ZÜRICH

Autumn 2009

Thursday 26 November 2009

We leave home around five in the afternoon. We take the underground to Rotterdam Central Station, where we board the train to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. We get there by 6.15pm and we drop off our luggage. We have something to eat before we board our KLM flight, which takes off promptly at 8.50. After a problem free flight we land at Zurich's aiport at 10.10pm. We take the train downtown to Zürich HB (Main Railway Station). We have already bought the train tickets on-line on the website of the Swiss Federal Railways SBB. From the Main Railway Station we take a taxi to hotel Rössli. The taxi driver is not too thrilled about the short ride, but we persist. Our room is in the annex of the hotel across the narrow street. We have beer in the hotel bar before we go to sleep. 

 

Friday 27 November 2009

  Breakfast is upstairs from tLimathe reception. It is well presented. After that we explore the old town on the East Bank of the River Limmat.  Niederdorf is the name of this part of the historical old town. We have coffee at the Rathaus café, from were we walk to the Niederdorfstrasse that starts at the Central square. The first part of Niederdorfstrasse is a bit sleazy, with some strip clubs. But further down things brighten up considerably. Fine shops line the street with designer clothes, furniture and gadgets. We come across with a great shop selling exotic fruits, herbs and teas. In Spiegelgasse, a side street Lenin lived in 1916 and 1917, before he went off to Russia to start the October Revolution. Also in Spiegelgasse is the Cabaret Voltaire, where - in the same period - the art movement Dada was formed, rejecting the atrocities of the First World War. We then visit the  Grossmünster, the major church in town. On this site Charlemagne founded a church, but the present structure dates back to the 12th century. In the South Tower wall a big statue of Charlemagne can be seen high above the street. It is a replica. The original is kept in the church's vault. The church has become an austere and simple place of worship since the Church Reformation in the 16th century. Almost all decorations have been removed.  Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531), the great Swiss reformer preached here and distanced himself from the Roman Catholic Church. He was influenced by Erasmus of Rotterdam and Martin Luther, both his contemporaries. Later the Grossmuensterteachings of Jean Calvin of Geneva became more dominant in the protestant church of Switzerland. The South tower can be climbed. 187 steps lead to the top and a splendid view of the city. We also have a look at the cloisters attached to the church, once part of male monastery. We continue our walk along the Limmat towards Lake Zürich (Zürich See). On its shores there are boat rentals, marinas and vast areas for sun bathers. Also some grand villas now housing museums like the Johann Jacobs museum (coffee) and a privately owned museum designed by the famous modernist architect Le Corbusier (1887-1965) . Center Le CorbusierIt houses the Privat Museum Heidi Weber and Center Le Corbusier. Unfortunately it is not open to the public today. It is a remarkable sight nonetheless created by the founder of modern architecture himself. The building was built upon the request of Heidi Weber, an admirer of Le Corbusier, who worked with him on a number of occasions. The building was finished in 1967. 

We take the tram back to the old town and have lunch in the Kantorei restaurant

After lunch we walk to the Kunsthaus Zürich. In  this modern museum we visit an exhibition devoted to Seuras, the French 19th century pointilist painter. Many famous works are shown in the context of pre studies. Centre stage is for a tiny painting of the Eiffel Tower and a piece showing a circus show. After that we have a look at the permanent collection with lots of works by Giacometti, the Swiss sculptor. There not so many of his typical thin statues, but remarkably many paintings. The rest of the collection  consists of wideKunsthaus range of art, including some Dutch School Masters like Rembrandt (Apostel Simon) and some by Piet Mondriaan.

We round off the afternoon with a drink in the gay Cranberry bar, from where we go toBarfüsser for a sushi dinner. Barfüsser was the first Swiss gay bar, but is now a spacious trendy sushi restaurant with a mixed crowd. We would have liked to dine at Adler Swiss Chuchi but they were fully booked. We leave that to Sunday. The Sushi, Maki and the like are delicious and filling. 

We return to the hotel. Later at night we explore some of Zürich's gay scene. 

Weather: cloudy and some heavy showers in the afternoon. Evening dry. Max  10°C / 50°F

 

Saturday 28 November 2009

  Today we have a look at the West Bank of the River Limmatchocoladetaart van Sprüngli. We have coffee at the Confisserie Sprüngli on Paradeplatz at Bahnhofstrasse. Sprüngli is a Swiss institution in the field of chocolate and  pralines. Ever since 1839 the company makes chocolate and sells it in its own shops. The company has grown since then. First by the merger withLindt from Bern and later with take overs in Germany, Italy, France and the USA. The shop onFraumuenster, Zürich Paradeplatz is its most prestigious one of 12 outlets in Zürich (there 5 more in other cities) and has a large café attached to it. Drinking coffee with cake is a real pleasure here. We take an Apfelstrudel and a original Sprüngli chocolate cake with our coffee. After the coffee we visit the chocolate shop and buy a box for the homefront. After all this sweetness we walk down Bahnhofstrasse to the Zürich See. Bahnhofstrasse is a very prestigious shopping street with many famous juwelers (Tiffany & Co, Cartier, Bulgari, Omega) and clothing shops (Prada, Dior, Armani, Chanel, Vuitton,  etc). it is also home to the flagship stores of Switzerland's major department store chains, Manor en Jelmoli. Like the street's website states: "there are many Railway Station Streets in the world, but there only one that is famous".  Next stop is the Fraumünster, the large Church (of Our Lady) on the West Bank. This medieval church was stripped of all its icons, ornaments and organ during the reformation. Tiffany in de BahnhofstrasseThis is the reason for it's sober look. In 1967 Marc Chagall (80 years old at the time) made five stained glass window in the choir wall. Unfortunately photography is not allowed inside the church. The choir is remarkably high (18m) and is very beatiful with its windows. The three main windows are in far eastern wall. The side windows in the north and south wall.  The blood red prophet window shows Elisah and Elijah. The blue Law window shows Moses looking down on his inpatient an unruly people. The main windows are the Jacob window (with Jacob ladder), the yellow Zion window and the green Christ window in the middle, depicting the life and descendance of Jesus. The is also a window by Giacommetti (1940). It is impresssive to but with the Chagall windows nearby it can only play second fiddle.Kerkramen van Marc Chagall in de Fraumuenster It depicts God, Christ and the eight prophets and four evangelists. We stroll through the narrow streets and alleys of the west bank.. We pass the 13th century Peter Church, with it enourmous Clock face (8,7 meter diameter) and 13th century Augustiner church. The Church was decomissioned during the reformation and was later used as the Mint. Since the 19th century its in use as a Christkatolische Kirche, a liberal church branched off from the Roman Catholic church in the 19th century, as a reaction to the first Vatican Council of 1870. It has a considerable following in the Northern Cantons. 

We climb up to Lindenhof for a nice view of the river and the East Bank. It is the oldest part of town, once the sigth for a Roman customs post. We see groups of young boy scouts in the old town trying to sell gift wrapped cookies. Then it becomes time to leave the pleasant winter sunshine and descend to the Zeughauskeller for lunch. It is a traditional beer hall and eatery. Although it has all the trappings of a tourist trap (traditionally dressed wait staff, 10 language menu) it attracts lots of locals. It is Swiss Sausage Central. There is choice from 15 types of Swiss sausage accompanied by patato salad, rösti or fries. It is common to share tables with strangers. Erik opts for the Zürich Veal Sausage with onion sauce and patatoe salad. I take the Saint Gallen Schüblig (with best beef and pork available) with rösti. 

After lunch we take tram line 8 to Helvetiaplatz in Zurich West. Public Transport in Zürich - without a metro or underground - is very well organised. Trams leave 6 times per hour, but often more frequent. For longer haul trips there is an S-bahn network of trains. At Helvetiaplatz we stumble upon a flee market, where every thinkable item is sold. Zürich West is quite a change from the well groomed and tidy old town with it guild houses and posh Bahnhofstrasse with its designer shops and bank offices. Here, in districts 4 and 5, a peculiar mix of counter culture, erotica, low life, immigrants and trendy bars make up the scene. From Helvetiaplatz we walk up the Langstrasse. This was once the red light district and there still some pockets of seadiness. But more than that it is a multicultary hotchpotch of eateries, bars, shops and art house cinemas. We stop for a drink in a dubious kebab joint. North of the railway tracks things lighten up and we see more of the trendy wine bars, street wear shops and cinemas. At Limmatplatz there is a giga super market of Migros, where we have look inside. Over the super market is the head office of the Migros corporation. It is the largest retail company in Switzerland and still a co-operative enterprise with a membership right across Swiss society. In the 1920s Migros started a revolution in the grocery business by introducing large scale shops and Schiffbaulow prices. In 1948 it introduced self service. Migros grew out to a big business (yearly turnover of  25.7 Bn CHF) with shops, factories, wholesale, education, cultural promotions, tour operators etc. From there we take a tram to Schiffbau. Af former factory for ship parts and now used as a cultural centre with three theatres, a jazz stage (Moods) and a restaurant (Lasalle). After a look round we return to the city centre by train. and walk from the Main Railway station through the very busy Bahnhofstrasse, to the Urianastrasse for a visit to the Jules Verne Panorama bar. The bar is based in a tower and can be reached by elevator from the restaurant Lipp. It is very busy around this time (5pm) and all seats are taken. The views on the busy shopping streets and the city as a whole are great. We enjoy our Prosecco standing up. 

We head back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at restaurant Mesa. We go there by tram. The restaurant has earned a Michelin star and rightly so. From the seven course menu we choose a 4 course dinner. Accompanied by a wine arrangement the evening turns out to be a real joy of taste. It comes at a price: the bill errs on the high side to say the least. After dinner we take the tram back (even this late it is still running 6 times per hour) to our hotel.  

 

Weather: Sunny and dry, 8ºC / 46ºF.

Sunday 29 November 2009

We take the tram to the Main Railway station (Hauptbahnhof) and from there the S10 or Uetlibergbahn to the top of the Uetliberg, Zürich’s own mountain. The mountain station is at 814 metres above sea levelUetlibergbahn. From the station we follow a route to a viewing point next to the Hotel and restaurant called Uto Kulm. There is a viewing tower as well. You can see right until the snow capped mountains of the Alps and with fine weather even into Austria. Today it slightly overcast, but the views are nice just the same. From the viewing tower we walk for about two hours towards Felsenegg via the planet route. According to the information panels the routes is supposed to be flat, but it does go up down as it turns out. The views are worth the effort. En route we see models of the planets distanced from each other according to scale. At Felsenegg there is a cable car that takes us down to Adliswill. Our public transport tickets are valid for the cable ride too. Down in Adliswil it a 10 minute stroll to the railway station. From there we take S-bahn S4 back to Zürich. IN town we eat our lunch at McDonald's (some contrast with last night!) before get back to the hotel to freshen up. 

Later we have some coffee at Starbucks and check out the railway station's luggage facilities. They have lockers. Uitzicht vanaf de Uetliberg Back in downtown we have a glass of wine at the Rathaus Café.

In the evening we have dinner at Adler Swiss Chuchi a restaurant serving typical Swiss fare. It is packed and it is a good thing that Erik booked us a table. Erik takes Raclette, with smoked cheese, while order a Fondue with aged cheeses. For his raclette Erik get an electric grilling device with a pan and slices of cheese. The melted cheese has to be rubbed from the pan onto a cooked potatoe. The wholly cooked potatoes are kept warm in a bag. I get a fondue pan that is heated by a spirit burner. We enjoy it al against the backdrop of woodpaneled walls and Swiss folk music. Together with the wine this typical, relatively simple meal sets us back 160 francs.  

After dinner we go for a drink at Cranberry.

Weather: overcast, 7ºC / 44ºF 

 

Monday 30 November 2009

We take the tram towards the Hauptbahnhof and put our luggage in a locker (CHF 8 for 24 hrs). Next we buy a Zurich pass plus. That is a card allowing unlimited travel on public transport throughout the Canton and slightly beyond, including busses, trams, trains and ferries. Today we take the train to Stein am Rhein and Schaffhausen and  Zurich Card plus costs CHF 36, which is less than a return ticket.  There is also a regular Zurichcard, covering a smaller area (city and suburbs)Rathausplatz, Stein am Rhein. The card also offers discounts on ticket prices to lots of museum and attractions. WE take the train to Winterthur and change there to the S-29 to Stein am Rhein. 

After the better part of an hour we arrive at Stein am Rhein. Unfortunately it is raining cats and dogs. The ride would have been that much nice otherwise. The scenery is nice and mountaineous and we climb steadily towards Stein. In Stein we walk to the town centre. For that we have to cross a bridge across the River Rhine. In middle of town is Rathausplatz, supposedly the nicest square in the country. The façades are decorated with beautiful frescoes,one more impressive than the next. We drink coffee with scone at the bakery shop. From there we explore the town centre. After an hour or so we have seen it all and we take the Regionalbahn to Schaffhausen. It is a nice and short ride of no more than 30 minutes. We have lunch there at Restaurant Falken. From Schaffhausen we take the bus #6 to Neuhausen Zentrum. It is 10 minute ride. And then another 5 minutes walking Waterval bij Schaffhausentowards the famous waterfalls in the Rhine.  The weather is still bad so we cannot enjoy the mighty sight of the falls as we would have liked. From this point onwards the Rhine is navigable until Rotterdam where flows into the North Sea. After a good look at this magnificent wonder of nature we take the bus back to Schaffhausen.

In Schaffhausen we look around the centre. There are quite a number of fine medieval houses with great façades donned with frescoes, bay windows and decorations. Most of those have a relationship with the house's name (or is it the other way round?). Because of the rain we take shelter in a café and have a hot drink. It is getting colder outside. We carry on and visit the Münster zu Allerheiligen (Minster of All Saints), the big 11th century church of Schaffhausen. On the inside the Romanesque church is very austere. Like so many Swiss churches it was stripped of its ornaments during the reformation. Only the stained glass windows are worth a closer look. Next to the church there are cloisters housing the Allerheiligenmuseum . The museum has a historical collection. The monastery in Schaffhausen used to be Benedictine. During the reformation the monastery was dissolved in 1529. In World War II the church was damaged, just like the rest of central Schaffhausen by American bombardments in 1944. Hundreds of people lost their lives. SchaffhausenSchaffhausen is the only significant Swiss territory North of the Rhine and the Americans thought it was German. The US offered its apologies and compensation...only to commit the same error in February 1945. This time only 16 people died in Schaffhausen and nine in Stein am Rhein. Across the street from the church is a hotel with plaque commemorating its destruction in 1944 and its rebuilding in 1945.

Rain has turned into snow as we walk back to the station. We take the High Speed ICE train of 4.09 to Zürich. We arrive there at 4.48 already. We collect our suit case and take the train to the airport. Around this time there loads of trains going there, but they are all delayed. It is only 10 minutes by train to the airport. At the airport we have something to eat and look around the shops. Then we just have to wait for our flight. Schaffhausen

As soon as we are all seated in the KLM aircraft we get the news that the snowfall is causing delays. The snow has to be removed from the aircraft's wings and as the aiport staff was taken by surprise by the snow fall today they have insufficient capacity available to do the job. It takes over two hours of waiting before our plane gets cleaned. All this time we have to stay on board. After cleaning we have to wait for a runway slot and we take off some time after 10pm (more than 2 hours late). At Amsterdam our suit case has gone missing. It turns out that is have been put on a different belt than where we are waiting. Once we find out we have a long walk ahead from arrivals hall 1 to 2. When we finally get hold of the suit case the last train of the day service has already left and we have to wait 75 minutes for the first night train. We arrive in Rotterdam a 2am and around 2.30 we are finally home. 

Weather: rain, 5ºC / 41ºF. Snow in the afternoon and evening.

Other travel