It’s amazing how much you miss when you’re just wandering around a place and not particularly focused!
This morning we went on a guided walking tour, a lot of it retracing our steps from last night. It all made a lot more sense today!
Our guide, Sarah, was a uni student. The tours are advertised as being free, with a donation given at the end to the amount you think it was worth. At first, we thought the group was going to be quite small, but by the time we set off, Sarah had a following of over 30. She did a great job and was worth every Swiss franc she earned!
We learned so much! Here’s a summary.
Women in Switzerland didn’t have the right to vote until 1971, and it wasn’t until 1990 that ALL women in all cantons (areas) could vote in Federal elections! That really shocked me! I had always thought of Switzerland as being ahead of its time.
Because of its geographical location Switzerland has 4 main languages, German 65%, French 25%, Italian 9% and Romansh 1% (native to the mountain canton of Graubünden). Zurich is very much in the German region, hence the proliferation of beer halls!
In reality, there are many more dialects, and most people also learn English. Sarah herself spoke 4 languages!
Although originally Catholic, it is now largely Protestant, reflected in the simplicity of the churches and lack of stained glass!
Firstly, we visited the exterior of Fraumünster, established by nuns, with some beautiful murals depicting the story of its beginnings. As an example of its lack of austerity, it had an archway outside the entrance that ladies were expected to walk through before entering the church. If their dresses were too big to fit through the arch, they were considered too well to do and not pious enough, and were denied entry!
A little further on, Saint Peter’s boasts the largest tower clock face in the world. Interestingly, it also has the number 4 depicted as llll rather than lV….
We climbed up to Lindenhof, a peaceful garden and park area, for a pretty good view of the city.
Along the pedestrian streets where we’d had dinner the previous evening, Sarah suggested we look up.
Zurich has 1200 fountains, and unless there’s a sign saying otherwise, you can drink from all of them.
The final stop on our guided walk was at the largest church in Zurich, Grossmünster. At last, some stained glass, but of the modern kind. Stunning.
After the tour, we climbed the 187 steps up the right tower. Fabulous view.
When in Switzerland, do as the Swiss do, right?
It was fondue time.
Delicious, but expensive. Even the knee rugs reminded you where you were.
A visit to the chocolate shop is obligatory, and we chose Sprüngli, originally in partnership with Lindt. A falling out over advertising caused the split, and the rest is history. Also very expensive.
We just had enough time to take a ride on the Polybarn, all 176m of it.
Used mainly by students to access the university quickly from the train station, it took us a ‘staggering’ 1.5 minutes to reach the top!
The university ‘s exterior was pretty dull, but inside the modern makeover was a surprise. Tucked in a little corner was an art gallery featuring works by Marc Chagall.
Sarah had told us earlier in the day that Einstein was once a student there but was asked to leave because of poor grades. Imagine!
A 10 minute train ride took us to the airport for our 9pm flight home.
We can’t believe the party’s nearly over.
Kanga And Wombats Adventures 