Zurich

Due to our love of sleeping in on Saturdays, we arrived in Zurich after dark, even later than imagined due also in part to traffic and rainy weather. Common features around Switzerland are tunnels. I think these are used to free up congestion above ground and make the cities more visually appealing. We reached our hotel around dinner time, and set out into the city to find a place to eat. It was very cold, rainy, and windy and we were having terrible luck finding a place to eat. The bars only served bar food, and many places had already closed for the evening.

Kirche St. Peter

Among the sites we took in before retreating to the sanctuary of our hotel were the Grossmunster and Kirche St. Peter churches. St. Peter church dates from the 1200s and has 2 owners; the parish of St. Peter and the city of Zurich. The city owners the church tower, and historically used it to watch for fires. The tower also boasts the largest church clock face in Europe, with a diameter of 8.7 meters. The clock is a testament to Swiss watch making, and has been telling time since 1366. All other clocks in Zurich conform to the time on this clock.

Grossmunster has twin towers that preside over the river below. The church is dedicated to the two patron saints of Zurich, Felix and Regula, whose saint day is September 11; an interesting coincidence I think. The siblings were part of a Roman legion that converted to Christianity, even though doing so condemned them to death. Felix and Regula fled to Zurich trying to escape their persecutors. They were caught and beheaded. They then stood up, picked up their heads, and walked 40 paces before laying down in death. Grossmunster has relics of these saints, and is on the banks of the river over the saints’ graves. 

Grossmunster

While we were able to see the beautiful architecture of Zurich at night, we were not able to locate a place to get dinner; Prada, Hermes, and watch dealers do not serve food. We finally retreated to the hotel to dry off, warm up, and get some dinner in their restaurant.

Christmas Decorations in Zurich

We originally avoided the place because of its prices, but quickly realized they were average. This brings me to the main take away here; Switzerland is expensive! Our dinner was near 100 Swiss Francs, which converts to over 100 US dollars. Luckily, the hotel, parking, internet, and breakfast were free, so it balanced out. If traveling in Switzerland, I recommend staying only a couple days and searching for a hotel that has lots of comps like parking and internet, otherwise the price of your vacation will skyrocket very quickly.