Road Trip – Zurich, Switzerland

Zurich, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

It’s not your size. Although you are the largest city in Switzerland, the truth is you are quite small. Still, you’re wonderful!

Perhaps, it’s your famous shopping street: Bahnhofstrasse. Your bank vaults are located below the street and are rumored to be bursting with gold and silver!

Or maybe it’s Jemoli, your high-end department store? Jemoli covers the gamut. The grocery section is in the basement and the top floor houses a spa.

Naturally, beautiful Lake Zurich adds to your appeal.

Your many sweet shops tickle my fancy.

And that’s okay, because culturally you enjoy your sweets regularly, but responsibly. My kind of people!

We were caught up in all your delights when we wandered into Cafe Schober, where we enjoyed the best hot chocolate in town. Quite an accolade, considering the Swiss reputation for chocolate.

Your St. Peter’s church boasts the largest clock face in all of Europe. A testament to your skill at watch-making and a reminder that G and I each should own a Rolex!

And your houses of worship inspire more than thoughts of worldly goods – like a Rolex. Zurich, at every turn you give your residents something more, something special. Like your Fraumünster Abbey (Church of Our Lady) above, which contains a complete set of Marc Chagall stained-glass windows that are considered some of the artist’s best work. The Fraumünster is a place of worship and as such, photographs are not permitted.

And if the Chagall windows and large clocks aren’t enough, there’s your Grossmünster Cathedral with its iconic twin towers.

Legend has it that Charlemagne himself founded the church on the burial site of the martyrs, Felix and Regina. The legend supports the idea that Grossmünster is Zurich’s oldest church. FYI: Archaeologists have confirmed the presence of a Roman burial ground at the site.

Not to be outdone, Grossmünster has its own impressive collection of modern stained-glass windows by Swiss artist Augusto Giacometti.The window above the main entrance, gives a small glimpse of what a visitor can expect to see inside. This window depicts images of the inside of sliced, semi-precious stones. The window reminded me of D, who I think would really love it.

But enough about churches. What is there to say about a city that elevates a lowly bowl of muesli to an art form? Zurich, what have you done to me? I’m waxing rhapsodic about Cafe Sprüngli’s cereal masterpiece!

And don’t even get me started on Hiltl, Europe’s oldest vegetarian restaurant founded – as a vegetarian restaurant – in 1898.

I’m overcome with sheer delight and left speechless (wordless?) at the thought of the restaurant’s vegetarian beef stroganoff. I think I may have heard an otherworldly chorus of “hallelujah” when the dish was placed before me.

Zurich, you are so special that Ireland’s son, the great James Joyce, wrote his magnum opus “Ulysses” here. So grateful was the pacifist for Zurich’s neutrality during WWI and the refuge the city offered him that he chose to spend eternity here in Fluntern Cemetary.

For these reasons, and many more like:

– The Swiss quality of life ranks highest among all industrialized nations with Zurich in the top spot.

– The Swiss national healthcare system is recognized as the world’s best and the care administered through that system is considered some of the finest in the world. A model of good social stewardship.

– Zurich is clean and well-organized.

– Zurich is incredibly elegant.

– The city was good enough for James Joyce, it’s good enough for me. C’mon people, the man wrote Ulysses!

Zurich, I love thee with all my heart and if fortune allows, I will again find myself warmly ensconced in one of your legendary beds outfitted entirely in down bedding one day soon.

Arrivederci!

Road Trip – Munich, Germany

We arrived in Munich in the early evening, so our first stop was dinner at Prinz Myshkin, considered by many to be the best vegetarian restaurant in Munich.

The restaurant and bar were bright, airy, and just trendy enough.

G began with a vibrantly colored beetroot concoction.

I chose a gastro-pleasing Indian curry stew.

Followed by a Thai curry and couscous.

And a vegetable stir-fry with tofu. The food was wonderful and a welcome reprieve from our usual Italian fare.

The next morning, Munich greeted us with gray skies and a persistent drizzle. So, we decided to counteract the day’s dreariness with an extra special breakfast at Dallmayr.

As you can see from the photo above, we went a little overboard. Easy to do at a place as special as Dallmayr where the food is perfection, the service and presentation are a dream, and the coffee is the best I’ve ever had.

Once sufficiently fortified – thanks to Dallmayr – we ventured out to the Marienplatz (St. Mary’s Square) to view the New Town Hall above and observe the famous Glockenspiel strike the hour. Upon striking, the figures emerge to reenact the Schäfferltanz, a dance first performed in 1517 to mark the end of the plague.

In case you’re wondering, that’s the column of St. Mary in front of the New Town Hall. The column commemorates the end of Swedish invasion and is topped by a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary.

After a long day of sightseeing – some of it emotionally taxing (stay tuned) – we left Munich and headed out to Andechs where we drove up a dark hill to reach the monastery at the top.

At first, we thought we’d made a mistake. The place was dark and deserted. We walked down a dark alley into an unmarked building, went up the stairs and were confronted by this: long wooden tables filled with people, beer and pork in Renaissance fair style cuts and sizes!

Absolutely no on spoke English at this place, but we managed to mime and point an order to our jovial server.

This is probably the best thing I ate in Munich. Not because it was so much better than anything else I ate. (It’d be pretty hard to beat Dallmayr.) But because it was exactly what I wanted: a huge beer, a soft pretzel, some sauerkraut, lots of “atmosphere,” and the joyous sound of laughter and glasses clinking everywhere  – perfection!

Arrivederci!