Summer comes to Switzerland

Now that the chilly, rainy spring has given way to warm, sunny days, the people of Zürich have stripped down to shorts, tank tops, and sandals. Gone are the puffy jackets, wooly sweaters and scarves, and everyone is enjoying the fine weather. The days are quite long, with sunrise at about 5:30 am and sunset past 9:30 pm.  The children are out playing after dinner, and are on their scooters and skateboards until dusk.

I have returned to Zürich, staying with my daughter and son-in-law at their bright, roomy apartment in Witikon.  Mornings are filled with the bustling of the working people coming from and going to the tram stop, accompanied by the whistling of a huge green bird who lives across the road. The bird’s favorite tune to whistle is the opening march “Colonel Bogey” from the movie “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and now that tune runs through my head mercilessly. We enjoy many evenings sitting on the southwest facing balcony with a glass of wine, watching the sunset and contemplating the end of the day. 

Still so much to discover and explore.  Switzerland is a small country, yet there is so much to see and so much history to learn.  What to me is exotic and unusual, such as this basket of edelweiss in a florist’s shop, is commonplace to the locals.

I went along on a Saturday morning shopping excursion (a weekly routine) which included a trip to a wine merchant, Bindella (Bindella Weinbau, 115 Honggerstrasse, 8037 Zürich, www.bindellaweine.ch), an elegant shop, with helpful staff, and was able to sample multiple wines.  Of course, we bought several bottles there, and more at two other wine shops!

One morning I took the tram from Witikon into central Zürich train station (Hauptbahnhof) to buy some train tickets to Lake Como in Italy, and took a little extra time just to wander around and get some photos.  Here is the view from the Lindenhof Bridge across the Limmat River with the towers of the Grossmünster across the river.

I climbed up to the Grossmünster, for a nice look over the river to the Fraumünster, still a bit of a cloudy day. The Grossmünster is an historical church; founded in the late 8^th century by the Emperor Charlemagne on the hill where the graves of two saints of the city, Felix and Regula was discovered. High above on the walls near the south tower is a statue of a seated Charlemagne, a copy -- the original is in the church crypt.

Walking along the Limmat Quai, I saw the river boats tied to the little marina, and was glad the sun was finally coming out. The Fraumünster, founded in AD 853 by Charlemagne’s grandson Louis the German, was easy to spot with its slender green steeple.  To the right of the Fraumünster steeple is the tower of St Peter’s Church, with the largest clock face in Europe.

So lucky for me to have family here to stay with, and I am looking forward to the Köferli Family reunion, the main event during my visit to Switzerland.  More to come!