zurich

Our trip from Milan to Zurich took us through the Alps. Our train was one of the newer high speed models that  reached a top a top speed of 325 km/hr or about 200 mph.  This was reached on several occasions between stops.  At this speed pictures out of the windows are difficult.   

one of the many lake towns we passed.  I kept looking for the quaint Heidiesque villages but  found mostly rather urbane towns. 

it appeared as if there was fresh snow on these peaks.  it was warm inside our train but looked a bit chilly outside

Boat docks, big buildings, cars...where oh where are the little goatherds?

NO goats but some cattle lolling in the green grass and enjoying the alpine sun,

AT LAST a quaint chalet!  Shhh...listen to the echo of the Swiss yodeler.  Ahhhh... just as I imagined. 

For those who always thought the Swiss did not have a sense of humor; this sign at the local train station.

Or perhaps this suggested attire for the stylish man in town.  I thought Italian fashion for men was...well, not to my style;  the Swiss have them beat.  This window was on the main shopping street in Zurich.

In Italy the motorbike reigns but here it is the bicycle.  autos were few and never did see a fueling station. 

McD is everywhere

this is the main street of Zurich.  High style shops line each side along with numerous banks.  It appears that you can either save your money or spend it here. 

In the Surich museum there was a special display of the history of Switzerland that included some of the clothing that was used during the reformation period.  and so ladies how does this appeal ?

Sword and head gear from same era.  The sword is over 4' long.  that would have taken a strong arm to swing with enough force to  cut.

depiction of the armor clad soldiers who were fighting for the homeland.  These suits looked very difficult to get into and just as difficult to move about.  

a side street with smaller boutique shops.  The flags were of the family crests that flourished in the middle ages. 

While the Swiss also suffer from graffiti there were examples of some quality wall art.  

The Limmat  river runs through the middle of Zurich and while it does not appear to be the same commercial transit way it used to be some remnants are still visible. 

The Zurich Boat Club has their headquarters on the Lemmat.  These boats are for the members use. 

The water taxi that runs the river is built so the boats can pass under the very low bridges.  Passengers actually sit below the waterline. 

the museum had on display the logos of some of the companies that were or had been based in the country. 

Alpine skiing and tobogganing are key Swiss sports and here they show off their winning sled from recent years.  

And here they show the winning sled from years ago.  I have trouble seeing a same person getting on this and sliding down a steep ice covered mountain just for fun.  

Drive or walk this is a steep climb from the river

Captured these kids playing chess in one of the parks. the adult in the back did not seem incharge and so I presume these boys were just playing chess for the game itself.  I have not seen any such item in any American park. 

a better picture of the old crane along the river 

Swiss watches bring to mind accuracy and quality.  this is just one of the four similar town clocks we saw during our excursion around town.  All were perfectly synchronized with each other...as expected. 

flower merchant in one of the small squares around town. 

these projections from second floor were prominent in areas of older construction. 

Remember these?  for the younger set, this is phone booth. they used to be plentiful and were used to make calls when traveling or away from home.  local calls would cost ten cents and you could talk as long as you wanted.  The Swiss still have them. 

Picturesque boat mooring site. 

OK what's wrong with this picture?

for local travel between outlying areas and  other Swiss towns this is the train.  double deck, comfortable seats and on time performance. 

Inside local train we rode 

Happy pretzel lady at the oderlink train station.  Large soft pretzel 3.50 chf (about $4us)
Zurich is an expensive city to visit and live in.  Recent news about them voting down a 25 chf minimum wage may have overlooked  that 90% of population already makes more than that and that there is an initiative to be voted on for a  government subsidy for every Swiss citizen, working or not,  of about 33,000chf per year. 

The COOP is the largest dept store.  similar to Costco or Sam's but with much more stuff in smaller packages.  We noticed a lot of prepared meals for one or two.  This may have been tailored tot he city crowd where most adults would not have children.