Zurich & Lucerne, Switzerland

Johnnie has been making pretty frequent work trips to Switzerland in recent months, and I am usually left behind to dream about what it would be like to hike the Swiss Alps, inhale the sweet scent of fresh Swiss chocolates, and dig in to some delicious wiener schnitzel (yes, most of the dreams involved food).  :)

But not this time, my friends!  Last weekend, my dreams finally became reality when I got the chance to tag along on Johnnie's trip to Zurich!!

We got in on Wednesday morning, took the train to the Zurich HB (main train station), and then we were only steps from our first hotel...Hotel St. Gotthard.  Here is a picture of the "Gotty", taken from across the street.

Our hotel was located right on Zurich's Bahnhofstrasse.  According to Frommer's, this boulevard is "where luxury lovers shop for Tiffany diamonds, Swiss-made Beyer watches, and the latest Louis Vuitton."  

Thankfully, for Johnnie, I did not buy one single thing while I was there.  Not even a piece of chocolate...although I did walk in to every chocolate shop I passed and took advantage of the intoxicating free smells.  One dream realized!  :) 

Instead, I did A LOT of walking and sightseeing on my own while Johnnie was working on Wednesday and Thursday.

I went to the Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum), which was really cool.  Couldn't take any pictures inside, but here's a pic of the outside of the museum...

I also went to the very popular Kunsthaus Fine Arts Museum.  No picture (not even of the front) though, because I waited a little too long to eat lunch and was getting pretty hungcranky (I just made up that word).  Hungcranky = Katherine not in the picture-taking mood.  :)

Here's a picture of Fraumunster church, which sits right on the Limmat River (the river running through Zurich).  I tried to go in, but it was closed.  :(

This next picture was taken when I was standing right in front of Fraumunster, looking across the Limmat River.  The Romanesque/Gothic looking building with two towers is Grossmunster Church.  I visited this church, which had some amazing and very unique stained-glass windows made by the Swiss artist Augusto Giacometti.  You all know who he is, right??  ;)

On Friday morning, Johnnie and I checked out of Hotel St. Gotthard and "moved in" to the Zurich Marriott.  We were a little further from the center of town, but the hotel was even nicer than the first and the view could not have been better...

Johnnie finished all of the work he needed to take care of on Thursday, so I had a play mate on Friday and Saturday!!  Walking through the park right by the Marriott...

A river view.  The tower is St. Peter's Church, which is the oldest church in Zurich.  It also has the largest clock face in Europe...very handy as I did not bring a cell phone or a watch with me.  :)

Another Limmat river view...

Walking through the smaller streets of Zurich...I just loved the way this restaurant looked with the green shutters and red flowers...

Johnnie in front of the VERY first Starbucks he ever went to, back in 2001 when he was studying/working/traveling in Europe.

Friday afternoon, we hopped on a train to Uetliberg peak, where we were told to go to see expansive city views and scenic hiking trails.

The hiking...

And the view...

To get an even better view, we climbed this...

The climbing...

And the senior pictures we took at the top...

:)

On Saturday, we took a day trip to Lucerne.  Such a great idea!  Here is a Switzerland scenery picture I snapped on the train...

Lucerne...

Chapel Bridge and the Water Tower on the Reuss River, which runs through Lucerne.  Both were built in the first half of the 14th century as a part of the city's fortifications.  According to the "official" Lucerne City Guide 2011, the tower is "Lucerne's trademark and the most photographed monument in Switzerland."

Crossing the bridge...

Inside the bridge are paintings added in the 17th century which illustrate scenes of Swiss and local history...

Cool painted Lucerne facades...

A restaurant in Lucerne.  We didn't eat here, but I thought the photo op was Swiss-tastic!!

"The dying Lion of Lucerne" is (according to the city guide) one of the world's most famous monuments.  It was carved out of the natural rock in memory of the heroic death of the Swiss mercenaries at the Tuileries in 1792.  Hopefully all of you historians know what I'm talking about, because I don't.  :)

But I DO know Mark Twain...and he described the Lion of Lucerne as "the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world."

The couple who took this picture of us was from Ohio!!  

One of the best decisions of the trip...going up to the top of Mount Pilatus.  We took a regular train from Lucerne to Alpnachstad.  From there, we took a 40 minute cogwheel train ride up the side of the mountain.

On the train...the world's steepest cogwheel railway (48% gradient)!

Going up...

Getting higher...

Almost there...

View from the top!!

Man playing the alphorn in front of the Hotel Pilatus-Kulm.  Next time I want to stay here!!

From Mt. Pilatus at 7000 ft above sea level, you have a panoramic view of 73 Alpine summits...

This picture makes me giggle every time I see it...

Hiking (kind of) the Swiss Alps...another dream has come to fruition!!

Here's a picture of one of the Pilatus cogwheel trains heading back down the mountain... 

What an amazing trip it was for the both of us!!  Although Johnnie has been to Switzerland several times this year already, he doesn't usually have time away from work to explore and enjoy the areas (nor does he have the arm candy to accompany him on his adventures).  ;)  

For anyone who may be wondering, I did get a chance to dig in to some wiener schnitzel while we were over there.  Which means, all of my Swiss dreams came true!  The only bad thing about all of this (for the pocketbook, at least) is that the next time Johnnie has to go back to Zurich for work, I'm not going to let him go without me!!