Sunday, September 20, 2009

Zurich


Me and the Swiss flag on the lake tour. 

Zurich is a city built around a glacial lake- and it feels like exactly that. It is so crisp, and clear, and clean... your entire being can really just breathe there. I definitely want to go back... hopefully up to the snowy alps next time.

Lucerne, famous for this bridge. The tower used to be a jail, but is now a gift shop.
 We saw some guys on pool floats under the bridge at one point.

Strangely, it wasn't the historical landmarks and old cathedrals that I found most striking in Zurich- it was the nature-y, outdoorsy atmosphere. In the summer, all the parks are green, and everyone is out tanning, boating, swimming, camping, or relaxing in the parks. The lakes here are so clean, you can literally drink from them- no joke! While we were on the boat tour, there were so many other little boats, paddle boats, and canoes out there with us. Many parts of the lake are reserved for public use, and you can see families swimming and picnicking along the shores-- its so picturesque and unreal at times. Kind of like a story book city that you see illustrated in those scenic puzzles. 

The parks there are so green!

Interesting observation -- excuse me if I'm politically incorrect, but I'm just saying it as I see it-- Zurich is full of pale people. Not just white, but pale skin,blonde hair white. It was so strange- At least in France it was a bit more diverse, and same with Amsterdam, Bonn, Cologne, and Brussels. For such a big metropolitan city, I found it strange to see so much heterogeneity.

A few of the many swans in the water

Fun fact- they advertise the Alps, or the mountainsides along it, as Heidiland. There are brochures of a little girl dressed as "Heidi," a little boy dressed in Lederhosen as "Peter," and a little goat, all standing on a Swiss hillside beside a log cabin with wildflowers all around it.

Pictures like these are on every brochure...

I don't know who's idea it was to market it, but good for them, because seriously... IT SELLS. 
If my sister and I were ten years younger we'd have given my parents hell for it. 

But anyway, I am going back to Switzerland to see Heidiland. Just wait and see.

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