The Münsters

ZURICH! So, I got to Zurich and there was some sort of strange Dance thingy going on in the station, and there were like 300 people all swing dancing in the middle of the train station while somebody called the steps in a wonderful mix of German and English. It was a great way to get into the city.

Then I stopped by the tourist office to pick up a map and some directions to my hostel. My hostel was… a ways from the city center. It was nice enough, just far away. Hosteling isn’t a thing in Switzerland like it is some places, it would seem. Because I didn’t have a lot of choice in location. But it worked out.

So after I checked in, I headed back out. I went for a lovely walk along the shores of lake Zurich, which, like Geneva is in a basin on a lake surrounded by mountains. It is truly lovely.

So the tourist map has this recommended route on it, and I decided to take some of it, and walked by the plaza with the opera in it. While there I bought a bratwurst and some bread from a vendor, because that’s about what I could afford for dinner (seriously. So expensive.) and sat by the lake a while.

I then continued on up the river to the Grossmünster, which in German means something along the lines of “Greatminister” (like Westminister). But my knowledge of German combined with my English brain just sees, “BIG MONSTER” which is funnier. (“groß” means “big” in German) But it was a lovely church. That did not permit any photos. Which was SAD. Because it was beautiful. It’s the most important church in Zürich, and was the home base of Zwingli. Because Switzerland was all about dat reformation (well, about half of it was. The other half… not so much.) And it’s really cool looking, inside and out.

So then I walked uphill, just kind of exploring the city, and I found some nice gardens that looked out over the city and the lake, so I sat and read there for a while and admired the view. I kept climbing and found the university, which likewise has a nice view, and the hospital, which has a nice park attached. I just kind of chilled and read and enjoyed the view for a bit. When it started to get later, I headed back down the hill (and bought a 24 hour tram pass. Which was a good investment) and back to my hostel. I chilled there for a bit and hit the hay. The people in my room were very interesting, and I did stay up later due to conversations with them. There was a woman living in Spain, so we had a good time comparing stories, and a Kiwi who lived in Florida for a year, and seemed to have a generally interesting life.

The next day, I got up early (watched the penultimate episode of OUAT this season), ate breakfast, and headed out. I took a free walking tour of the city, which is always fun. We visited several famous and important sites, including the Fraumünster (again, Dameminister? Lady Minister? Something. “Frau” is woman/Mrs./Ms./Ma’am. But I’m like, “LADY MONSTER.” And that’s what they call maturity.) Which actually has a supercool history. Because apparently, there was some King, and he wanted to give his daughter a present, so he built a convent there, and the nuns there basically ruled Zurich for a while. Like, they chose the mayor and collected all the taxes. And then for some reason the guilds in the Middle Ages didn’t like a bunch of nuns telling them what to do and they seized power. Whoops.

Also, Tina Turner got married there.

And then we walked up a very tall hill to the OTHER famous Church in Zurich, which fortunately for all of you, the good people of Geneva decided to call St. Peter instead of like PETERSMONSTER! I mean, minister. And then after the tour the guide was very nice and gave us chocolates, and one of the tour people gave her chocolates to me. Because I was easily the youngest person on the tour, and we had been talking, and she wanted to help out the “starving college student” which was nice. Those chocolates constituted a decent portion of what I ate that afternoon. The other bit was the brownie voucher we also got at the end of the tour. I ate the brownie. Not the voucher. Eating the voucher would have been a waste.

So then I went off and explored some more. I found the place where Vladimir Lenin lived when he was exiled from Russia before the whole Bolshevik revolution.

Oh, so then I did stop at a grocery store and have a chicken curry strudel for lunch. If that isn’t multiculturalism I don’t know what is. It was also delicious. And then I sort of followed the rest of the recommended tourist route, which was nice.

I then took advantage of my bus pass and went up to some further out part of town, where I caught a funicular up one of the mountains surrounding Zurich. I’m not 100% sure of where I wound, up but it was gorgeous, and had a beautiful view of the city and the lake and the mountains. So I was pretty content to just wander around out in the sunshine and the beautiful day. I then walked about half an hour through some trails to the zoo. I didn’t actually go to the zoo, but I walked around some of the area outside it, which was stunning. It made me feel like I was in the Sound of Music. It was great.

But then I went back down the mountain to continue on with the PLAN. Which involved continuing on with the recommended tour, right by the post office, and on to the docks. From there, I took a nice little 30 minute cruise up and down the river, which was a lovely way to see the city. Then I went back to the grocery store in an attempt to eat and not bankrupt my entire family for generations to come. Then I went back to the docks, and took a much longer cruise around the upper part of lake Zurich.

This was truly spectacular. I got to see the mountains, get out of town for a little bit, enjoy the crisp spring air. It was great. I even met a very nice guy from North Africa, and got to practice my French. Which is turning out to be a very useful language. Glad I’m learning it.

So after the delightful boat ride (that I have lots of pictures from) I walked back to the train station to await my night train to Budapest. Most entertainingly, I found a bookstore, which had an English section, and I enjoyed seeing what they had.

But yeah, I got on my train to Budapest at like 10:30, settled into my bunk, and passed out pretty quickly.

And that was Zurich.

Do You Want A Reformation?

 This is irrelevant, but it's from my morning in Cherbourg. Because I was unaware that Earl Grey was a person, or that he continued to provide his stamp to the tea named after him. I was amused.

SO! I woke up pretty dang early the next morning and packed my still slightly damp clothes up, ate breakfast, and headed out to the train station. Fortunately, it was drizzling a bit, which concealed the fact that I had to don the wettest of my clothes. So I got on the train to Paris, and it was nice. I mean, not perfect, but it wasn't a bad ride.

Then I got to Paris and had to change train stations, which was a bit crazy, because dealing with the Paris metro can be difficult, especially when busy, and I was carrying 20kilos of stuff. But I got through it. And getting through stuff like that is a very positive thing for me. It reminds me that I can do this. Because I can.

So anyway, uneventful train ride to Switzerland.

Which was just as lovely as you might expect.

 Seriously,

First Ireland was stereotypical, 

 Now Switzerland. Not that I'm complaining.

So I got to Lausanne and changed trains for Geneva, once again, without incident. I also got some money out, because for the first time since January, I was off the Euro. I missed the Euro. I know how to deal with the Euro. It doesn't require thought anymore, the Swiss Franc... required effort. But at least it wasn't as bad as the Hungarian Forint, that required effort and MATH. But more on the delights of the Forint later.

I got safely to Geneva and found my airbnb after getting only slightly lost. My hosts seemed very nice, and my futon comfy, so I headed out to see the sights.

 And sights there were.

 So I walked along the edge of the gorgeous Lake Geneva

 past the harbor,

 and the lovely tree-lined avenue that runs by the lake

 and stared off at the mountains in the distance.

 Even the water looked nice.

 Though it was WAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY to cold to think about getting in it.

 So I just took pictures of all the lovely views.

 Because Switzerland is a picturesque place.

 And so is lake Geneva.

 It is also a very windy place.

 I'm sorry, I just love that picture. I look like a puppy dog.

 So this is the famous Geneva Jet d'eau. It was turned off the entire time I was there.

 And that's called irony, folks.

 These are the big hotels in the city

 and they are surprisingly lovely from the outside as well.

 And that's the lighthouse and the harbor entrance.

 There were a lot of boats

 and also flags.

 I'm not gonna lie,

 whenever I see flags, or type the word I think of that Eddie Izzard sketch.

 and in my head I say it in his British accent like,

 "FLAAAAAGSS"

 So, the weekend I was there was also the weekend of the Geneva marathon, which wound up being really cool.

 The main center of activities was in a park that I had to pass to get to the city center, so I got to see all the festivities and such. It was cool.

 So continuing across the bridge where the river meets lake Geneva,

 there was a boat with a comically large Swiss flag.

The Swiss like their flag. 

 This is the statue that commemorates Geneva's entrance into the Helvetic Confederation (which later became Switzerland.

 And this is the bridge.

 Not the the flags.

 It's the flag of Geneva, the UNICEF flag (because that's what the marathon was sponsoring) and, of course, the Swiss flag.

 It was very windy,

 note the flags,

 But a beautiful day nonetheless.

 What I really loved about Geneva

 other than the obvious religious history there

 (more on that tomorrow)

 I don't know what that building is, but it was pretty.

 Oh, yeah, that way to Montana. (I think it's the name of a hotel, but I was amused)

 ANYWAY, what I loved about Geneva is that it's this beautiful lake town

 that sort of sits in this bowl

 surrounded by all these mountains,

 and just everywhere you look

 there's something spectacular.

 So, yeah,

 basically I just had a good time walking around

 taking pictures, relaxing after the travel day.

 Though when I went back by the marathon, there were a bunch of people doing Zumba, so I joined in for a couple songs. It was really fun. I needed to move after being on a train all day, and then a ferry the day before.

 And yeah, I walked along the marathon route

 fortunately, the marathon wasn't til Sunday.


So then I went and had some very expensive Chinese for dinner (seriously, Switzerland was SOOOOOOOOOOO expensive. I saw a vending machine where a candy bar cost $3. WHAT IS THIS?!!!?

And then I went back to my airbnb and went to bed.

The next morning, I headed out back along the marathon route and by the lake. I went to the tourist information office and got a map, and to the train station and got some tickets for my future journeys in Switzerland, and then I started walking over to the UN. On the way I stopped for lunch.

 I passed the University of Geneva, which the Rockerfellers apparently sponsored. Actually, I've seen several things with that name on it in my travels. Go figure.

 And saw the UN building.

 And a very famous statue of a chair with a broken leg.

 Side note: it was windy.

 But the UN was nice.

 And there was a cool little park beside it.

 With these maps of the world.

 Look, that's where I came from!

 And that's Asia.

 I'm pretty sure I was trying to point to Geneva in that picture, but I was obviously unsuccessful.

 Then I went to the botanical gardens,

 beaus that's always a nice walk.

 And then I walked back towards town along the lake.

 It was really beautiful.

 And really

 REALLY

 cold.

 I was not anticipating the cold.

 But the wind was coming really strong off the lake

 and it was just cold.

 Nonetheless,

 it was a really nice walk.

 There was also this exhibition of political cartoons along the shore, and I had a really great time reading those. They were from all over the world, which was FASCINATING.

 and the lake

 the source of the wind.

 And then it got CLOUDY.

 Which was terribly dramatic and all.

 Especially for my walk out to the lighthouse. But note the person hiding behind the wall to get out of the wind.

 Gee, I wonder why.

 Hey guys! You know how I like to take pictures of signs telling me not to do something I'm about to do?

 I didn't do this one.

 FLAAAAAAGGGSSSS

 So Geneva is very proud of its role in the Protestant Reformation

 As well they should be.

 So in this square they have St. Peter's Cathedral,

 which is the church that John Calvin adopted when he wound up in Geneva.

 Also, the museum of the reformation

 Which is very nice.

 and may have lead to major dorking out.

 I have to go back so I can actually go inside it.

 They also have the building where... I don't know, but it's got something to do with Calvin.

 But that is the awkward looking main entrance to the cathedral. Who decided to go neoclassical?

 That's much better.

 What a cathedral should look like.

All Gothic.

 Calvin's chair.

 So I know it used to be a proper Roman Catholic sort of church

 but it was surprisingly sumptuous for a Church that the protestants got their hands on.

 I climbed the bell tower.

 Which is always cool.

 I mean, look at that view.

 It was also very very cold up there.

 More so than down on the ground.

 Obviously.

 Sometimes it's just too dark.

 So there were views all around

 not just of the lake,

 and there were bells, as one would expect.

 I don't know what that is, but it looks funny.

 But despite its protestantism, it kind of looked like a normal cathedral.

 With the requisite spectacular views

 because Geneva is a lovely place.

 bit windy, though.

 Wow. The lake is a much prettier color than even I remember.

 I think I was just cold at that point.

 A model of the church.

 in all its neoclassical glory.

 ALL THE STAIRS!

 This was my favorite chapel.

 I did always like the Rohirrim

 For those of you who missed that joke, it's Lord of the Rings.

 One of the countries is named Rohan.

 Also, apparently some duke in France or Switzerland or something.

 This is an old chapel that was redesigned in...

 neo-gothic?

 I'm not as good at architecture as I would like.

 I think it was originally flamboyant gothic

 but I know that when I see it.

 and it's much less warm.

 But it was pretty

 and very elaborate.

 And it had a very old organ.

 Which the protestants didn't use.

So then I left the cathedral and headed out to the Reformation monument.

 And passed some random cannons.

 So this is the reformation monument

 It's got statues of a bunch of famous reformers

 and these are the big ones.

 One of them is Calvin, and I think another is Zwingli, but I'm not sure. None of them are Luther. In fact, Luther does not have a statue, which initially concerned me, because SERIOUSLY??!!?!?

 But they actually gave him his own plinth off to the side.

 That would be the "u" in "Luther"

 Because I'm pretty sure doing that would have pissed off the reformers.

 Oh, no Zwingli got his own plinth too.

 So you know how there's that stereotype of old men playing chess in the park?

 It's a little cooler than that in Geneva.

 So then I walked on to the Opera house.

 Which made me want to see opera.

 So nothing new, really.

 This is the famous flower clock of Geneva.

 And it is lovely.

 also, accurate.

 It does have numbers, they're just made from the flowers.

So then I got really cold, and I was very tired, and had things to do, so I went back to the apartment and did them and then crashed.

The next morning, I woke up and headed out to the train station with all my stuff.

 It was kind of cold and windy.

 Also, the marathon was going on.

 And it was really fun to walk past that.

 Everybody was cheering and having fun and I'm glad I got to be there.

And I got to the station and got on my train for Zurich. And that was