Last November I blogged about a day-trip to the Lindt Home of Chocolate. To make the experience even more fun, we took a boat back to Zürich on Lake Zürich. The bus ride there is only 15 minutes. The boat ride back is longer, but on a clear day in November, these are the views looking south.
Sigh.
Although I have already written a few blog posts about the Zürich Opera House (including a tour I took in 2015), I wanted a post to show this photo I took one cold morning.
When it’s hot out, it’s a good day to go to the movies. The theaters we have gone to are not air-conditioned cold like in the US, but they are not very hot, so it was a good choice.
First, you have to find the version of the movie you want to see. We wanted to see our choices in English, so we chose the “O” version (meaning original). One had German subtitles, so that was “OmU” (Original mit Untertiteln).
The first movie we saw was the Indiana Jones in a multiplex in Potsdamer Platz. We arrived early, just to make sure we knew where we were going. When buying your ticket, the seller asks what seat you’d like. Just like going to the opera. We probably could have sat anywhere in the theater, as on Monday afternoon we were two of about 5 movie-goers.
I’d read that if the movie is over 2 hours, there might be an intermission. There wasn’t this time. I also read that you pay more for movies over 2 hours. I think we paid about 10 euros each, maybe a little more. What I really liked about this theater were the reclining seats! I sunk in and was totally comfortable for the show.
Another hot day we chose to see the new Wes Anderson movie, Asteroid City. If we wanted to go in the afternoon, we had limited choices. The “OmU” was playing at the Kino International on Karl-Marx-Allee. This is no multiplex – just one very large theater. It was built in 1963. It was the premiere cinema in East Berlin until the 1990s.
We passed by the refreshment stand, but we could have had quite a choice of libations.
Although the seats did not recline, we sat in our assigned spots which the seller had chosen for us. She must have spread us all around on purpose, as we were not close to anyone.
On a Saturday we paid 12 euros for our tickets.
In 2015 we visited Templehofer Feld. I blogged about it here. It is a favorite Sunday hang-out spot, especially in good weather. We decided to give it a second visit, and here are some images from our time there.
We also watched an inning of a rec softball game. The Hall of Famers vs. the Pirhanas.
I did not take any photos of the little make-shift cabins where I believe Ukrainian refugees are living. I remember having read about that last year.
More photos at glampinginswitzerland’s Instagram.
Swimming in Lake Zürich and in the Limmat River are very, very popular here. Even in the winter (like the Samichlausschwimmen). I am a wimp (in German one says a Weichei – or weak egg). I have had no desire to get into the very clear, very clean water that comes from a glacier. You know, ice.
But. My neighbor (who I just met less than a month ago) invited me to go to the Frauenbad with her one morning. It has been warm, and I thought of the possible blog post, so I said yes.
On Wednesday it was cloudy and the air temperature was 64. The water temperature in the Limmat was 68. So. Not freezing, but certainly not spa-like.
I plunked down my CHF 8 and got ready for a dip. It looks like a swimming pool with lanes and all, but the water is definitely river water (no chlorine!).
This art nouveau structure with views of the old city is a marvelous place for a women-only bath. I swam some laps, and it was invigorating.
There are books to borrow as you lounge by the pool.
And, of course, a cafe.
If we weren’t leaving so soon, I would definitely go back. Maybe I’ll take a dip in the lake one time before we go…
More photos at glampinginswitzerland’s Instagram.
After our overnight in Ludwigsburg, we brought the kids to Zürich. We had to show them this, our adopted hometown. For our daughter’s birthday, we took them to Rigi. It had been such a successful outing a few weeks before with my sister and brother-in-law. This time we chose to do it the other way, so the steamboat trip was at the end.
This meant that we had enough time for me to take a photo of the boat. I had not had enough time before.
We knew where we wanted to sit on the boat, so we raced on with the throngs of tour groups and grabbed prime spots. Here are some of the views we had. It was less hazy than last time.
More photos at glampinginswitzerland’s Instagram.
It has been an exciting nine days. Our daughter and son-in-law visited us, and we had a little whirlwind tour of a few places in Europe. in 2015 when they came over, we went to Wuppertal, Germany to see Kontakthof by the Pina Bausch Tanztheater.
Last week we met our kids in Ludwigsburg where we saw the company perform Vollmond. This modern dance piece features a very large rock in the middle of the stage. Even more exciting is the water. A shallow river runs under the rock, and rain falls through much of the piece. It’s hard to describe, but here is a YouTube video of a part of the 2-hour show. If you start at 4:43, that’s the Vollmond part.
Because you can’t photograph or video the show, here are some abstract photos of the theater, the Forum am Schlosspark.
A few weeks ago we tried to ride one of the river boats that I had seen. We waited by the Landesmuseum stop, but one never came. On Sunday we saw them on the river and jumped on.
It was doing brisk business as tourist season has really ramped up.
We went by the Lindenhof, part of the original city fortifications.
The boats are low enough to go under the bridges.
Here is the Women’s Bathing House (Frauenbadi). Clothing optional, but no inappropriate photo here…
Riding on one of these boats is included in your public transportation ticket.
More photos at glampinginswitzerland’s Instagram.
My friend who has lived here for 12 years told me about riding toy steam trains. If she had not, I would never have found this event. From what she tells me, this club (remember, there are clubs for everything, like trams and orchestras) opens its grounds for four days over the Ascension holiday.
(Ascension (called Auffahrt in German) is 40 days after Easter, always on a Thursday. It is a holiday in many Catholic regions. Here the shops are closed, and the schoolchildren have the Friday off from school, too.)
During the year the Verein members work on their toy steam trains and the grounds. There are bridges and tracks, like a very large toy train set.
For CHF 3, you can take a ride on one of these trains. It lasts about 10 minutes.
We were not the only people in line without children. Certainly fun for all ages.
More pictures at glampinginswitzerland’s Instagram.
The Sattel-Hochstuckli is not just a great place to hike, but fun for the whole family. If our grandchildren were here, this is one place we would take them. The first thing you see when you hop off of the gondola (which is fun already) is a playland with bouncy houses and trampolines.
There is also a toboggan run. We remember the one we rode in the Schwarzwald in 2015
Fun for all ages – the swinging suspension bridge…
And other things. Here is their website.
Along the trail where we hiked were a number of stops where kids (and adults) could learn about goats. Here are some cute goat bells that play songs.
Plus some sculptures.
Glamping in Switzerland 