Zurich, Switzerland

Not only did we get to spend Easter weekend in beautiful (but expensive!) Zurich, Switzerland, but we also got to see my best friend from high school and her family!  Heather and Jack and baby Reagan live in Geneva, so we met somewhere near the middle (or the nearest big city anyway) and got to spend some time with them.

We all arrived Friday afternoon but it was rainy and dreary so we just decided to get some beer and bourbon and hang out in the hotel suite.  The kids played and Nat had a blast babysitting baby Reagan.

 Drinking and goofing off with one of my oldest friends in the world! 

For dinner we went to a yummy little pizza/doner place and then down to the bar after all of the kids were in bed!  Prost!  The Swiss beer, Feldschlösschen, was quite tasty!  

The next morning, we hopped on the tram (which was conveniently RIGHT outside of our hotel - yes, we stayed in a hotel this time) and went toward the Old Town area.  We got off at the main train station and not far from there, as we headed down the Bahnhofstraße, we spotted a Claire's.  A few weeks ago in Regensberg, we tried to go to Claire's to get Natalie's ears pierced but they were too busy.  So why not in Zurich!?  She was super brave, didn't cry and even asked when it was over, "Did you do it yet?"

Back on the Bahnhofstraße, we spotted the latest in men's Easter fashions.

As well as the next company Todd wants to work for, Buttholz Schalung.  This must be a joke, right??  Nope.  They're legit.  They make shuttering panels and shuttering beams.

Next we walked over to the Munzplatz. I love the pretty, colorful buildings and shutters on this road! I can't wait for more flower boxes to come out.

 I titled this one, "Grant 'I-just-want-to-run-through-the-streets-of-Zurich' Bailey!"  Action shots are the coolest.  He is VERY excited to start track next week!

The next stop was St. Peter's church.  The clock face on the tower is the largest clock face in all of Europe!  Believe it or not, there's a clock on each side and each of them is over 28 feet wide. Pretty cool!  

The inside was interesting.  It's a Protestant church, so I wasn't used to seeing the layout and the lack of an impressive looking alter.  But it was pretty, nonetheless.

My favorite part? PURSE HOOKS on the back of the chairs!  (It's the little things in my life.)

Next we continued to make our way down to the lake, stopping by this bizarre short door.  I'm going to start hastagging #shortdoorsofEurope.  I mean, I know my husband is tall, but geez... this is crazy!

The Fraumünster is one of four main churches of Zurich (of which we've already seen St. Peter's).  It was founded in 853 (!!!) by Louis the German (Charlemagne's grandson) for his daughter Hildegard.  All of the buildings were destroyed in 1898, on purpose to make way for the Stadthaus.  You aren't allowed to take pictures of the inside, unfortunately.

So the ceiling is really pretty on the inside (take my word for it), but as we made our way up to the front of the church, I noticed in the very front, were these tall stained glass windows.  I'm looking at them thinking, "Wow, those really look like the work of Chagall."  But surely, no... he wouldn't have stained glass in a church.  But when I looked at the "Past and Present" plaque outside the church, guess what I saw!

The windows are the work of Marc Chagall!  Boom!  I couldn't have been more proud of my really random art knowledge!  (Thanks Sara, for teaching me about him on our trip to Paris!)

The Zeughauskeller was where we stopped for lunch!  It was built in 1487 (and as they like to say, "even before Columbus had discovered America!")

 

This is the placemat with a little history of the Zeughauskeller.  I love it when things are in English!

 Look at these three cuties at the Zeughauskeller! 

There was a big covered plate of bread on the table and Grant was crying for it.  Of course, ewwww... who knows how many people have touched that!  So Yori sticks a knife in it to cut it and it was hard as a rock!  It was so funny and Grant was so disappointed.  Overall though, the meal and the beer were excellent!  We had eaten a huge (free) breakfast at the hotel, so I just had the goulash and a plate of Rösti (kind of like hash browns, a Swiss food!)  Yum!

Switzerland isn't a cheap country.  In fact, it's so expensive that I don't see us going back there a whole lot, unfortunately!  However, if you have expensive tastes, you must visit... I particularly liked THIS jewelry set I saw in one window. Buy me THAT!  (But come on!  Sapphire is my birthstone!)

We finally made our way down to Lake Zurich (which I must have called Lake Geneva a MILLION times, because our friends live in Geneva!) It was SO beautiful.  The day was sunny and warm, but the air off of the water was a bit cool.  You can see the Alps in the background.

Grant was saying hello to some friendly swans on Lake Zurich.

They have a real working clock made out of flowers down by the lake!

We went over to the Bürkliplatz for some more great views of Lake Zurich and the Alps.

This is the statue of Ganymed, the boy of Zeus.  Here, he is pleading with his father (the eagle) to take him to Mount Olympus.  I think my kids make a fine Ganymed and Zeus!

Reagan had a blast playing with Nat and Grant all weekend.  Here they are playing chase around the tree.
 

Across the street, the kids spotted this Ferris wheel.  Which means no matter how much it costs, we have to ride it.

I mean, who can say no to that goofy face!?  Up, up and away!

The views were outstanding though.  Here is a view looking to the northeast toward the Old Town.

After the Ferris wheel ride, we walked across the Quaibrücke to the Old Town area. 

But not before someone wanted some kisses on the bridge!

And not before Grant decided he had to go to the bathroom, and the only one we knew of was back at the Bürkliplatz.  So I took him back there, and we saw this guy playing his horn with his little cows.  Grant gave him a couple of coins and he gave Grant a little toot-a-loo back at him!  I half expected him to yell, "RIIIIICO-LA!"

I know I mentioned it above, but Zurich is very expensive.  Mostly because people have the money there.  Hello there, Lambourghini!

Walking into the Old Town, I spotted a building I liked.  This Bäckeri is from 1626!  You know, just six years after the Pilgrims landed on Cape Cod.  Flowers and shadows and funny short doors, galore.

In case this hill was too much for you, they built some stairs.  And you get to admire some really pretty graffiti painting on the wall.

The beautiful (and huge) Grossmünster church.  Another of the four major churches of Zurich, it's a Protestant church that was, some believe, commissioned by Charlemagne.  However, they didn't start work on it until around 1100. The two towers were built in the late 1400s, but were destroyed by a fire and rebuilt in the late 1700s.  People on the bottom for scale.

In the Grossmünster, where once again, photos aren't allowed, you can pay a few Euros (or Swiss Francs) to climb the stairs of the tower.  This was, by far, the most narrow of windy stairs that I have ever climbed thus far in Europe!  Grant, who is all of 6 years old and 50 pounds is see above and he takes up almost the width of the stairway.

But of course, the views from the top were outstanding.  Look at those Alps!  And Lake Zurich!  This tower is on a hill and is so high that it puts the Ferris wheel to shame (bottom right above).

We were very lucky to witness a live reenactment of the Passion of the Christ, as it was the day before Easter.  You can see the actor portraying Jesus in the very center of the picture above.

More views, looking north into Zurich.

Continuing our walk through the Old Town, we stumbled upon the Ass Bar.  Yes, we are insanely immature!

I like this funky building.  Bright colors, interesting lines and pretty green flower boxes.

Ok, ok... we have been walking for long enough.  It's time to sit down, enjoy the sun and some chocolate gelato!  I think he's enjoying this a little too much!  What a mess!

Or perhaps Todd is enjoying his coffee gelato a bit too much!  Even Yori is scared to sit next to him!

We saw this sign outside of the Oliver Twist British Pub.  Beer!  Because no fun story EVER started with WATER!

So of course, we had to stop in.  The best part of this place?  In an ancient city, THIS is Zurich's oldest pub.  And it was founded in 1970!

One way to keep kids quiet in a pub?  Watch Paw Patrol on a phone!

We finished up the day with a little Mexican (ha!) food - the worlds most expensive tacos - before heading back to the hotel.  I couldn't quite capture how pretty it was down by the river in the evening (the lights kept blurring) but it was really nice.

I didn't take a lot of pictures on Sunday, but we found an English speaking Catholic church in the southern part of the Old Town and attended Easter mass, met Heather, Jack and Reagan for a late lunch and then went home!  Happy Easter, everyone!