Zurich, Where It All Began
I woke up to Zoe howling, my message alert, which went off at 7 am, the end of my do not disturb time. There were two messages. One was from the young guys I had met at the Ljubljana skyscraper. They were looking for their photograph. I replied that they had to be patient and wait until I got home. The other message confirmed the meeting time and place for supper with my friends.
I had slept well, probably since I had no early planes or trains to catch. I had only a short ride to Zurich, and there were many trains to choose from. I could go anytime that I wanted.
I walked across the street to a café to get my breakfast. There is a difference between automatic machine cappuccinos and those done by the old-fashioned way by baristas. This was a proper barista one. I had two croissants, adding the second one after I took a bite and decided that the first one had been a bit small. The proprietor seemed pleased when I told him that it was the best coffee of my trip.
I had eaten many healthy breakfasts at my hotels which had included fruit, granola, and yoghurt, but I really enjoyed my cafés where I had great cappuccinos and freshly baked croissants.
I had to make a quick detour to the hotel office since my access card did not allow me back into the separate building. After climbing the stairs for the last time, I finished packing and began my walk to the station. I thought that I knew the way to the river but managed to take a slightly longer route. When I checked Google Maps, I discovered that my Lucerne city Wi-Fi was not working. Had it been cut off when I checked out?
My general plan was to take the 11:09 am train, but I arrived on time for the 10:35. There was no point in waiting. The first-class section was not crowded. There was not much to see along this route, but it was a quick ride to Zurich.
Of course we arrived on time.
I was no longer visiting Switzerland’s small towns. Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland with a population of about 450,000. The metropolitan area holds about 2 million people. The city is an important commercial and transportation centre.
My hotel was a short walk from the station. Unlike the previous day, it was a beautiful sunny morning, so I set off along the Limmat River.
I arrived a little early at the Hotel Adler but received a warm greeting. The hotel clerk called the cleaning staff to see if she could get me into my room. She sent me into the lounge to wait, where I was pleased to get Wi-Fi and spent a few minutes planning my day. I was soon called back to get my key. I understand when hotels are unable to get me into my room before regular check in times, but I do expect an effort. Twice on this trip I could only leave my bag and return at the official check in time. I was not impressed.
Although small, it was a nice room and looked out on a courtyard.
Switzerland is not a bargain travel destination. With the lone exception of Venice, my most expensive hotels were all Swiss, and this was number one.
I did not stay long in my expensive little room and began my walking tour of Zurich.
I went first to the Grossmünster Church.
The church was built in the 12th century as a Catholic church, but was the site of key events of the German-Swiss Reformation In the 16th century. Its plain interior reflect some aspects of the reformation.
But the history was not the main reason for its inclusion on my tour. I wanted to climb the 187 stairs to the top of one of the towers.
After I left the church, I came upon a group of tourists standing next to the Ulrich Zwingli sculpture. Zwingli had been the leader of the Swiss Reformation. They asked me to take their photograph which they promptly uploaded to an app to show that they had been there.
Zurich seemed like a carbon copy of Lucerne, with its river and beautiful old city architecture. Both have a lake with the same name as the city. Churches are important landmarks.
It was a short walk from the church to Lake Zurich. There were lots of people enjoying the early spring afternoon.
I walked past the Zurich Opera House.
The David and Goliath Sculpture is nearby.
I was feeling rather nostalgic. I had been in Zurich one time before, back in June 1976 when I was a young man of 22. I had grown up in a small town in Pennsylvania and, other than a day trip to Niagara Falls, had never been outside of the United States. Now I was travelling with a group of Americans as we made our way to Botswana to serve in the US Peace Corps.
They sent my group on a bus from Washington, D.C. to New York’s Kennedy Airport where we caught an overnight flight on a Boeing 707 to Zurich. After a few hours of sleep at our airport hotel, some of us took a bus into the city.
That is when I took a rainy afternoon photograph of Lake Zurich. It was film camera days, and it was technically a slide that was later digitized. It was not a beautiful shot but was my first photograph as an international traveller, the first photograph that I ever took outside of the United States. I think of Zurich as the place where my life as an international person, resident and traveller, really began.
I wanted to find the same location, and I recognized the view when I walked across the Quaibrücke Bridge. This was the spot. Here are two photos, one from June 1976 and the other taken in May 2024.
I continued my walk. My shot was from the other side of the bridge with all of Zurich’s iconic churches in view.
It started to rain so I retreated to a café and had a cappuccino and pastry.
My walk took me past expensive shops selling designer watches, bags, and perfume. Many had guards at their doors. No, I did not do any shopping.
I found the building where I was to meet my friends. It was right next to a big tram stop, and the doorway was packed with passengers trying to stay out of the rain while waiting for their rides.
I was soon joined by Rita and Silvio. I had met them in 2019 when I did a group tour of Central Asia. They are avid travellers. Rita does the planning, and Silvio waits to be told where they are going. I especially enjoyed the times that I shared the back seat of our vans with Silvio. When I decided to visit Switzerland, I knew I had to contact them and was quite happy that they were available to meet me for supper.
They wanted to give me a little tour, so we went off into the rain. We stopped first at the Fraumünster Church. The church was built in 1898 on the site of an abbey that was founded in 853. It is best known for the stained-glass windows that were designed by the artist Marc Chagal and installed in 1970.
They treated me to a great Swiss meal. We all had a local veal dish and drank lots of wine, much better wine than we had shared in Tajikistan back in 2019.
They walked me back to my hotel after dinner. The rain had stopped.
They took my photo on the Quaibrücke Bridge. I do not have one of me on the bridge in 1976, but I did find a photograph from early in my time in Botswana. According to the Peace Corps, we were not supposed to have motorcycles, but some of us did it anyway. In those days some rebels rode choppers. I rode a little Honda and needed duct tape to keep it going.
There were some interesting neighbourhoods with restaurants, cafés, and craft workshops.
Rita and Silvio left me a my hotel. I was quite grateful for the brief tour and great meal.
When I returned to my room I read an email from SimCorner. They had already processed a full refund. My card had worked well, until it didn’t. Then their tech service was excellent. I eventually figured out that the problem was with my phone.
This featured blog entry was written by Bob Brink from the blog Searching for Magical Moments.
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