More outings

I've frequently mentioned the fun I have had on hikes with ZIWA (Zurich Int'l Women's Assoc.) and I FINALLY remembered to bring my camera on a recent outing.

The Wallensee and snow-capped mountains about 45 minutes southeast of Zurich

This looked like a Swiss postcard complete with happy face

Another charming Swiss mountain building with cowbells and gnomes

We had a terrific day outing to Bern, the capital, a 1-hour train ride from Zurich. It was a beautiful, warm day and we thoroughly enjoyed meandering around the medieval old town which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The cobblestone streets are lined with buildings from the medieval times and full of nooks and crannies to explore.

Albert Einstein lived in Bern (1903-1911). While working at the Patent office he used his spare time to create his Special Theory of Relativity (1905). He only became a lecturer at the University of Bern in 1908.

Gothic Munster St. Vinzenz--1421

Vaulted ceiling

Detail of ceiling with bear, symbol of Bern

Wish I could have heard this organ being played

This statue of Moses has an interesting explanation: he's pointing to the 2nd commandment which forbids idolatry, a stricture that was one of the main tenets of the Reformation

What makes the city even more picturesque is it's location on the River Aare which winds around the city. Naturally, lots of bridges.

Bern means "bear" and evidence of this is everywhere: flags around town, tons of souvenirs, names of restaurants, etc. They even have a Bear Pit with a few brown and black bears lolling around.

The Zytglogge--this elaborate clock was built in 1191 and the chimes ring and figures move at four minutes before the hour. Sorry we didn't have audio and video.

Spring is coming...

Spring is trying really hard to appear. We've had a few days of clear skies and warmish weather, around 10 degrees C./50 F. Everyone tells me to be patient and it WILL get warmer. O.K.

We had a terrific visit with my San Mateo friend-since-we-were-born Janet Fohner and her son Daniel, who is currently doing a junior year abroad in England. We had a lot of fun touring around Zurich.

Daniel and Janet munching on a wurst near Lake Zurich

Miles and I spend a lot of time on weekends walking around in the hills above ETH. The architecture is very special and the gardens are just beginning to bloom.

This home is right next to the Zurichburg forest where we love to hike

Church in the neighborhood

I love the spring flowers

Many Swiss have a plot of land in a public garden area and love working there on weekends.

Miles' ETH colleague Sasha and his girlfriend Alina, have a plot near the Zurichburg forest and we visited last Sat. The tulips are blooming, but the rest right now is a work in progress.

The garden and cozy hut

On the 18th, Miles joined me with the ZIWA women on a 3-hour train trip to Stuttgart, Germany to see the Porsche Museum. There are a few hundred cars in the collection and about 40 on display at any given time. Here's a sample:

This is a prototype of Porsche #1 built in 1948

Porsche race cars--no test drives for us, however

Hey Uncle Roy! This 914's for you!

We then had an interesting guided tour of the very modern 1-year old building. This monolithic exhibition hall was designed to convey a sense of arrival and approachability. You get the sense it is floating and moving at the same time.





We also went to downtown Stuttgart and walked around the beautiful public park area. We actually had a sunny warm day and there were throngs of people milling about, having picnics, listening to musicians and enjoying the spring day.

Ahhh...sunshine!

This is the Glass Cube Museum in downtown Stuttgart

On April 19, there was the Zurich-only Sechselauten Spring Festival. This annual event is split into 2 main activities: the first is a fantastic parade with representatives of the 26 guilds (unions) in Zurich. Each guild has their own costumes, bands, floats and horses all decked out with beautiful spring flowers.

I really like those ear warmers (on the horse!)

The second part is the burning of the Boogg, a cotton snowman set on top of a wooden structure. This structure is lit precisely at 6pm and the fire crawls up the pile, eventually burning the snowman which has fireworks inside. Lots of noise and cheers from the crowd. Legend has it that if the fire burns quickly, there will be a long, warm summer. This year, it took 13 minutes to burn up to the snowman (the time can be between 6 and 40 minutes) so we're in for a good season!

Going...

going...

Gone!

Pesach, Gruyere, Lake Geneva and Mountains

We had the most wonderful time with Adam, his girlfriend Dana, and Daniel. They all came to Zurich for Pesach, each staying only 4 days. It was a short and very sweet visit. Adam and Dana stayed till the day after Pesach and then went on to Italy for 4 days. Daniel left 2 days after Pesach and is now in Germany traveling with 2 Haifa friends. He'll return to Zurich sometime in April-May.

Here's some of the things we did before Daniel arrived:

Adam and Dana reflected in the window of the shop that sells chocolate bark--so good!

Grossmunster Church

Adam gazing at the view from the church tower

Adam and Miles along the Limat River

Daniel's here!

We had a thought-provoking and fun seder with Adam's old Tel Aviv housemate Berni (now living in Lucerne) and his girlfriend Vanessa, Koni (who we saw in Davos) and Judith (who came late and missed the picture!)

Dana, Adam, Koni, Daniel, Miles, me, Vanessa and Berni (you are there in spirit, Judith!)

Now we're on our own again and having more Swiss adventures.

On April 5, we had the most terrific day, courtesy of Marcel, a Swiss friend I met in New Zealand. (He was there taking an English course and was looking for an English teacher. And I was looking for students who wanted to practice their English. A perfect fit!)

Marcel, our driver and guide, drove us to the French part of Switzerland. Our first stop was in Avenches where we saw a Roman amphitheater and medieval tower.

Me and Marcel in the Roman amphitheater of Avenches

Medieval tower

Our next stop was in the village of Gruyeres where they make the famous cheese. Talk about a picture-perfect setting!

Gruyeres

We had to visit the cheese factory, of course:

Cheesemakers at work

Aging cheese

We then walked through the Old Town toward the Chateau de Gruyeres:

Chateau de Gruyeres

Chateau dining room with murals depicting Swiss history

View from the chateau ramparts

We then drove along Lake Geneva through the picturesque town of Montreux, home of the summer jazz festival.

View of Montreux with Chateau de Chillon in the foreground

Marcel and Miles eating Gruyere cheese at Lake Geneva

We also stopped at the salt mines of Bex and took the underground tour of the labyrinth. This amazing mine has been in operation since the 16oo's. Unfortunately, none of our pictures came out.

Back above ground, we drove along the most spectacular views of the mountains of western Switzerland. As you probably can tell, we love mountains!

View from our rest stop on the way home

Thanks, Marcel! We couldn't have had such an amazing day without you.