The city of Zurich has a population above 400,000 people. It lies in northern Switzerland along Lake Zurich. This city is one of the largest financial centers in the world. With that said, Zurich does have its charm. There is “Old Town” along the Limmat River and one can walk along the promenades on both sides of the lake. Finally, the airport is highly modern and inviting.
Kathie and I visited Zurich in June of 2016. I was in Zurich for two days in 1979. I just remembered “everything just sparkled.” The ferry ride along the lake helped prompt that impression too. My one and only picture from Zurich in 1979:
Just like Lucerne and Bern, the train depot in Zurich is mostly underground with plenty of stores and restaurants. The place is actually huge.
We stayed in Old Town at Hotel Sorrel. A comfortable hotel, good breakfast and convenient to all the major attractions.
In Old Town, we enjoyed eating at The Spaghetti Factory.
No relationship to the ones in the USA. European style, the tables were close together.
It had a modern vibe to this place.
The food was, indeed quite good.
Window browsing was indeed interesting.
Just like the city of Gruyere, signs decorated various establishments:
There was plenty of interesting art work along our way.
There were a number of statues glorifying the past. One statue honored a past mayor and general from the 15th Century, Hans Waldmann.
Another statue honored an educator who was able to help make Switzerland literate by the 18th century, Heinrich Pestalozzi. His motto was “Learning by Head, Hand and Heart.”
No house was alike.
We did have one sunny day. We caught this couple along the Limmat River.
We also spotted this duck we had never seen before.
A ferry can be taken down Lake Zurich stopping at various villages along the way.
We enjoyed walking down shore of Lake Zurich. There is a beautiful promenade on the left side.
A wooden platform jutted out from the shore. Apparently, it was used to entertain.
I did take a picture of the actress passing by in the film shoot on the pavilion .
We came to a rather odd-looking statue by Henry Moore called “Sheep Piece” from 1972.
Further down was a large sculpture by Jean Tinguely called “Heureka” from 1964.
We did find one of our favorite restaurants in Zurich, the Manora at Manors Department store. Plenty of good food along the buffet line and the price was right.
We took several hours to take a twenty-minute train ride and explore the small mountain top called Uetliberg. Along the way, we came across interesting artwork.
Only 2,671 feet, it did give a great view of Zurich and the lake. Unfortunately, the day we visited it was rainy and cloudy.
On top of Uetliberg, there is a large communication tower. There is also a restaurant and even a hotel.
On our last night in Switzerland, we treated ourselves to a fine Italian restaurant known as “Miracle.”
We were so fortunate to obtain a table that someone had just canceled moments before. Kathie had fresh homemade soup and I loved the “Four Cheese Pizza” made with Blue Cheese—so delicious.
A quick ten-minute train ride from the main station to the ultra-modern Zurich airport. This airport is definitely one of the better airports we have ever visited.
Going to our exit point, we came across the number one airport bar in the world. Just think of all the airport bars across the world, and this place is #1.
Heading back home, planning our next adventure.
