Gardens & Chocolate

The following is from a daily journal during a June 2015 trip to Switzerland with my wife, Cindy:

We spent this morning at the Zurich Botanical Gardens, enjoying our last full day (until next week) in Zurich.  Many types of plants & trees...and school groups.

 

 

It is a lovely morning here, and we are grateful for the wonderful weather.

This afternoon Cindy & I took the Sweet Zurich chocolate tour.  It was conducted by Christina, a London ex-pat living in Zurich, and her daughter Rebecca, who is a student in Dublin (how's that for a summer job).  

 

We were joined by a mother from California & her two kids, and a young couple from Pittsburgh.  We started at the Spungli store, famous for their chocolates, but more so for their Luxemburgli macaroons.  We each got to pick one, and that was not an easy choice (I picked salted caramel, Cindy had chocolate).

 

We next window stopped at a store with chocolates decorated like flowers (except for the Dom Perignon champagne truffles).

 

Our next tasting stop was a family run shop, Honold's.  Their specialty is truffles and hot chocolate.  Unlike the macaroons, we got to pick three.  Quite yummy and aromatic!  While there, Rebecca shared with us the history of chocolate and its introduction to European society.

 

Next, we entered "Chocolate Heaven", Aeschbach, another family chocolatier.  The specialties sampled here were truffles with cherry liquor flavored centers.  They also did amazing things with chocolate animals, containers made of chocolate, and chocolate postcards.

 

 

 

Next door was a candy shop, mainly gummi bear type candy, but far juicier.  The lemon and lime slices were like real fruit.  They make interesting presentations with their fruit candy, such as cheeseburgers with fries, pizza, and sushi (chopsticks included).

 

 

We switched to cupcakes at our next stop at a little local store. Good, with an interesting icing ingredient.  But we want more chocolate.

 

But first, another window shopping stop (featuring marzipan Snow White & Seven Dwarfs), then on to our last stop, which happened to be a place we have stopped at twice before.

 

Conditorei Schober has been around for a couple of centuries, and is famous for its hot chocolate (and their mocha is pretty good, too).  This warm liquid delight was our final tasting.

 

It was a wonderful & tasty afternoon, and we're grateful to God for the cocoa bean.

Strolling through Zurich

The following is from a daily journal during a June 2015 trip to Switzerland with my wife, Cindy:

Our third day in Zurich, just strolling, shopping, a little eating. We started our walk down Neiderdofrstrasse, an old cobblestone pedestrian street through Zurich.  Too early for the lunch crowd, many of the cafes were already open for coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.  We stopped at a well known cafe, Conditorei Schober, for mocha (for me) and hot chocolate (for Cindy).  Tucked in a quiet courtyard, we watched the fellow shoppers and strollers along the street.  

 

We visited some of the old churches in the area (we will likely see these again next week with our group, so only stayed briefly).  Grossmunster, the heart of the Swiss Reformation movement in the 1500s, was built in the 11th-12th centuries.  Its twin towers are a Zurich landmark.  

 

 

Fraumunster is across the river and is home to beautiful Chagall stained glass windows.  Nearby they were doing archaeological digging, and it was fascinating to see the excavations uncovering 1000 year old graves and foundations. 

 

 

St. Peter's is the older of the Zurich churches and its huge clock faced tower dominates the old town.  

 

 

Heading back toward the hotel, we stopped at Lindenhof, a Roman era platform, now a park, overlooking Zurich & the Limmat.  A 2nd century roman tombstone of a young boy is at the edge of the park.  Lindenhof is a social gathering spot for outdoor chess, checkers, and boules.  We enjoyed watching both for a while.  

 

Before we finished our walk, we visited the Zurich Toy Museum which features primarily German & Swiss toys from the past 200 years.

 

It was a beautiful day for us, and a good day to enjoy Zurich.

Beating the Swiss Jet-lag

The following is from a daily journal during a June 2015 trip to Switzerland with my wife, Cindy:

We arrived in Zurich late morning. After a refreshing stop at the arrivals lounge at the airport for a shower and light lunch, we headed into Zurich by high-speed train. Our hotel is not far from the train station on the Limmat River, swiftly flowing from Lake Zurich and beautifully lined with with large trees. From our room we can see the city and the still snow-capped mountains in the distance. 

 

To help cope with the jet-lag, we went over to the Zurich Zoo. The idea was to be out in the fresh air and sunshine as much as possible for a while. However, as implausible as it seems, everywhere we walked felt like we were going up hill. Seriously, at some point you would think you have to start down. 

 Anyway, we loved watching the animals, but even more so watching the children watching the animals. The zoo is a blend of old style animal enclosure, but appear to be rapidly expanding and upgrading their habitats. One of the newest sections is the elephant enclosure, designed with outdoor and indoor areas. One large Indian elephant, maybe quite proud of his massive tusks, seemed to relish jabbing a younger one in the backside. There would be a howl of protest, then they would return to roaming about and eating, with one perhaps keeping a closer eye on what was going on behind him. 

 

It was a good day, enjoying God's creation - the beautiful layout of the zoo and the creatures within, and watching the parents and children as they also enjoyed the day.