After our trip in the mountains our neighbor and friend from San Carlos in California came for a visit. I showed her Ferney and Geneva and from Nyon we took the cogwheel train up into the Jura. In pouring rain we had lunch in a Swiss-French restaurant—the border went right through it so you can eat in one country and go to the bathroom in another.
On the weekend we were lucky to have clear weather and went up the Salève mountain where this time we walked farther than last time, to a view point and could see the Alps.
The rest of the time Laura was here we took a trip to Zürich. On Sunday (1. August) the weather was perfect and we took the Golden Pass Panoramic train to our destination. We had fantastic views on the lake leaving to go up the mountains from Montreux. The ride went through lush green meadows and passes (without the announced cows!)….the villages were picturesque and the more rugged peaks started an hour before Interlaken. There we had a glimpse of the Jungfraujoch from afar-not as close as some advertisements of the train ride let us believe. So we went on to Bern. There we could admire the gilded portal (outside) of the cathedral and the many fountains of the city.
Cathedral in Bern (detail)
Eating Rösti and Flammekuchen was also fun. A big part part of the day was spend in the Paul Klee museum which this time had an exhibit of Klee and Picasso; it was interesting to contrast the two. We arrived in Zürich at our hotel, a Bauhaus building, at about 10 p.m. and were happy to get the corner room. Each room is dedicated to a Swiss personality or some one who is associated with it. We had Othmar Ammann so I slept under a tunnel design and Laura under a bridge! (see photo)
On Monday we went on a short tour of the city (can be better explored by foot, which we did later) and then along the lake to Rapperswil. The guide pointed out the buildings and sites but later we were left alone in Rapperswil to take the boat back while the rest of the group took the tour to “Heidiland.” Rapperswil was a cute town and we were happy the rain just started when we had lunch on the boat. The Alps were unfortunately hidden and we did not have the postcard view. In Zürich we went to see the Chagall windows at the Fraumünster and the Sigmund Polk windows in the Großmünster. The Chagall was impressive in its brilliant colors but the Polk ones were very unusual in its modern interpretations. A woman who worked there gave us a private tour because we showed such interest! Then we were at Sprüngli’s for coffee time.
On Tuesday we took the train to St.Gallen since it rained and admired the famous baroque abbey and library. Both give such a harmonious feeling even though the decorations were “a bit much”! The town had some beautiful old houses and modern sculptures surprisingly popped up in various streets. The evening was spend back in Zürich at a Brauhaus with typical Swiss food.
St. Gallen Abbey
Wednesday we had the best weather and we had the five people needed for the “Into the Alps” tour. It was a 300 km tour with stunning scenery and a fantastic, knowledgeable guide. On the way he told us a lot about Swiss life and the love of tunnel building. Our first pass was the Brünig pass (1007m) with a nice view where we stopped for photos. Our first longer stop was for a self serve lunch at the Aare gorge. He gave us time to walk through it and picked us up at the other end. It is a very narrow and impressive gorge where we walked on wooden balconies and through tunnels with the water dripping.
Then we drove on up the mountains to the Grimselpass (2165m) which looked like the top of the world . We could see a chain of mountains which often are obscured in the fog. Also it was an eery barren landscape with greenish rocks. Then we went down the valley and up again to the Rhone Glacier, another longer stop. We could walk into the glacier and admire its blue color inside. The Furkapass was another great view and coming down it was via a very narrow mountain road. This has been a great day in the Swiss Alps!
Thursday we went to the Kunsthaus in Zürich, a perfect day for it since it rained. Laura left the next day and memories about a great time together remain.
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