Zurich

The largest city in Switzerland, Zurich’s energy and growth are immediately apparent. We’re staying in Old Town near where the river runs into Lake Zurich. The pre-medieval Old Town with cobblestone streets and interesting things at every turn is a great place to wander around. Here’s Daniel looking typically chic with a cow on the balcony above.

The suggested walking tour took us south to the lake, in front of the beautiful opera house where chairs are set up in an open area for people to enjoy the sunshine, and then to a little cafe famous for bratwurst, Sternen. I skipped the bratwurst but enjoyed the delicious bread, spicy mustard, and potato salad.  Interesting that a country with so much cold weather has outdoor seating almost everywhere with the added benefits of fur seat covers, blankets for laps, and sometimes even a rack of fur coats to keep you warm while you dine. We then crossed the river and turned north, walking past the Fraumunster Church with windows by Chagall and Giacometti, through the shopping district and up to the main train station. It’s almost like walking through a museum because the architecture is so beautiful. It certainly makes me question the utilitarian style of buildings back home. The women’s clothing in the window displays throughout Switzerland has been so pleasing with slightly-muted, solid colors, natural fabrics and simple designs. They’re much more in line with what I like that American fashion which makes me smile. Even generations after my ancestors left Switzerland, it seems that some of the culture is in my basic nature just as my father shared the majority of the classic Swiss temperament and work ethic.

We spent the afternoon at the Kunsthaus, Museum of Modern Art. It’s full of masterpieces like this self-portrait by Pablo Picasso (1901)

Edouard Manet’s “Spanish Woman” (1879)

Marc Chagall’s “The Lights of Marriage” that he painted one year after his wife died (1945)

“The Water Lily Pond with Irises” by Claude Monet that reminds me of my own French countryside original painting back home by our resident artist, Patrick Byler Clark, 

and, this gorgeous self-portrait by Franz Gertsch, “Franz and Luciano” (1973).

The weather has been consistent–low 30’s every day; generally sunny in the morning then cloudy with light snow showers in the afternoon. Our time is Switzerland is ending but I leave with happy memories and an excellent impression of a country that is full of both natural beauty and man-made beauty manifested in civility, culture, and chocolate. 

“It is always easy to create an ordinary city; what is difficult is to create an extraordinary one, peaceful and restful one, smart and tidy, artful and cultivated one, in short, a livable one! And Zurich is such a city!” Mehmet Murat ildan, Turkish playwright and novelist