezy and claustrophobic. QUOTE OF THE DAY: Why did I pay for this torture??? I'd say the sublime views bequeathed unto us made up for her self-inflicted pain. Gazing out and round about, was the moment I fell in love with Zuri. Methinks, the hazy mist isn't one bit less splendid than a sunnier day as it adds to its mystique.
The insides of the cathedral are rather plain and simplistic in design with minimal features - photos of which are not permitted. We ooohed at the 12 panes of stained glass studded with semi precious stones which were finished by Sigmar Polke in 2009. Our doings must seem like a sitcom as my steps silliness with Mum was captured by Amy on candid cam; we ran into each other and then legged it back to the top.
After which, we picnicked on a bench overlooking the River Limmat and guffawed at Mum's cockapoo hair fringe sticking up over her heart, neon pink earmuffs. We couldn't lose her in a crowd as she stood out a mile away wearing those and kept getting loopier day by day. The beaut scenic path alongside the river was unusually appealing. Were it warmer and if it didn't contain my nemeses - swans, I'd have bathed in the crystal clear lake. There are tooooooo many beastly, hellish fiends on the waters edge and it's the stuff of my nightmares :(
Our warblings of a theatrical nature from Phantom of the Opera and Frozen, outside the Opera House were kind of wasted on NO audience but we gave ourselves goose bumps :D. We also boomeranged ourselves leaf throwing with mirth for we can't be a tad less *us!!*
WE'RE LIKING AUTUMN IN ZURICH -
As the sun started to head to bed, we took a short round trip on a boat around the banana shaped Lake Zurich. Our leisurely sail towards the horizon was ever so pleasant; although the 75 mins aren't exactly a laugh a minute - it's charming nonetheless. Warm orange punch on deck was good enough to insulate my belly but the flavouring wasn't citrusy or Christmassy enough for my liking.
We didn't have a stab at candle making in Burkliplatz' Music Pavilion as Amy can't stomach the smell of beeswax and as such, she minded her own beeswax outside whilst Mum and I had a peek. It was particularly pleasing to snap away photos of the Blue Hour 15 - 30 minutes after sundown, as the softer light created a mesmeric effect down by the River Limmat. From what we could gather earlier on through the fog, Zurich is an idyllic, picturesque old town and we were excited to see what more it had to offer.
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