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.

Mountains R Us

Yesterday we went on a trip to Davos along with our Swiss friend Judith. She asked Connie to join us, a friend who knows the mountains and was our terrific guide for the day. (Davos is the host to world leaders at the annual World Economic Forum--what a setting to discuss economics! How can they get any work done in the midst of these magnificent mountains?)

Still plenty of snow here, but spring is on the way

The 2-hour train trip took us to the town of Davos which is primarily a ski/summer resort area. From the train station we walked along a quiet road to see a Jewish cemetery, something we certainly didn't expect in such a remote area.

The Jewish cemetery in the middle of a forest

We then stopped to munch on sandwiches provided by Connie.

Miles, Connie and Judith at lunch

Click on this picture so you can see the avalanche barricades way up the mountain

We continued our walk over to the funicular that would take us up a very steep climb to a mountain hotel.

The funicular track with a view of the town below. We thought (for a second) about climbing up, but wimpy me vetoed the idea.

View from restaurant at the top of the funicular

At the top was the beautiful 100-year old Berghotel Schatzalp.

Hotel lobby

What better place to have our requisite coffee and cake but on the hotel veranda.

On the veranda waiting for our coffee

This patch of land from the veranda is aptly named Snow Beach

And this is what we gazed at (past Snow Beach) from our seats. Talk about a room with a view!

Another FANTASTIC day!

Getting Warmer...

Yes, finally, the weather is getting warmer. As I said before, people have been apologizing like crazy for the cold March. We may be in for some cold days yet, but we are loving the "mild" weather of about 12-13 degrees C.

We hosted our first visitors to Zurich, Pat and Pekka Sinervo from Toronto and had a terrific week together. While Pekka was off and about on various work-related trips to Brussels and Geneva, Pat and I took in the sites of Zurich and participated in 3 ZIWA (int'l women's group) activities: a lunch/lecture on Greece sponsored by the Greek women from ZIWA, a coffee chat in a hotel cafe and a train trip to Baden and guided tour of the Langmatt Museum. Just wonderful!

We spent Pat and Pekka's last day here touring nearby Zug, a quaint town about 30 minutes from Zurich. There's an Old Town and a wonderful picture-perfect lake to stroll around.

Pat, me and Pekka in the Zug Old Town


Painted Zug building


Zug Old Town from across the lake


What a serene view...

After a picnic lunch by the lake, we continued on to Lucerne, about 20 minutes from Zug. What a terrific city! Besides the beautiful lake, magnificent mountains and Old Town, there are 2 covered bridges and a medieval wall high on the hill complete with 3 towers. We attempted to climb the towers, but they are closed in the winter. This is a city worth going back to and exploring in more depth.

The 14th C. Chapel Bridge with a mountain backdrop


Medieval fortifications and towers


View from the wall


Jesuit Church


Lucerne from across the lake


Mountains near Lake Lucerne

Winter Wonderland

Life has taken on a slower pace for me here in Zurich. My day-to-day routine is pretty standard: gym, museums, food shop, having people for dinner, library, walks around town, etc. The weather has been snowy and cold (this week it snowed twice and reached a low of -7 degrees C. Today is warmer and most of the snow has melted. We love the winter, but it does inhibit some outdoor activity. I know we'll branch out more as the weather improves.)

There is no problem with language since most people speak a little English. And they are very helpful and friendly when ever I have questions. The colleagues from ETH have been wonderful and we're enjoying seeing many of them socially.

Outside our apartment--brrr!

View of city street and mountains near our apt.

Massive stone house along the Limat River


St. Peter's Church with the largest clock face in Europe (8.7 m/28 ft diameter)

I'm going to 1 or 2 ZIWA (Zurich Int'l Women's Assoc.) activities per week. This week was a coffee chat in a cafe, a Mahjong game (Chinese style) and a mountain walk. The women are terrific, all ages and all in Zurich various amounts of time. This a great source of new friends and the ZIWA calendar can keep me very busy. We are looking forward to visitors from Toronto arriving today and Daniel, Adam and his girlfriend Dana are coming for Pesach the end of March. Yahoo!

Miles and I took the tram to Zurichburg, a forested area in the hills right above the city. The views are great and you can walk for hours on the forest paths.

The mountains from Zurichburg

We also took the train to Winterthur one day. ( The train system is fantastic and the main train station is about a 7-minute walk from our apt.) This small city 20 minutes from Zurich is well-known for its art museums and pedestrian promenade--lots of pretty buildings, frescoes and statues.

Pedestrian promenade

Winterthur church

Typical architecture in Winterthur

A wooden chest in one of the museums

Lots of Smart cars here--even the Winterthur police love them

Every Wed. there is a Farmer's Market in the Zurich Bahnhoff (train station). Here are a few of my favorite stands:

Pasta King

REALLY good bread


And REALLY good cheese


Tulip season