Category Archives: Switzerland

short breaks

Ten things I learned in Die Schweiz!

Back when I used to take a lot of trips– that is, before this COVID-19 bullshit began– I often summed up my blog series with a “ten things I learned” post. Basically, they served as summaries of my trips and reminders of new things I learned. I haven’t written one of those “ten things I learned” posts in awhile. There are a few reasons for that.

I used to have a larger readership than I have now. When I moved the blog to WordPress, I lost a lot of readers. A lot of former readers simply never found out where the new blog was, and some lost interest for any number of reasons ranging from leaving Europe to finding me an insufferable bitch. Then, COVID struck, I quit going places. I haven’t completely quit, mind you, but I haven’t been enjoying the travel perks of living in Europe like I used to. And the places we’ve been going are places we’ve been before– at least the same countries, anyway.

But I think I would like to revive my habit of writing “ten things I learned posts”, to keep this blog updated, and also to give people who don’t want to wade through the whole series a condensed version. So here goes… ten things I learned on our latest trip to Switzerland. Hope someone enjoys it.

10. Carl G. Jung was an amazing person… but he had lots of help.

Bill and I visited Jung’s home and museum during our trip to Zürich. We learned a little bit about the accomplished man he was. Last night, Bill was telling his Jungian therapist about how amazing he thought Jung’s accomplishments were. He read so many books, spoke so many languages, dabbled in art, practiced as an analyst, wrote books, smoked, and developed theories. He did this while raising a family and carrying on with his mistress. Bill’s therapist pointed out, “Yeah, he did all those things, and those things require energy. But he had lots of women around to help him.” It’s true. He had a wife, a mistress, and colleagues who worked with him. That freed up some of his time.

9. Jung’s family still live in the house he built on the shore of Lake Zürich.

When Bill and I were outside in the backyard, I looked up at the house and noticed people on the third floor. Later, when I read the official Web site for the museum, I read that some of Jung’s descendants still live in the house. No wonder it has such limited operating hours.

8. Swiss mac n’ cheese is pretty good. Ditto to Swiss wines!

Up here in Germany, particularly down in Swabia, a lot of people like to eat Spätzle, which is a type of pasta often served with cheese. I never really got into Spätzle myself, so I was a little skeptical when I spotted Älplermagronen on the menu at a restaurant. But as I didn’t really want a Schnitzel or a pork knuckle, I decided to order it. It was absolutely delicious, and even included potatoes! That did my Celtic heart proud!

I also really enjoyed the wines. I don’t know why they surprised me, given that Germany and Italy produce wines. Why wouldn’t Switzerland?

7. Zürich is a very lovely city… not boring at all.

One of the reasons it took so long to visit Zürich is that we lived close for several years. And I had heard from a lot of people that it was kind of a boring city that was mostly dedicated to banks. I should have known better, since I heard the same thing about Luxembourg (both the country and Luxembourg City), which I found to be untrue. The person who mainly passed on these opinions to me is an Italian friend I don’t get to talk to so much anymore… I guess compared to Italy, Zürich may seem kind of bland and dull. But I didn’t find it that way at all… of course, my Italian friend would also frown on the fact that I ate Swiss style mac n’ cheese. 😉

6. I finally know the names of the little towns near all those beautiful lakes we always pass on the way to Italy!

I think the reason I didn’t know them before is because I was always so busy looking at the scenery that I forgot to look at the signs. Now that I know some names, maybe we’ll plan a trip to stay somewhere really gorgeous next time! I am dying to rent a lakeside apartment or hotel room with a lake view where I can drink wine and enjoy peace and quiet.

5. The Swiss dialect renders my German skills useless.

I’m not saying I have great German skills to begin with… Luckily, many people speak English… and several other languages. Switzerland has four official ones. I also didn’t know William Tell was a legendary Swiss folk hero.

I’ll never think of the William Tell Overture in the same way… Here’s Bill’s distant relative playing it on the guitar. 😉 My own guitar skills aren’t this advanced yet. Incidentally, this was piece was composed by Gioachino Rossini, who was Italian.

And that was so good I have to add this video from 1974, which features Glen Campbell playing an acoustic guitar. I’ll keep practicing.

4. Watch where you park in Switzerland…

It’s best to choose a city garage rather than one affiliated with a fancy department store. Yes, we should have realized… now we know for certain! 49 CHF for a day’s parking! Whew!

3. The Swiss apparently don’t “do” naked spas…

In Germany, it’s not uncommon to find textile free spas, or at least textile free areas of spas. That means everything is “textile free”– not just the saunas. Evidently, Switzerland doesn’t do that, which is okay with me. But it’s good to know what to do, just in case. You don’t want to bare it and share it unless invited to do so… ETA in 2024… apparently, I was wrong about textile free spas in Switzerland. We’ll have to find one and give it a try.

2. Switzerland has a soul after all…

I’m finding that the more I visit Switzerland, the more I like it. I had the same reactions to New York City and Paris. Switzerland has always seemed kind of sterile to me… but now that I’ve been to a few places, I’m finding myself liking it more and more.

And finally, 1. but it’ll drain your wallet!

I actually knew this before our most recent visit. We have yet to enjoy a budget holiday in Switzerland, although I’ll bet we could arrange something cheap if we put our minds to it. Frankly, though, I tend to want to go to Switzerland for rest and relaxation… pampering, if you will. So I’m prepared to drop some money on those trips. I’m never sorry I did so… although that’s probably because I’m not the one briefing generals and spending weeks working in Bavaria to pay for these trips.

So that about does it for my “ten things I learned” post. I hope I can write another one soon. I think our next trip will be to Stuttgart, and I’ve already written a shitload about that city.

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Our time in Die Schweiz was definitely not Scheißig… part eight

Sunday afternoon, after our visit to the Lindt Home of Chocolate and rainy drive next to the shore of Lake Zürich, we found ourselves in need of lunch. I had spotted a cute pizzeria on our drive, but parking was a challenge and it was really pouring rain. I was enjoying the misty views of the lake, but the heavy deluge was making us nervous. So instead of continuing around the lake, we decided to head back toward Zürich.

By the time we got back to the city, the rain had stopped and the sun was coming out. As we walked out of the parking garage, I spotted what looked like a promising lunch spot. They were advertising “craft” burgers and beer. I’m generally kind of wary of burgers in Europe, but this place did look like it might be okay– especially given how many people were there. Unfortunately, they were “complete”, so we kept looking. We finally ended up at Restaurant-Boucherie August, a place that was attached to a hotel.

We stopped at Boucherie August because it looked open, and because the lady cleaning off the tables outside was friendly. It smelled good, too. When we walked in, it was about 2:00, and the place was packed. An hour later, when we’d finished, we were the last ones in the dining room. The dining room was all checkerboarded and the tables were close together, but had plexiglass partitions on either side to discourage the spread of germs. The hard chairs were a bit uncomfortable– they were the kind with arm rests that don’t actually allow for resting one’s arms, yet limit the width of the chair. Service was a little slow, but it was friendly enough. We enjoyed our food, too, although I think their Web site is a bit over the top in what people should expect.

Getting to and from the restroom was a little confusing, since we had to go into the hotel area to find it. And then, once we were finished eating, it took awhile before we could find anyone to bring the bill. But we were just looking for something to eat. What we had was enough that we didn’t need anything else for the rest of the day… except, of course, wine. 😉

  • The sun had just come out…
  • Obligatory shot of Bill after I cracked a filthy joke.
  • Bill had a burger. It was unusual, because it was made with pulled beef, instead of ground beef. I noticed it was loaded with condiments, which made it a bit messy. The fries were good.
  • I had spare ribs, which were pretty decent. Not the best I’ve ever had, but certainly edible. They came with roasted peppers.
  • The outside of the restaurant.
  • I love the painted buildings.
  • The clouds were coming back as we headed back to the car.
  • Oh dear!
  • Spotted in an ornate underpass on the way to our vehicle.
  • A few Swiss ads…
  • Are there really sharks in Switzerland?

As it was our last day in Switzerland, we were ready to wind things down. We rationalized that if we got hungry later, we could just order something from the hotel. Their menu is a bit limited, but offers small plates. I couldn’t see myself wanting more food on Sunday night. We hung out in the pleasant foyer for awhile, enjoying more Swiss wine. I must admit, I had very limited exposure to Swiss wines prior to this trip, but we found several that we enjoyed while we were staying at B2 Boutique Hotel. I definitely saw some ideas for future trips, too, if we’re lucky enough to keep living here. Bill tells me we’ll probably be here at least another year, but we’ll see what happens. As I’ve recently and poignantly learned, there are never any guarantees about the future.

Bill’s work with his Jungian therapist has him thinking about other things he might like to do with his life besides planning military exercises. One thing he has been considering is taking classes at the C.G. Jung Institute in Küsnacht. I think that would be very exciting for him. He’s an unusually empathic person, with a warm, kind, heart and a keen intellect. Jung fascinates him, and that interest was a major reason why we decided to go to Switzerland in the first place. If Bill decides to take any courses, we might be spending more time in Switzerland.

As for me, I was just really happy to get out and travel again. I have really missed going to new places and having things to write about. Last night, I shared a few posts from this series in the Facebook food and wine group I run, since there were a few people in the group who had expressed interest in the hotel. Someone gave me a “laughing” emoji and commented that my “blog is bigger than Switzerland.”

I’m not sure what that woman meant by her comment; but here’s what I assume— which I realize could be a mistake. She might wonder what compels me to write these long posts about my travels, since a lot of people don’t like writing. She might wonder why I would share them, since she probably doesn’t care about what other people do when they travel. Maybe she’s turned off by the name of my blog, which I’ve discovered many people in the military community are.

Here’s a hint, though– I don’t really care if you think my blog title is offensive or bragging. If you take the time to get to know me, you’ll find out why I call my blog(s) The Overeducated Housewife (– I am a housewife with three university degrees, which means I am literally overeducated for my lot in life. If I had known this was what I’d be doing with my life, I would have skipped grad school.) I also don’t really care if you think my decision to share the posts is annoying. I share the posts for the interested. Those who aren’t interested can simply keep scrolling.

What is the biggest reason why I blog?

I mostly blog for ME…

When we lived in Germany the first time, I wasn’t a blogger. I wrote product reviews and articles for content mills. I’m sorry I didn’t blog in those days, if only because I could have kept better access to some of the photos I took back then and some of the stories I took from those experiences. I switched from a PC to iMac in 2011, which made a lot of my photos and videos from that time incompatible with my machine. If I had blogged in those days, I would have curated some of those memories. Sadly, most of the stuff I wrote during our first Germany tour is lost, thanks to Epinions and Associated Content (Yahoo Voices) tanking. I do have some stuff I saved on Facebook, but it’s a fraction of what it could be.

But I also blog for YOU…

I’ve been in Germany this time for seven years, and I’ve gained a lot of experience. I write these posts for people who might find them interesting or useful. I write them for people who are looking for trip ideas or reviews. I have benefited from people who have taken the time to write about their experiences. Their posts have contributed to my memories. So I’m simply trying to repay the favor.

In any case, I realize there will probably be a day when I can’t have these experiences as easily as I can now. So I want to preserve the memories, mainly for myself, but also for those who might find them entertaining. They’re free of charge to read, and maybe some people think that being “free of charge” is about what they’re worth. But to me, these blog posts represent priceless and precious memories. And again, I actually enjoy writing. My mom expresses her creativity through cross stitch and knitting. I hate doing those things. For me, writing and making music are creative pursuits that are truly enjoyable. So that’s why I write these “bigger than Switzerland” blogs. But I realize not everyone likes or appreciates them. I can’t please everybody, and would go crazy trying.

And now, to end this series…

We spent our last night watching Olympic coverage while drinking wine. In the morning, we got up, had our last breakfast, and were delighted to see that someone in the hotel had already brought up our Volvo from the parking garage down the hill. We packed up our stuff and I waited by the car while Bill went to settle our hotel charges. I was afraid we were really going to have an enormous bill– I was thinking maybe 3 or 4 thousand Swiss Francs. But it turned out our bill was only about 2,700, which is still a lot, but it included four nights in a junior suite, one dinner for two, many bottles of Swiss wine, valet parking, and spa for two. Breakfast, Internet access, and minibar were all included with the room. So, overall, I left the B2 Boutique Hotel pretty contented, even about what we spent for our trip.

Our drive home was completely unremarkable. We didn’t even encounter any Staus… nor did we eat anything interesting. We stopped at the “Erotic McDonalds” off the Autobahn near Heidelberg… same place we stopped on the way from Stuttgart to Wiesbaden when we moved up here in late November 2018.

  • BW sure is pretty! I miss it!
  • Porn at your rest stop…
  • No, the McDonald’s isn’t actually erotic… but you can see erotic stuff if you want to, after you’ve had your Big Mac.

Now… one last detail. I mentioned in my second post that our old dog, Arran, was going to be having a dental. Before we set off on our trip, Bill took him in to the vet to be evaluated and get some antibiotics for tomorrow’s procedure. Well… after we got home, Bill went to get some stuff from the grocery store. I was doing laundry. As I carried clean clothes up from the basement, my eyes landed on what looked like a piece of off white plastic on the floor.

I picked up the strange looking item, which I really thought was something that had broken off something inanimate. A few seconds later, much to my horror, I realized that I was actually holding one of Arran’s “fangs”. It must have snapped off on Thursday, before we took him to the Tierpension Birkenhof. I immediately felt dread. Arran is Bill’s baby, but he’s getting old, and we worry about his health. Last time we took a trip (to Heidelberg in June), Arran injured himself under a bush and had to visit the emergency vet. Seven hours and 800 euros later, he came home with stitches. And now he had a broken tooth.

I immediately started wondering if he’d spent the weekend in agony. I remembered an earlier dog, Flea, had broken a fang when we were here the first time. A couple of weeks later, Flea was diagnosed with prostate cancer, so the tooth never got fixed. We were a lot less acquainted with German vets at that time, plus we moved back to the States. This time, we were somewhat prepared, at least. Arran already had a dental appointment set for tomorrow, and Bill took him in yesterday, just to make sure he’s not in pain. And hopefully, he doesn’t have prostate cancer, too… (which he shouldn’t– I certainly haven’t seen any signs of it). Arran actually seems more chipper than ever, which makes me wonder if that tooth was hurting before it broke. He had tons of energy on his walk yesterday and has no trouble eating. I expect that after he recovers from his dental, he’ll be even spunkier. Maybe he’ll even be nicer to Noyzi. We’ll see.

Well, if you’ve been following along on this blog series, thanks for reading and your patience. I’m through sharing, now. Until next time…

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chocolate

Our time in Die Schweiz was definitely not Scheißig… part seven

Sunday’s plan included a trip to a brand new, beautiful chocolate museum. I’m referring to the Lindt Home of Chocolate, a gorgeous facility that opened to the public in September 2020. This is the place where chocolate lovers go to pay homage to the sweet delight of a well-known brand. Bill tells me it was my idea to visit. I’m not sure how I heard of it– someone probably alerted me to its presence. We would have discovered it regardless.

Let me just state upfront that I LOVE chocolate, and I like Lindt chocolate very much. It’s not my favorite chocolate, but I certainly won’t turn it down. And if you take the chocolate tour, you can satisfy your sweet tooth. This is a very tasting heavy place that is kid friendly. There are many excellent interactive exhibits, as well as headsets for those who want to learn everything. I did take a headset, but never used it. I prefer to read… and all of the exhibits at the museum have explanations in English and German.

Unlike at the Haus C.G. Jung museum, it’s perfectly fine to take photos at the Lindt museum, although you’re supposed to stow your bags in lockers. I took a lot of pictures, and we left there with a huge bag of chocolate that we’ll be enjoying for awhile. I did notice a sign that forbade strollers, so keep that in mind if you have a small child you’re considering bringing along for a tour.

It sure looks like chocolate heaven to me. This is a huge chocolate fountain.
There’s a chocolate cafe. We didn’t visit, because we were chocolated out at the end.
Cacao beans.
I wasn’t quite tall enough to see through the magnifying glass. This was an exhibit about “no see um” midges that threaten cacao plants.
Try your hand at raking.
Roots!
This was the only exhibit I saw closed. I was curious about what it was.
This was pretty cool. The items on the plate lit up at intervals, as did the mug of hot chocolate.
The smoke stack lit up on this display.
They covered all kinds of aspects of chocolate making, including advertising and milk production…
They had some antiques, there too…
Including classic wrappers!
And chocolate molds.
This is probably the most fun part…
You get to taste chocolate!
They also had milk and dark chocolate.
And models of the factory production.
At the end, there’s a game for your kids to play!
Part of the game.
One kid is having some fun with the game.
Flavor profiles…
Put your hand under the bottom and the machine spits out a piece for you to try and guess what you’re tasting.
The “cosmos” chocolate exhibit.
Then, at the end, more tasting!
There were several different kinds to try!
And, if you like, you can get a souvenir photo made. We didn’t bother.
Hang on to your ticket. At the end, you can scan it and get ANOTHER piece of chocolate. See the video below.
Then comes the gift shop. There are free samples there, too.
Vegans aren’t ignored.
You could go crazy in here.
If you like chocolate, this place is worth a stop! Family tickets are available. At this writing, an individual adult ticket is 10 Swiss Francs.
Cool way to end the tour!

The museum also has special tours and classes available. You can also buy vouchers as gifts for others. Bill said the experience reminded him a little of Swarovski’s Crystal Tour in Wattens, Austria, which I’ve done twice. I agree with him. The Lindt Home of Chocolate is a really cool museum, even with the face masks… and a great representation of the Lindt brand. There’s a huge parking garage at the museum, so you don’t need to worry about parking if you choose to drive.

After we finished at the chocolate museum, we decided to take a drive along the lake, where we promptly ran into a rain storm. I was looking for cute places to have lunch, but it was Sunday, and if you live in certain European countries, you know that means a lot of places are closed. We weren’t that hungry anyway, after all the chocolate we ate in the museum. We were a little afraid of being caught in flooding, as the recent German floods were fresh in our minds. When the rain really started coming down hard, we turned around and drove back into the city, parked in a much less expensive garage, and went looking for lunch.

More on that in the next (and probably last) installment.

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Our time in Die Schweiz was definitely not Scheißig… part six

The boat arrived at Küsnacht-Heslibach at precisely 1:35pm. Bill and I got off and started the short walk to the Haus C.G. Jung. As we were disembarking, I noticed a little beach right next to the pier. It looked inviting and, indeed, people were swimming and sunning. I noticed a few ladies had brought their playful dogs, which made me miss ours. We could have gotten off at the previous stop, but it would have been a longer walk to the house. The Küsnacht-Heslibach stop is just around the corner from the Jung house.

Before I knew it, we were at the end of the driveway, walking down to the house itself, a stately and unique mansion with well-manicured gardens and a lawn. I noticed there was a swing set there, no doubt for Jung’s descendants, who still call the place home. How nice of them to allow Jung enthusiasts to visit! The house was built in 1908, much of it paid for by the inherited wealth Jung’s wife, Emma Jung-Rauschenbach, brought into the family. They had five children. It seemed like they had it made, especially since Jung was a well-regarded psychiatrist who had studied with Freud, was an artist, and knew several languages.

Well… nobody’s perfect, and that also applies to people like Carl G. Jung. He had an open affair with his assistant and former patient, Toni Wolff. Emma tolerated the affair, and the three seemed to work harmoniously so that Jung could create his science of analytical psychology. I don’t pretend to know a whole lot about Jung– he’s really more Bill’s interest than mine. But as someone who has seen a psychologist and studied social work, I did find the museum very interesting for a lot of reasons. Artists will also enjoy it, since many of Jung’s works are displayed on the first floor, which is the self-guided part of the tour.

Carl Jung was a very unusual person with great vision. His house has a tower that he wanted built. He’d actually hoped the tower would be a library, but that didn’t work out. The tower has stairs instead of books. On the brief guided tour, we did visit Jung’s library and inner sanctum. When we walked inside, I noticed it reeked of tobacco. Our guide said that Jung was a heavy smoker. I thought I smelled whisky, too. It wouldn’t surprise me, although the guide didn’t mention a love of alcohol. I asked her how many languages Jung spoke, since I noticed books in several languages, including English. She said he spoke German, French, English, and had studied Greek and Latin. I was amused to see a book about yoga in the library… our guide said he’d read pretty much every book in the carefully arranged library.

Our group probably consisted of about ten people, all of whom were younger than Bill and I are, and none of whom appeared to be American. One couple was very young– the female half was pretty and had a very beautiful figure, which she showed off with an obscenely short skirt. Or maybe they were actually shorts. I don’t know what they were, although she did distract me when she bent over to look at something and gave me a full on view of her privates. I was really glad she’d worn underwear. The funny thing is, when I saw them approaching, I had a feeling I was going to end up seeing something I shouldn’t. I have some empathy, though. When I was younger, I made some unwise clothing choices, too. And I’ve never had a figure as pretty as hers.

We were supposed to leave our bags and cameras in lockers provided by the museum. A couple of people brought their phones with them, and one lady took forbidden photos inside the museum. A chaperone was quick to admonish her. I thought the way he did it was kind. He said she could keep the image she’d taken, but not to take others. Then, much to my amazement, she asked if she could climb the ladder to the top shelf of books! That request was denied! It is allowed to take photos outside, on the grounds.

The grounds at the museum are very beautiful and peaceful. It was a pleasure to walk around them and take in views of the lake. There’s also a public restroom outside of the house, which came in handy. Below are some photos from our visit. Tickets for adults are 22 Swiss Francs; kids from 0-11 years old can visit free of charge. I think they’re worth the price if you’re into Jung. The tour guide wasn’t the most energetic or entertaining, but she did seem very respectful and knowledgeable about Jung’s life and work. No one tried to stump her, though.

  • You can see the tower on the approach.
  • Jung had to make some concessions…
  • A swing set. I don’t know if that’s for visitors or family. I noticed a vegetable garden, too.
  • The front door.
  • View of the lake.
  • Backyard…
  • Lovely tree… it’s probably seen a lot.
  • They have a boat, too.
  • The sunroom looks like it was added on.
  • This is a lovely shot from Jung’s house.
  • I guess the upstairs is the family’s sunroom. I saw people up there.
  • Sunken garden.
  • A bee was busily doing work in Jung’s garden.
  • A storm was brewing…
  • Monolith in Jung’s garden.

We walked back to the dock, where we had about half an hour to kill before the boat came back for us. I watched the lake and got lots of video. I was trying to capture lightning on video, but it didn’t work out for me. I did get lots of thunder and plenty of people enjoying the lake, even as the storm approached. I kept hearing the voice in my head from all the lifeguards who demanded that everyone get out of the pool! I was surprised no one was doing that in safety-conscious Switzerland. Below, you can see how I amused myself with my big, fancy, digital camera… I need to play with it some more and learn to take better pictures.

A little of what I was seeing on Saturday.

It started raining as we waited for the boat. At first, it was pleasant and refreshing… but then it started to get heavier. By the time we got on the boat, it was coming down. I was suddenly glad Bill had given me an umbrella, even though I had complained about having something else to carry in my purse. We ended up sitting outside, barely managing to score chairs under an overhang. After a couple of stops, we were able to move into the restaurant, where I had another beer. 😉

  • While we were outside…
  • Inside, as evidenced by the glare…
  • Lindt Home of Chocolate… where we went on Sunday.

After we got off the boat, we decided to go eat. I was kind of hoping for something interesting, but we ended up at what appeared to be a Swiss beer hall based on the legend of William Tell. Yes, it was very tourist friendly, but I did get to have some surprisingly tasty Swiss style “mac n’ cheese”. Bill had a veal schnitzel… and yes, we drank more beer. The restaurant was called Das Zeughauskeller, and if you walk down the main drag past the Hermes store, it’s doubtful you’ll miss it. Our table was reserved from 6:00pm, which gave us plenty of time to enjoy a sumptuous Swiss meal.

  • My husband, the goof!
  • This is a popular place. Every table was reserved for dinner.
  • Yummy Swiss mac n’ cheese– vegetarian! It comes with potatoes and caramelized onions. I enjoyed it! I could have gone totally native and paired this with apple sauce.
  • Bill’s veal schnitzel and “rosti” (hash brown) potatoes.
  • Lots of beer.
  • And for dessert, chocolate mousse for me, and vanilla ice cream with whipped cream and hot Hershey’s sauce for Bill.
  • Nice place… kid friendly, too.
  • Another nice scene from downtown.

We made our way back to the hotel– first paying the huge parking fee– where we relaxed and watched Father of the Bride on TV. The TVs at the hotel got all sorts of channels– there was something for everyone! Bill and I enjoyed watching BBC. I also enjoyed the bathtub again. All in all, it was a good day.

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Our time in Die Schweiz was definitely not Scheißig… part five

We had big plans for Saturday. As I mentioned before, Bill has an interest in the work of Carl G. Jung. His home and museum is located in Küsnacht, which is on Lake Zürich. Jung died in 1961, but his home is still in the hands of his descendants, who live there. Because of that, Carl Jung’s museum is not open every day. In fact, it’s only open on Thursdays and two Saturdays per month during the summer season. We were very fortunate that we happened to be visiting at a time when Jung’s house would be open. Bill purchased our tickets online prior to our visit, thus guaranteeing us a spot on the tour. You can buy tickets on the day of your tour, but only if space allows. The first floor of the exhibit is self-guided, but the library and Jung’s office can only be visited as part of the tour, which is about fifteen minutes long and conducted in German or English or both.

Also on the agenda was a stop at the Fraumünster church in Zürich, home of stained glass windows created by Marc Chagall, a French-Russian artist of Belarusian origin. I’m not a particularly religious person, but I do like visiting European churches and admiring the architecture, windows, and pipe organs. Our friend Meg had suggested seeing Chagall’s windows, as well as a few other places that, sadly, will have to wait until the next visit!

After breakfast, we headed downtown, which was very close to the hotel, but was made more complicated by the construction zone I mentioned in part one of this series. Then, once we got to the city, we had to find parking. Unfortunately, Bill chose to park at a garage owned by an upscale department store, not realizing how very expensive it would be. A whole day’s parking at Jelmoli’s garage cost about 49 Francs! Bill was impressed when the machine spit out a paper to help him remember which level he parked on… well, there’s a price for that kind of service, isn’t there? 😉

Anyway, we were blissfully ignorant of that when we parked and set off toward the church. It was five Swiss Francs to enter the church, but it was fine to take pictures and visit the crypt museum. I liked Chagall’s windows fine, but I actually preferred the other windows, which were made by Augusto Giacometti. The crypt museum was just opened in 2016, having previously been sealed from the public. The pipe organ, which consists of 6959 pipes, is the largest in the entire canton of Zürich. The church itself dates from July 21, 853! Below are some photos from our visit to Fraumünster.

Chagall’s famous windows… We will have to see the ones he did for St. Stephan’s Church in Mainz.
The fantastic organ!
Outside…
Augusto Giacometti’s work…
In the crypt museum…
The ceiling in the choir.

After we left the Fraumünster, we went to the Grossmünster, which is very close by. On the way there, we ran into a wedding party… actually, there were a bunch of them on Saturday. I saw at least three brides in dresses having pictures taken and quaffing champagne. Augusto Giacometti also made windows for the Grossmünster. Below are some photos from that period between churches.

Cheers to the bride and groom!
I saw many, many Orthodox Jewish people over the weekend. Quite a lot of them appeared to be heading for the synagogue on Friday night. These two happened to pass as I was trying to take the next picture.
More beautiful windows by Giacometti.
And charming women, dressed inappropriately for church…
Normally, I’d be up for climbing the tower, but not in a face mask in July.
A charming restaurant. It wasn’t open for lunch.
The sign reads, “Sorry, there’s nothing for you here, Human.” It’s a pet store.

Once we were finished looking at the windows, it was just after noon. I wanted to eat lunch (and pee), mainly because I have a tendency to get “hangry” when I get hungry, and our tickets were at 2pm, which I figured would put me over the line of hostility. I suggested lunch after our church visits, but Bill looked at his watch and said he was concerned about the time. I reminded him of what I’m like when I’m hungry. Again, he said he was worried about missing our appointment at 2:00.

At that point, he wasn’t sure if we were driving or taking a boat to the museum. I told him to make up his mind. He told me it was my choice. I got pissed off and said, “You’re always trying to lead until it’s time to make a decision. Either lead, or don’t lead. This museum visit is important to YOU, and you’ve done the research, not me.”

So then we headed toward the dock… and I said, “So, hot dogs for lunch, then?”

Bill tried to deny that was what was coming… but when we got to the dock, sure enough, that was what was available. So I made him pose for a photo. The short lake cruise takes about 90 minutes to go round trip, or you can do one way trips or get off at stops. And, for the curious, yes– there are concessions on the boat, and bathrooms. I think Bill paid about 6 Francs per adult for our tickets. It’s a pretty good deal, especially for Switzerland. Below are some photos from our pathetic hot dog lunch and our cruise to Küsnacht.

I almost forgot to mention, while we were waiting for the boat to arrive, we wound up standing near a group of obnoxious young Americans. One was a guy, who looked to be about twenty or so, and there were also three or four young women, who looked to be the same age.

The guy was very obnoxiously smoking a pipe, trying to look cool and failing miserably. I wanted to grab the pipe from him, because it was bad enough we were all standing in line, waiting to board the boat in masks. He had to pollute the air with a pipe, too… and he looked really stupid in the process. And making matters worse was that they were loud, talking about their adventures in Geneva and other areas of Europe. I did agree with one of the young ladies, who said the weather was agreeable. I’m sure that wherever they came from in America, the temperatures were a hell of a lot higher. The pipe smoking guy, though… he was making my temperature rise with temper. What a clueless jackass! I was glad they didn’t follow us to Jung’s house and we didn’t bump into them again.

A flea market
A most unappealing lunch.
Hot dogs for lunch, indeed…
But at least I got to drink more Swiss beer.
We got off at the next stop, which is much quieter and closer to Jung’s house.
Where we got off… there were lizards everywhere!
The boat and part of my finger.

In part six, I’ll write about our visit to the museum. Stay tuned!

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Our time in Die Schweiz was definitely not Scheißig… part four

We got back to the B2 Boutique Hotel in the mid afternoon. It was just the right time to try out the Thermalbad! As I mentioned, the hotel is literally attached to the Thermalbad, although it’s run by a different company. Hotel guests get a small price break on the cost of admission– 30 Swiss Francs for 24 hour access. That means two days worth, since the spa closes at 10:00pm. We went to the front desk, where we picked up the familiar plastic bracelets offered at all of the spas we’ve been to yet, and a couple of towels.

We changed in our hotel room, although the spa has changing rooms. We didn’t discover the changing rooms at the spa until we were almost done! There’s also a small snack bar, although we didn’t notice the service to be particularly good at the one on the fourth floor. You can get a variety of snacks and a wide variety of beverages there, including beer, wine, and cocktails. That is, you can get them if you can find someone willing to wait on you. 😉

The spa offers massages that can be booked in advance. There’s an Irish-Roman bath, as well as a wonderful rooftop pool that offers views of Zürich while you enjoy bubbles and massaging jets. There’s also a Thermal Spa Waterworld, that we almost missed! In short, there’s plenty to occupy a couple of hours of your time, and you’ll feel relaxed afterwards.

I was not allowed to take any pictures, although the spa is not textile free. I did sneak a picture of the door, though, because I thought it was funny. I liked the “no sex” graphic! Below is a video that shows the facilities.

It’s even in English!

And a longer video with more views of the facility.

Bill and I have been to quite a few spas in Europe. This one was interesting. It reminded me a little bit of the Starkenberger beer pool we enjoyed in Tarrenz, Austria, back in 2015, except it wasn’t nearly as private and there weren’t any funny pictures on the walls of naked people. Also, there wasn’t any beer involved… it was mainly the spirit of the place that made me think of the awesome beer pools in Austria that were made from repurposed beer vats. I was also reminded of the Roman-Irish baths Friedrichsbad in Baden-Baden and Wiesbaden’s own Roman-Irish baths at the Kaiser-Friedrich Therme. The main difference, of course, is that there’s no nudity. I’m sure that’s a plus for a lot of people. I think my favorite part of the spa experience were the awesome pools on the first floor that offered massage bubbles. There was no one else in there when we were using them.

After we were finished at the spa, we went back to the room, got cleaned up, and went looking for dinner. Bill thought we could walk to the lake in about ten minutes. Unfortunately, he wasn’t entirely sure of where were going, so we ended up taking a short stroll in a residential area of town. We finally made our way back and stumbled across a neighborhood gem of a restaurant called Bederhof. This place is very close to the hotel and offers good food, kind service, and a view of sheep grazing on a hillside. I made one guy crack up because he was describing one dish in German and I stopped him cold when I heard the word “champignons”. Mushrooms are disgusting to me. Incidentally, my German is terrible, but I can sort of speak restaurant… I had some trouble in Brunnen, though, because the Swiss dialect was tricky for me. Also, they use different words for some things. Like, I noticed that the word on doors for “push” was stossen (bump), rather than drücken (press).

Below are some photos from our impromptu dinner at a local Swiss joint, along with a few pictures of B2 Boutique Hotel’s exercise room.

More brewery machinery in the exercise room…
And a few machines for those who want to work out.
I saw this in the pavement… it was just one. I’m sure it has to do with the utilities.
You can get your CBD in Switzerland…
Seen in the Bederhof’s menu!
We enjoyed a couple of local brews…
Bill had the Robespierre with allumettes (shoestring potatoes)… This steak was very thin and served very rare. It cooked on the plate. There were two of them, delivered separately of each other.
I went with the Tuna Tataki, which was rare tuna coated in sesame seeds and served with cucumbers, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and avocado creme.
I think this was when I noticed the sheep on the hill…
And I zoomed in for a better look.
For dessert, I had creme brulee…
Bill had the flourless lava cake with sour cream ice cream. This was good, but I can’t abide lava cakes! Everybody does them!

Several different people took care of us, but one guy talked to us more than the others. There was a cute little boy there– maybe two or three years old– and the one guy who took care of us said that was his nephew, Jayden. I was surprised by the name Jayden. To me, that’s a very American name. I didn’t think our waiter was a native English speaker, although he spoke fairly competently, albeit with what sounded like a speech impediment of some kind. Jayden soon left with his mom, a beautiful young woman, who caught the plentiful public transport.

Eventually, he asked us where we’re from. We said we’re Americans living in Germany. It turned out the waiter was himself, half American, half German! He said he was born in Colorado, and his Air Force dad had worked as a contractor for DynCorp, which was a big contracting company back in the day. But clearly, our waiter, an American citizen, has spent most of his life in Germany– Kaiserslautern, to be exact. He joked that being half American, half German was having the “worst” heritage! But he was quite pleased to hear we weren’t Trump supporters, and he told us his sweetheart and the mother of his daughter is from Somalia. His daughter is Swiss, because she was born in Switzerland. Lucky her! The waiter also said he loves Switzerland. I can’t blame him for that.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel, where we were warmly greeted by the same guy who had kind of ignored us the night before. We enjoyed more Swiss wine, then went to bed with big plans for Saturday. More on that in part five!

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Our time in Die Schweiz was definitely not Scheißig… part three

Our first night at the B2 Boutique Hotel was a bit stuffy. I mentioned that the room was air conditioned and, in fact, it was also disinfected with fog before our arrival. When we first opened the door, there was a sticker on it, indicating that, yes, prior to our arrival, housekeeping had used a state of the art cleaning technique to make sure there weren’t any nasty corona bugs in the room. Supposedly, the fog renders the room “99.9% germ free”. I appreciated that, especially as I continue to read sad and scary tales about people getting sick with COVID-19. The skylight in the room had a blind that could be raised, but I found that raising the blind made the room too warm. In spite of the “air conditioning”, I had to open the skylight.

I had almost booked a different hotel on the lake. It was brand new and beautiful, not to mention slightly less expensive. But I ended up booking the B2 Hotel because I read complaints about the air conditioning at the other hotel– which had some kind of strange water powered system that was lacking. I didn’t want to be hot and uncomfortable, especially for what we were paying. I was a bit warm at the B2 Hotel, but at least the window opened and that allowed for the room to be less stuffy. I have noticed that a lot of places in Europe are investing in air conditioning, since global warming seems to be here to stay. But it seems like some places are trying to use technologies that aren’t as effective as they could be. Fortunately, we were blessed with mostly decent weather, plus temperatures that weren’t oppressively hot.

On Friday morning, we had sunny skies, and I told Bill that I wanted to go south and get some beautiful lake photos. When we lived in Stuttgart, we would often pass Lake Lucerne on our way to Italy. I always wanted to stop and take pictures of the lake off the Autobahn, because it’s extremely beautiful. There is a pull off just before the road passes the water, but Bill never stopped despite my pleading. So I had a stop there in mind for Friday.

Bill decided we’d go to Lucerne, instead. I didn’t mind that, since I had heard that Lucerne was a quaint and lovely town and I had never seen it. However, I really had a hankering to go somewhere more wild and rural. I hadn’t made that clear, so we headed down toward Lucerne. But first, we had breakfast, which was included in the rate.

At B2 Boutique Hotel, breakfast is included in the rate. A server brings a basket of bread, a hot drink (tea, coffee drinks, or hot chocolate), and eggs, which can come with bacon, ham, mushroom, or cheese, and can be prepared in a variety of ways. There’s also a small buffet with cereals, meats, cheese, yogurt, smoked salmon, and fresh fruit.
I had hot chocolate the first day and a variety of coffee drinks the subsequent days.
On the way to our room, we could walk through the old machine room. Several pieces of brewery equipment are there.
You can see the history behind the brewery in this room, as well as the small exercise room, where there are other pieces of equipment.
The hotel’s facilities are currently available only to registered guests. I’m not sure if that includes the Thermalbad, which is run by a different company, but is connected to the hotel.
A view from the parking area in front of the hotel. Cars can only be parked there temporarily, because it’s a fire zone. Staffers will move your car for you to a nearby parking garage. The cost is 35 francs per day, and you get in and out privileges.
The front of the hotel.

Sufficiently satiated, we asked the receptionist to get the Volvo for us. She walked down the hill and fetched the car. It took a few minutes. Then we headed off to Lucerne, which is a quaint and lovely town. We didn’t stay long, though… only long enough for me to get some pictures and a couple of short videos. Lucerne is such a pretty town, but there were many people there and the lake was not as gorgeous as it is by the Autobahn. Lucerne reminds me a lot of Annecy, France, where we visited in 2018. I think I like Annecy a little bit more, if only because it’s cheaper there.

Here are some photos from Lucerne.

Charming lake side.
This is actually a hotel— it overlooks the city. Before it was a hotel, it was simply Château Gütsch
Playing with my fancy digital camera.
By the Bahnhof!
You can take a cruise…
Or sit in traffic and look at random vehicles.
Passing through town to the parking garage.
No swimming here, but you can swim in other parts of the lake.
Maybe if I hadn’t been so eager to see the lake by the Autobahn, we would have taken a cruise. Next time, we’ll do it for sure.
Blue Balls Festival in 2022! This is an annual music festival in Lucerne.
Off on a cruise! Some random guy was sharing his music with us while drinking a beer.
A closer look.

Like I said… Lucerne is a very charming town, and I probably should have explored it more, but I had my heart set on getting some really beautiful photos. So Bill and I left after about a half hour or so and headed back toward Autobahn 4. We headed south, approaching the town of Schwyz, which is where Victorinox knives and other products are made. It wasn’t long before the gloriously beautiful lake was finally visible. We pulled off the road and I got these photos… I also used the handy and very clean public restroom at the pull off. Kudos to the Swiss for that!

A little shrine on the side of the road out of Lucerne. My German friend tells me it was built for Astrid of Sweden, Queen of the Belgians, who died in a car accident there in 1935.
The pull off has stunning views! There’s also a public restroom!
Fancy camera comes in handy again.
I wish these photos did it justice. I’m surprised there aren’t more accidents, as pretty as this is.
It really is a stunning lake…
Passing through a mountain.
I couldn’t resist taking pictures, despite being on the wrong side of the car coming back.

We wanted a closer look at the lake, so we ended up getting off at Brunnen, Switzerland, an adorable little town right on Lake Lucerne. If we have a chance to vacation in Switzerland again, I will look into getting a room or apartment down there in Brunnen. It’s absolutely stunning, and has a different vibe than the city is. Below are some photos I took from our stop in Brunnen, which lasted a couple of hours and included lunch at a restaurant called Haddock Brunnen.

I had a smoked salmon sandwich at Haddock Brunnen. It was messy, but delicious, with dill horseradish sauce, lettuce, and cucumbers on a ciabatta.
Bill had fried trout with couscous and ratatouille.
Lunch came with either soup or dessert. We had dessert, which was a light lemon mousse.
COVID-19 precautions.
I could stare at these views all day…
Another boat trip.
There’s plenty to see…
There’s mini golf, too…
We also passed nearby Lake Zug on the way back to the hotel. It’s not quite as majestic, but still worth a few photos.

We actually did some driving around before we decided on Brunnen. The area around the lake has several tourist spots available, but if you just drive through there, you might be kind of disappointed at the lack of cute towns. We went through one area that was right by the lake, but there was a train next to the water. I felt sorry for the people living in the apartments right by the lake. Half the time, they’re looking at train cars!

I think this might be why I tend to be a bit “meh” about Switzerland. There’s so much beautiful scenery, there, but there’s also a lot of industry and utilitarian architecture. Parts of it seem a bit soulless to me… but then I turn around and see insanely beautiful places like Brunnen. Despite being a small country, Switzerland also has four official languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh, which is spoken in the Grisons canton. Supposedly, I have some ancestry from that area.

It was lucky we did this visit on Friday, since that day offered the best weather of any during our short trip. We have passed Lake Lucerne in less agreeable weather and, while interesting photos are possible, good pictures are more likely when the sun is out. It was somewhat hazy when we visited, but we still managed to get a few great shots. My mission was accomplished. I made a special point of memorizing the names of some of the towns around that area, since I neglected to do that on prior trips.

I probably ought to look into booking places out in the country… up in the mountains. Or maybe down near the lakes in smaller towns, like Sisikon. That’s probably where I’ll find soul… or, maybe I’ll find it in a restaurant in a big city. More on that in part four.

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Our time in Die Schweiz was definitely not Scheißig… part two

First thing’s first. I have to write a disclaimer about the title of this series. I kind of made up the word scheißig– which kind of translates to “shitty”. I use the word “shitty” a lot in my daily language. Instead of looking up the actual German word for “shitty”, I decided to add “ig” to the German word for shit and hope it worked. My German friend tells me the German word for “shitty” is actually “beschissen”. However, apparently the word “scheißig” is used in slang situations, especially in Hesse. As luck would have it, I live in Hesse… and this slang bastardization of the word “shitty” works a lot better with “die Schweiz”.

With that explained, on with the tale of our trip. We planned to leave Wiesbaden on July 22nd. I had noticed our older dog, Arran, was having some dental issues. He yawned and I saw a black spot. His last dental cleaning was a year ago, but he’s getting to be an old codger. I asked Bill to take him to the vet to have him checked and schedule a dental cleaning. Bill took him in and got some antibiotics, which Arran will start tonight, and an appointment for this Thursday, the 29th, for a dental.

Then, on Thursday the 22nd, we packed everything up and headed south, stopping by the Birkenhof Tierpension on the way, to drop off Arran and Noyzi. All seemed fine as we handed them over. Noyzi and Arran were wagging their tails and very excited to go into their “hotel room”, then out to play. (I promise, this part of the story is relevant…)

We headed down A5, which is also the route we now take when we want to go to France. At lunchtime, we stopped in Baden-Baden for lunch. Regular readers might remember that Bill and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary in Baden-Baden back in 2018. We enjoyed a spectacular four nights in an upgraded junior suite at Brenner’s Park Hotel and experienced the famous nude Irish-Roman baths at Friedrichsbad. It was a little weird to be stopping there just for lunch on the way to Switzerland. Baden-Baden is a very beautiful town. I would have been happy to have just stayed there. But we were just there for a quick break. We found an excellent Asian restaurant called Vinami Asia Grill and Bar…

Bill is happy we aren’t at McDonald’s.
Nice view while we waited…
Bill had Pho, which he had mentioned wanting just days before we visited. It was just an off chance they had it. It was delicious!
I had sushi– fresh salmon with avocado and roe. It was very tasty and beautifully presented!
Horse and carriage going by… Very fitting for Baden-Baden. And no, as a horse person for many years, seeing this doesn’t upset me. These horses are well cared for.
This brave guy was doing a repair in the very busy street. Busses kept passing him. I was grateful his trousers fit properly so I didn’t get mooned.

Baden-Baden is such a lovely city. We probably should go back for a short break sometime soon. But, like Switzerland, it’s the kind of place where you need to bring lots of money! It’s not cheap!

I really just wanted to take a photo of the sign at the restaurant, but almost forgot.
If you have a heart attack, you’re in luck in Baden-Baden…
When we lived in Jettingen, the people who make these honey products came to sell their wares in nearby Nagold.
They have good products.

After lunch, we got back on the road, noticing that there were many “Staus” (traffic jams). Fortunately, they were on the northbound side of the road, so we weren’t troubled as we made our way south. Bill stopped near the border to pick up a 2021 Swiss vignette (toll sticker). I’ve explained this a number of times on this blog. To use Swiss Autobahns, you have to have a special sticker, which costs 40 Swiss Francs. The sticker is good until January 31, 2022. The Swiss issue new ones every year, and you can get them at ADAC stores (or online), at rest stops near the border, or at the border itself. Most other countries that use the vignette system offer them for shorter stints and cheaper prices. Not the Swiss, though… so it pays to make use of the sticker if you live close.

The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. We arrived in Zürich just in time for traffic/rush hour. Unbeknownst to us, our hotel was also near what would become a construction zone over the weekend. On the way to the B2 Boutique Hotel, we were able to drive straight through, although that took some time, thanks to all the traffic. But by Friday, the area we had come through to reach the hotel was completely blocked off. This caused some stress for Bill, even with the GPS going. I’ve never been a fan of using GPS… the voice always interrupts conversations and music. But Bill likes to use it.

Anyway, we drove up a hillside to get to the B2 Boutique Hotel. As usual, what I had pictured in my head was not what the reality was. Not that I was disappointed at all, mind you… It’s a beautiful hotel, and they’ve done a great job of turning what was a brewery into a nice place to stay– especially if you’re into spas, as I am. A year ago, Switzerland was very laid back about COVID-19 rules. I noticed that no one wore masks indoors in 2020. This year, there were signs everywhere demanding mask use.

I don’t like the masks, but I always cooperate… and yes, I have been vaccinated. Count me among those, however, who hope the mask mandates go away at some point. I really do hate the fucking things. In any case, everyone wore them at the hotel, and most everywhere else we went that was indoors. They had lots of hand sanitizer, too.

I booked us in a junior suite. I usually use travel sites like Expedia or Booking when I make reservations. This time, I booked directly with the hotel, because for some reason, the travel sites wouldn’t let me reserve for two people. They would only let me reserve for one. But, I did get a reward for booking directly… they gave us a free drink. Below are some photos of our room, which was rather unusual but comfortable. For about 500 francs a night, it should have been!

Just over the border!
Passing a Schloss!
Our first view of the famous “wine library” at the B2 Boutique Hotel.
Sitting area of the room. The minibar is complimentary.
TV in the sitting room.
Seating.
A little “kitchen” area, which consists of a mini fridge stocked with water, beer, orange juice, Coca-Cola and Coke Zero. There’s also a small bottle of red wine. It’s included in the price.
The balcony– which doesn’t offer much of a view, but does offer a place to smoke.
Beer motif everywhere.
The bathroom. It had a really nice rainfall shower.
Steps to the “loft”, where the bed is.
Note the huge bathtub in the room. It was awesome! I used it twice, which was a treat!
We also had a skylight, which we had to keep open at night. The room was air conditioned, but it was still pretty stuffy.
Sink on the counter and another TV.
Thoughtful gifts for the desk.
They used old brewery equipment for practical purposes.
Our first view of the whole “wine library” in the lobby area. This is where the restaurant is. I don’t know where they got all those books, but they were pretty nice.

After we settled our bags and got cleaned up, we headed down to the wine library for food and beverages. We decided to try the locally produced Hürlimann lagers, as the hotel was once the Hürlimann brewery. The guy who waited on us for our first two nights was friendly enough, but not the most attentive. Still, the food was pretty good, and although our round of “free drinks” were puny, they were still free. And there was Swiss wine and lots of ethereal jazzy music, mostly performed by people like Diana Krall and Karen Souza… The wine list at this hotel features mostly wines made in Switzerland. We had the chance to try several of them during our stay.

Tiny beers! They were like juice glasses.
The first of many Swiss wines we drank…
The wine list features almost entirely Swiss wines. The lone exception was an Italian red.
I had a Caesar salad with chicken.
Bill had vegetarian ravioli. Both were fine, though not too exciting…
But the wine library got more interesting as the sun went down.

Bill tells me dinner is ready, so I’ll continue with part three tomorrow!

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Our time in Die Schweiz was definitely not Scheißig… part one

A couple of weeks ago, Bill tried to get us dentist appointments in Stuttgart. Why Stuttgart, and not Wiesbaden? Because we both love our Stuttgart dentist’s work and, even after almost three years in Wiesbaden, we haven’t found a new dentist yet. Although Stuttgart is a couple of hours away by train, when we moved here at the end of 2018, we had visions of coming back down there at regular intervals. And then COVID-19 struck. We haven’t seen Dr. Blair since May 2019, and we won’t see him until the end of August, because he’s booked for the rest of this month and, like so many locals, is taking vacation through most of August.

But Bill still had the days off, so he asked me to plan a short trip. I queried my Facebook friends for ideas. My caveats were that the suggested places had to be somewhat nearby, because I don’t want to fly anywhere unless I absolutely must. I also didn’t want to go anywhere where COVID-19 was on the rise. I’m stressed out enough as it is, even though I’m fully vaccinated with the Moderna shots as of last month.

Bill has been seeing an online Jungian therapist for the past few months. He’s doing so because I’ve been telling him for years that therapy is a great thing, but also because he is fascinated by Carl G. Jung. Bill’s therapist is American and based in Berlin. The guy has a background in art therapy, which also really interests Bill and fits right in with Jung, since Jung was an artist, as well as a great thinker and psychologist. Our friend Meg, who made it possible for us to adopt our Kosovar rescue dog, Noyzi, also has an interest in Jung and has been studying him. It was she who suggested that we visit Küsnacht, which is where Carl Jung’s house and museum is located.

It occurred to me that Bill and I had never actually visited Zürich before this past weekend. We’d only been to its, admittedly superb, airport. When we lived near Stuttgart, we lived pretty close to the city and could have gone there with ease. For that reason, it always lost out to other, more “exciting” cities. Also, I’d heard that Zürich wasn’t that interesting compared to some other places we’ve been. Of course, now that we’re living in Wiesbaden, Zürich is a little more exotic. I decided to see what kind of hotels were available in Zürich and found one that is in a building that used to be a brewery. When I read that it was also connected to a Thermalbad, I was sold! I booked four nights at the B2 Boutique Hotel, located in the Enge area of the city.

An artsy photo of Lake Zürich. I took this with my digital camera, rather than my usual iPhone or iPad.

Then it turned out that Bill had actually only wanted me to book three nights. We were starting our trip on Thursday, because he’d been trying to get dental appointments for us. When he failed to get them for the time he’d arranged to be off work, he decided to just take Thursday and Friday off instead of his usual Friday and Monday. I misunderstood him, though, and booked four nights instead of three. Bill was a little pissy about it at first, but then I reminded him of all the things we could see and the fact that we haven’t traveled in so long because of COVID-19. He relented, and got today off from work. That turned out to be a good decision, which I’m sure will become clear as I write about this trip.

In the end, I wasn’t surprised that I chose Switzerland for this trip. I’ve had Switzerland on the brain for some time now. For years, I’ve felt kind of “meh” about the beautiful neutral country, mainly because it’s so expensive and always seemed a bit sterile to me. But last year, we took our vacation to Austria, Italy, and Switzerland. We had a great time in Austria, and a decent time in Italy (marred by too many rambunctious kids at our hotel), but Switzerland turned out to be a healing balm to us after four hectic nights at the nice, but noisy and busy Italian property. I was able to rest in Switzerland… enjoy peace and quiet and good food, as well as an excellent spa at the Oberwaid in St. Gallen. I have noticed that Switzerland does spa retreats well.

I was definitely eager to go back to Switzerland, even if it meant we’d be spending more money than usual for our long weekend break. What the hell, anyway? Prior to this past weekend, we hadn’t done any decent traveling in a long time. We might as well spend some money and have some laughs and big fun. As it turned out, we even spent less than I feared we would.

So I’m going to write up my usual blow by blow account of our trip to Die Schweiz, as the Germans like to call it. I expect this series will run at least six or seven parts, depending on how I split up the story. We had a really nice time, and got some much needed rest and relaxation. Now it’s time to get back to work… and reality. Luckily for me, part of my “life’s work” is writing this blog. 😉

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On a mission in Wiesbaden…

Bill invited me to lunch today in Wiesbaden. Our original plan was to stop by the ADAC store and get a vignette for Switzerland. Then we’d go have lunch somewhere. As we were headed into town, Bill said if the ADAC store had a line, he’d just get the toll sticker at the border. But when we got there, the ADAC store was closed. So, I guess we’ll just get the sticker at the border. Our mission a failure, we decided to walk around a bit more… It’s always a pleasure to walk around in Wiesbaden. It’s such a quaint, lovely city.

  • Interesting anti-mask sticker that seems to reference The Matrix— red pill or blue.
  • The church was looking lovely today… and someone was playing “Musetta’s Waltz”, a Puccini aria I know well and used to sing.
  • The neighborhood near the ADAC office. Wiesbaden is a beautiful city with lots of money.
“Musetta’s Waltz”… sounds like it was being played by someone…

The market was still going on, so I got a few photos, and we stopped by a music shop so Bill could ask about getting our guitars set up properly. We’ve only been playing them for a year, right? Well, we have five of them, and none have been set up. So we’re going to try to do that at some point soon. It’s on the list. We need to take Arran in for a checkup, too, and a doggy dental. There’s always something that needs to be done.

More photos from our lunchtime stroll…

  • The market was in full swing.
  • Pretty flowers…
  • The city was alive.
  • Lots of lovely produce. Wish we’d brought a shopping bag.
  • Buying music?
  • Or flowers…
  • I didn’t go in, because I figured I’d get GAS. 😉
  • This is a pretty damned cool ukulele, though…
  • The train was running, too. It was packed. Everyone wore a mask.

Today we stopped by La Cantinetta for lunch. We haven’t been there in awhile, but it is a favorite Italian place for me. I like the food, even if it’s kind of in Wiesbaden’s “restaurant row”. We encountered our usual buskers– same guys we ran into two weeks ago at Scotch N’ Soda, which is right next to La Cantinetta. Maybe we should have found a new place today, but it was kind of crowded and I didn’t feel like hunting. Besides, I do like this restaurant. The waiters are charming and professional, and the food is always beautifully presented.

I had Tagliata Manzio– sliced roast beef with roasted rosemary potatoes, rucola, and Parmesan cheese. Bill had a Parma pizza, half of which he brought home. It had buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, Parma ham, and rucola. I was kind of tempted by the pizza, too, but I can never finish pizzas here. We enjoyed a couple of glasses of Barolo, a nice red wine from Italy, and listened to more live music from the buskers.

The people sitting at the next table had to deal with cars going in and out of the parking garage situated near us. I chose the table where we sat because I didn’t want to sit in the sun. I went light on the sunscreen today. But the downside was being close to the garage, where well-heeled people driving Audis, BMWs, and even a Jaguar were going in and out. I think I would hate to live in that building, always dodging diners when I want to drive out of the garage. I have to admit the location is nice, otherwise. It’s a lovely neighborhood on Restaurant Row. Based on the cars, it’s probably a pretty fancy place to call home. The guy in the Jaguar actually brushed up against a bench at Scotch N’ Soda, though. We also saw a fairly new looking Porsche. Germans sure do love their expensive rides!

  • I got a kick out of the description for Saltimbocca– sage in whine wine sauce!
  • Love these buskers… The sax player is very charismatic.
  • They’re all pros, but I especially like watching the bass player. He relies entirely by muscle memory. I wish I could do that with my guitar.
  • Nice looking pizza.
  • You won’t find it at Domino’s or Pizza Hut.
  • Tagliata Manzo. I won’t need anything else tonight!
  • Interesting that there’s a picture of a church on this cigarette machine. I guess that’s where you end up if you smoke… but then, don’t we all?

As you can see, the recent floods that have affected Germany and Belgium aren’t a problem in Wiesbaden. We are a couple of hours’ drive away from that area. I know the local emergency crews are helping in the Eifel Region, where the flooding was especially bad. A year ago, we visited the Eifel for a long weekend. It doesn’t look like Meerfeld got flooding, but several places nearby did. The news is just terrible– many people have died, been injured, or lost everything. Some animals have also died, including a couple of horses that got caught in the flooding. It’s strange, because although we did get rain last week, it wasn’t especially unusual or heavy where we live.

We have had beautiful weather today and yesterday. In fact, it was actually a bit chilly last night. This year’s July has been pretty mild. Hope it holds next month… or even just next week, when we finally visit Zurich and Kusnacht for the first time. I look forward to writing about travel again!

Gosh, he’s cute. I think I’ll keep him.

Total damage for today’s lunch was about 75 euros. We should have had a bottle of wine, since we ended up having four glasses between us. I think it would have saved us some money and time, since the wait staff was a bit weeded today. But we had a great time, nonetheless. Wiesbaden is so beautiful, and it’s so nice to be able to go downtown again.

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