The greeting here doesn't quite get across the fact that we only speak and understand English, but we're doing just fine. Yesterday I got up and made us some breakfast of croissants (they were dark brown but not burnt, maybe wheat of some kind?), bananas, some cheese and our Ikea made press-pot of coffee. CF, the trouper he is, ran our laundry down while I got a shower. Just under 10eur, not bad. The weather was misty, a bit cold but not Zurich freezing, and it sprinkled a little bit a few times during the day. I have to say, the city looks lovely in the mist, I think it's actually the perfect way to see Amsterdam. We wandered through the bloemenmarkt, wondered if we could manage to get some cool bulbs home to mom. Then we decided to trek all the way down to the district called de Pijp, to see the Albert Cuypmarkt. On the way there we stopped for a freshly made doughtnut from a large street stand... and I almost cried it was so good. CF let me eat most of it. I took some photos, at one point I was taking a picture of a quaint little boat with a cool reflection and CF mentioned the bird I was shooting. I had no idea what he was talking about and then oh my goodness, there's a heron on the boat! We knew we needed to round up more groceries so we stopped to look in the window of a cheese shop, as we approached the window we saw a black cat keeping watch over the shop from high atop the counter. He quickly ran down to the door and pawed at the glass between us and I watched his little mouth move. He was really talking to us! Not sure if he was saying, "Let me out!" or "Hey, don't come in here!" or maybe a little bit of both.
The market was a little bit of a disappointment, I think it's because of the season. There's supposed to be more of an emphasis on food but mostly it was cheap clothing and second-hand goods. It was a rather big set up, took a while to walk down the whole way. The neighborhood wasn't as polished as where we are staying. Affordable little cafes were found on all the streets breaking off from the main drag. At the end of the market we found a booth selling frites, and CF decided they would make a good lunch. And he decided to go ahead and try them with mayo. They were pretty darn good! But he was so happy he almost cried and I decided to return the favor and let him eat most of them. Street food has been very good to us since we left Zurich, it must know how much we missed it!
We trekked back up to our apartment, stopping for a coffee to warm us up along the way. Then we went to De Bierkoning, which hadn't been open yet when we left earlier (it's very close to our place). 950 beers are found there, including the rare trappist monk made ale from Belgium that CF didn't think we'd find a way to get our hands on. He was a happy boy! The girl working there sure knew her stuff! Quite an impressive store. We climbed back up to our little hideaway and took a short break, CF got the laundry while I checked out how my photographs were turning out. Misty weather looks charming here but it makes for sort of dreary photos. Then we went back out for a couple more hours, collecting amazing chocolate bonbons from Puccini Bomboni (also very close to our house, we "live" in the perfect location), the croissants we ate just now (Tuesday morning), some cheese from a huge shop that more than just reminded us of Murray's in the Village, and some pork chops from a near by butcher. This is the life!
We had a snack and a round of beer sampling. CF worked on writing his Belgian beer manifesto and I did some Lonely Planet reading. A few hours later we decided to make dinner, CF made the pork chops with sage (herbs from the grocery store, I forgot about that stop) and apples... and more green vegetables. Plus, of course, another round of beer sampling. Followed by the bonbons... which are so amazing, they blew Swiss chocolate out of the water!
I had one of the best nights of sleep yet, we're officially on schedule here. It's raining this morning but the forecast says it's going to get a bit better. I think we might try to get the tram to the van Gogh museum and then we have more charming neighborhoods to explore.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Charming!
The word we keep saying today is "charming." It's had such an impact on us that CF hopes to turn over a new leaf and make the C stand for charming instead of classy, we'll see. Amsterdam is amazing and we've hardly seen any of it. I'm sorry but Venice has nothing on this city. I think my Charming Fellow found us the Amsterdam equivalent to Greenwich Village Home (my favorite place to stay in NYC). Our apartment is up many flights of steep stairs, but we can use the exercise, I'm sure. We have the top floor (penthouse! woot!) all to ourselves. We're pretty sure that everything in here is from Ikea, but nicely done, not in a college student way. We finally have one big bed instead of two small ones, we have a couch, a table, plenty of space to move around... we even have a little kitchen and we've been to the grocery store and CF is cooking us dinner as I write this (green beans!). We walked along a canal to get to the store, passing at least 3 little cafes I would be more than happy to try, a dinner cruise went past us on our way back... it's just so charming here I can hardly stand it! But that won't stop me from trying. I have no idea what we'll be up to tomorrow. But right now I'm going to do a little laundry before opening the prosecco we bought to have with dinner.
Guten Tag, take two...
Okay, so NOW we're speaking German.
Friday I walked out into a beautiful day in Zurich, I decided to get my sunglasses, just in case. I stopped for a pastry from a stand on the street in front of Globus (which always appeared to be a home decor store/wine bar, but now I know it's a department store with their home decor and restaurant on the first floor. 2chf pastries have proved to be some of the best food purchases I could make in Zurich. "You like this one! You'll buy another tomorrow!" The funny man behind the counter told me. And I walked over the quay quite happy with myself, pastry in hand and sun on my face. The ticket booth for boat rides wasn't open yet, so I wandered through the farmer's market across the street for a bit. The boats aren't running in their usual frequency this time of year. There was only one long round trip scheduled for the day. My options were a lunch time hour long cruise in the third of the lake closest to Zurich, take the 2 hour ride to Rapperswil at the top of the lake and basically coming right back (they stopped there only for 5 or 10 minutes) for another 2 hour boat ride, or I could take the 2 hour boat ride there and find a train back. I opted for this choice so I could explore Rapperswil a little. I had a little time before departure so I went back to the hotel (grabbing some take-away lunch at Tidbits again) to charge my phone a bit and let CF know what I was planning.
When I went out again the sun wasn't shining so much, oh well. My boat left right on time, everything is on time here, and off we went. It was warm inside the boat, I had a cup of tea, it was very pleasant. But you know me, I had to get outside and take some pictures. I made a couple laps around the boat snapping away. And then had to come back inside, my fingers were freezing! When I knew we'd be getting to our destination soon I went back outside. I could see Rapperswil coming closer, oh, look at the castle up on the hill! As we pulled up I realized the hill wasn't all that tall and you're practically at the castle when you arrive. But what a beautiful little town! I climbed up to the top of the castle and looked down on to the grapevines and rose gardens. Rapperswil is known at the Swiss City of Roses. The boat's horn sounded and a good chunk of my fellow passengers started their journey home, but I was not quite alone, the Brit family I had been riding near was still with me, as well as a handful of other more quiet travelers. I could see the train station right when I arrived so I knew I'd make it home okay.
Rapperswil was very lovely. It almost seemed like a little Tuscan villa with it's stone walls and the rows of vines. The sun was shining here, I could finally feel the warmth on my face. I actually put on the sunglasses, and then I laughed at my reflection... sunglasses, trench coat, camera... I looked like some sort of private investigator! I saw a couple different wedding parties near the church, not sure if they were churning out weddings or if one was just there taking photos. Everyone looked so happy! At one point when I was in the rose gardens, closer down to the water, I heard this clumsy slapping sound. I got the witness the hilarious event of the overfed swans trying to take flight. They started flapping their wings and basically running on the water until they could get going fast enough. The sound of their webbed feet flopping against the water surface makes me laugh so hard to just remembering it. They took turns, one at a time, knowing what a big effort this was. One of them actually went through most of the steps but then either didn't make it or decided that he was actually quite happy in the water, he never took to the air. He snapped his beak at a duck near where he landed, I think he was saying, "I meant to do that."
Eventually I decided to get on a train back home and found myself riding with the twenty somethings, maybe heading into Zurich for a Friday night on the town. The train ride was only a quarter of the length of the boat ride, and had some nice sights to offer as well. Sort of reminded me of driving up to Tahoe. I got home with just enough time to dress up a bit for the nice dinner CF and I had planned. I actually braved the cold in a skirt! I got on a tram that I thought was heading towards the main station, but alas I found myself going the wrong direction so I got off at the next stop and walked back to Bellevue and tried again. Later I was complaining about hating the trams in Zurich and CF pointed out that loving the NY subways but withholding that affection from the clean, scheduled and on-time, and mostly just perfect trams here was silly. But really I do love all cities with such good coverage of public transportation (oh, this reminds me of a funny exchange between CF and a coworker, I'll have to tell that store sometime). Eventually we met up at the main station and got our train up the mountain to Uetliberg. We arrived 20 minutes later and just about everyone who had was still on board scurried up a dirt path and staircase, a sign posted said "This way to the Top of Zurich." Everyone excitedly hurrying up into the dark reminded me of a fairy tale in a way, it sort of seemed like the twelve dancing princesses (Fairytale Theater anyone?).
There were several paths through the trees, this must be a great place for hiking and getting some crisp fresh air. If I had brought athletic shoes with me I would have been sorry I had never been up there during the day. Even at night the view was incredible. We were further away from the city center than I had expected. The huge landmarks I had been navigating with and never that far away from were suddenly so tiny below me. The hotel was very trendy looking, and the couples dining at the restaurant were all very posh. This was an interesting place to get to try, and a good way to welcome CF to his vacation. I finally had the traditional "Zurich style veal," figured I should try it while I still had the chance. It was quite good, it was served in small pieces mixed with mushrooms and a creamy gravy sauce. There was a cute little dog with the couple at the table next to us, he kept sniffing at my purse, he knew there was chocolate in there.
Eventually we headed back down into the city, I was beginning to wonder what I had been thinking wearing a skirt in this weather. But we got home and packed up as much as possible, and finally adjusted to European time, we settled down for a short night of sleep. Our train left at 8am Saturday morning. We had to be up early. I loved the cozy seats on the train. We were traveling in first class, with assigned seats, tons of legroom and a great reclining chair. Can I please take this train home to the States instead of the crowded dirty airplane? Pretty please? We had to change trains at one point. With twenty minutes between them we should have just waited but instead we went and looked for some lunch. We both got some money (goodbye Swiss franks) and food... and oops, sort of got separated. We ended up running around the platform trying to find our coach, I was just about ready to fall over when we finally found our seats. And then the train didn't leave for at least another five minutes! Oh well. This train wasn't quite as comfy but it was still very nice. And it quickly took us the rest of the way to Cologne (Köln).
The Dom (cathedral) is right outside the train station. It doesn't look real! It really does look like a matte painting. We were considering walking to our hotel, but it wasn't quite clear how to go, we gave in and took a 5 euro taxi ride, and later found out it would have been easy but we would have ended up rolling our suitcases over cobblestones so I feel good about the taxi ride. We checked in, laughed about our slightly cheesy hotel looking like a cruise ship, rested up and headed back out. I was amazed how many tourists (still not many speaking English, but more of them were) are here in Cologne. We made a quick visit to the overly crowded Chocolate Museum before heading to a bierhaus that Dan had read about online.
It quickly became clear just why we had stopped in Köln, they have their own type of beer here. It's called Kölsh and like Champagne, it's only really Kölsh if it's made here. Gee, wonder why CF chose this city for our one-night stop in Germany. We took a seat at a little table with high stools, the waiter asked us in German if we wanted two Kölshes (don't know if that's the plural) and CF nodded. I was amazed that he had known just what we wanted, but that was when CF spilled the beans about the beer. It's all it would have been acceptable to order here. And they were serving it out of barrels! Into this .2 litre glasses, less than half a pint, which later they would serve from a special carrying contraption that held the cylinders in a circle with two tiers. How clever! They have to keep bringing them because they're smaller, so the made a way to carry lots of them at a time. And they used it for pouring the beers too, turning the circle of glasses as the beer poured from the barrel. The bar filled up, we had arrived just in time, we got quite a show, the waiter brought us more and more beers, making a tally on CF's coaster. This was great fun. We text messaged some of our friends at home, letting them know where we are and that we would miss them at Homecoming (but as RS pointed out, not really). I could have sat there all night but eventually we decided to go see more of the city and paid our bill, 10 glasses of Kölsh was 14,50, not bad at all!
While walking down a street that was incredibly full of people, like a claustrophobic Times Square, we were basically hit in the face with the smell of liquorice. I found the source, it was being pumped into the air from a cart selling candy. So mom, we found you some new Anis candies and if we can resist them all month they will be coming home to you. We ended up getting dinner from the place next door to where we were drinking. We had hack-steaks, hamburgers pretty much. They were sort of spiced and maybe had breadcrumbs in them, they were served with grilled onions and were delicious. "I'm sooooo happy right now," we both proclaimed. Cheap and wonderful street food was definitely the thing that Zurich was hurting for the most. I guess that's what happens when everyone is too well off! We also had enormous cones of pommes frites. We stood outside at a high table and ate our delicious meal. I was so happy just to be outside and not mind the temperature, it was cold, sure, but at last I wasn't freezing. We wandered around for a while, went back to the Dom to take some photos, and headed back to the hotel. We decided to have a little more beer, the first place we tried was across the street from our hotel. We went through a revolving door into the most smoke filled room I have ever seen. Plus there was no way we were finding a seat there. So we settled for the hotel bar, had our nightcap and headed to bed early. Cologne turned out to be more than worth the stop!
This morning we ordered room service, it'll probably be the only place we can on this trip. They brought us coffee, bread, cheese, and hard boiled eggs hiding under specially folded napkins. We think it was only 3,50 euros but I'll believe it when I see it on the bill. We're taking a slow morning, but CF got bored and went out walking without me. I'd better get a shower and get packed up. We're leaving our bags with the hotel and headed out for lunch at a very popular place so we need to get there early. Then our train headed to Amsterdam around 3pm. Don't know what to expect there with the internet... so I apologize if you don't hear from me again for a while. It's going to be a wonderful adventure.
Friday I walked out into a beautiful day in Zurich, I decided to get my sunglasses, just in case. I stopped for a pastry from a stand on the street in front of Globus (which always appeared to be a home decor store/wine bar, but now I know it's a department store with their home decor and restaurant on the first floor. 2chf pastries have proved to be some of the best food purchases I could make in Zurich. "You like this one! You'll buy another tomorrow!" The funny man behind the counter told me. And I walked over the quay quite happy with myself, pastry in hand and sun on my face. The ticket booth for boat rides wasn't open yet, so I wandered through the farmer's market across the street for a bit. The boats aren't running in their usual frequency this time of year. There was only one long round trip scheduled for the day. My options were a lunch time hour long cruise in the third of the lake closest to Zurich, take the 2 hour ride to Rapperswil at the top of the lake and basically coming right back (they stopped there only for 5 or 10 minutes) for another 2 hour boat ride, or I could take the 2 hour boat ride there and find a train back. I opted for this choice so I could explore Rapperswil a little. I had a little time before departure so I went back to the hotel (grabbing some take-away lunch at Tidbits again) to charge my phone a bit and let CF know what I was planning.
When I went out again the sun wasn't shining so much, oh well. My boat left right on time, everything is on time here, and off we went. It was warm inside the boat, I had a cup of tea, it was very pleasant. But you know me, I had to get outside and take some pictures. I made a couple laps around the boat snapping away. And then had to come back inside, my fingers were freezing! When I knew we'd be getting to our destination soon I went back outside. I could see Rapperswil coming closer, oh, look at the castle up on the hill! As we pulled up I realized the hill wasn't all that tall and you're practically at the castle when you arrive. But what a beautiful little town! I climbed up to the top of the castle and looked down on to the grapevines and rose gardens. Rapperswil is known at the Swiss City of Roses. The boat's horn sounded and a good chunk of my fellow passengers started their journey home, but I was not quite alone, the Brit family I had been riding near was still with me, as well as a handful of other more quiet travelers. I could see the train station right when I arrived so I knew I'd make it home okay.
Rapperswil was very lovely. It almost seemed like a little Tuscan villa with it's stone walls and the rows of vines. The sun was shining here, I could finally feel the warmth on my face. I actually put on the sunglasses, and then I laughed at my reflection... sunglasses, trench coat, camera... I looked like some sort of private investigator! I saw a couple different wedding parties near the church, not sure if they were churning out weddings or if one was just there taking photos. Everyone looked so happy! At one point when I was in the rose gardens, closer down to the water, I heard this clumsy slapping sound. I got the witness the hilarious event of the overfed swans trying to take flight. They started flapping their wings and basically running on the water until they could get going fast enough. The sound of their webbed feet flopping against the water surface makes me laugh so hard to just remembering it. They took turns, one at a time, knowing what a big effort this was. One of them actually went through most of the steps but then either didn't make it or decided that he was actually quite happy in the water, he never took to the air. He snapped his beak at a duck near where he landed, I think he was saying, "I meant to do that."
Eventually I decided to get on a train back home and found myself riding with the twenty somethings, maybe heading into Zurich for a Friday night on the town. The train ride was only a quarter of the length of the boat ride, and had some nice sights to offer as well. Sort of reminded me of driving up to Tahoe. I got home with just enough time to dress up a bit for the nice dinner CF and I had planned. I actually braved the cold in a skirt! I got on a tram that I thought was heading towards the main station, but alas I found myself going the wrong direction so I got off at the next stop and walked back to Bellevue and tried again. Later I was complaining about hating the trams in Zurich and CF pointed out that loving the NY subways but withholding that affection from the clean, scheduled and on-time, and mostly just perfect trams here was silly. But really I do love all cities with such good coverage of public transportation (oh, this reminds me of a funny exchange between CF and a coworker, I'll have to tell that store sometime). Eventually we met up at the main station and got our train up the mountain to Uetliberg. We arrived 20 minutes later and just about everyone who had was still on board scurried up a dirt path and staircase, a sign posted said "This way to the Top of Zurich." Everyone excitedly hurrying up into the dark reminded me of a fairy tale in a way, it sort of seemed like the twelve dancing princesses (Fairytale Theater anyone?).
There were several paths through the trees, this must be a great place for hiking and getting some crisp fresh air. If I had brought athletic shoes with me I would have been sorry I had never been up there during the day. Even at night the view was incredible. We were further away from the city center than I had expected. The huge landmarks I had been navigating with and never that far away from were suddenly so tiny below me. The hotel was very trendy looking, and the couples dining at the restaurant were all very posh. This was an interesting place to get to try, and a good way to welcome CF to his vacation. I finally had the traditional "Zurich style veal," figured I should try it while I still had the chance. It was quite good, it was served in small pieces mixed with mushrooms and a creamy gravy sauce. There was a cute little dog with the couple at the table next to us, he kept sniffing at my purse, he knew there was chocolate in there.
Eventually we headed back down into the city, I was beginning to wonder what I had been thinking wearing a skirt in this weather. But we got home and packed up as much as possible, and finally adjusted to European time, we settled down for a short night of sleep. Our train left at 8am Saturday morning. We had to be up early. I loved the cozy seats on the train. We were traveling in first class, with assigned seats, tons of legroom and a great reclining chair. Can I please take this train home to the States instead of the crowded dirty airplane? Pretty please? We had to change trains at one point. With twenty minutes between them we should have just waited but instead we went and looked for some lunch. We both got some money (goodbye Swiss franks) and food... and oops, sort of got separated. We ended up running around the platform trying to find our coach, I was just about ready to fall over when we finally found our seats. And then the train didn't leave for at least another five minutes! Oh well. This train wasn't quite as comfy but it was still very nice. And it quickly took us the rest of the way to Cologne (Köln).
The Dom (cathedral) is right outside the train station. It doesn't look real! It really does look like a matte painting. We were considering walking to our hotel, but it wasn't quite clear how to go, we gave in and took a 5 euro taxi ride, and later found out it would have been easy but we would have ended up rolling our suitcases over cobblestones so I feel good about the taxi ride. We checked in, laughed about our slightly cheesy hotel looking like a cruise ship, rested up and headed back out. I was amazed how many tourists (still not many speaking English, but more of them were) are here in Cologne. We made a quick visit to the overly crowded Chocolate Museum before heading to a bierhaus that Dan had read about online.
It quickly became clear just why we had stopped in Köln, they have their own type of beer here. It's called Kölsh and like Champagne, it's only really Kölsh if it's made here. Gee, wonder why CF chose this city for our one-night stop in Germany. We took a seat at a little table with high stools, the waiter asked us in German if we wanted two Kölshes (don't know if that's the plural) and CF nodded. I was amazed that he had known just what we wanted, but that was when CF spilled the beans about the beer. It's all it would have been acceptable to order here. And they were serving it out of barrels! Into this .2 litre glasses, less than half a pint, which later they would serve from a special carrying contraption that held the cylinders in a circle with two tiers. How clever! They have to keep bringing them because they're smaller, so the made a way to carry lots of them at a time. And they used it for pouring the beers too, turning the circle of glasses as the beer poured from the barrel. The bar filled up, we had arrived just in time, we got quite a show, the waiter brought us more and more beers, making a tally on CF's coaster. This was great fun. We text messaged some of our friends at home, letting them know where we are and that we would miss them at Homecoming (but as RS pointed out, not really). I could have sat there all night but eventually we decided to go see more of the city and paid our bill, 10 glasses of Kölsh was 14,50, not bad at all!
While walking down a street that was incredibly full of people, like a claustrophobic Times Square, we were basically hit in the face with the smell of liquorice. I found the source, it was being pumped into the air from a cart selling candy. So mom, we found you some new Anis candies and if we can resist them all month they will be coming home to you. We ended up getting dinner from the place next door to where we were drinking. We had hack-steaks, hamburgers pretty much. They were sort of spiced and maybe had breadcrumbs in them, they were served with grilled onions and were delicious. "I'm sooooo happy right now," we both proclaimed. Cheap and wonderful street food was definitely the thing that Zurich was hurting for the most. I guess that's what happens when everyone is too well off! We also had enormous cones of pommes frites. We stood outside at a high table and ate our delicious meal. I was so happy just to be outside and not mind the temperature, it was cold, sure, but at last I wasn't freezing. We wandered around for a while, went back to the Dom to take some photos, and headed back to the hotel. We decided to have a little more beer, the first place we tried was across the street from our hotel. We went through a revolving door into the most smoke filled room I have ever seen. Plus there was no way we were finding a seat there. So we settled for the hotel bar, had our nightcap and headed to bed early. Cologne turned out to be more than worth the stop!
This morning we ordered room service, it'll probably be the only place we can on this trip. They brought us coffee, bread, cheese, and hard boiled eggs hiding under specially folded napkins. We think it was only 3,50 euros but I'll believe it when I see it on the bill. We're taking a slow morning, but CF got bored and went out walking without me. I'd better get a shower and get packed up. We're leaving our bags with the hotel and headed out for lunch at a very popular place so we need to get there early. Then our train headed to Amsterdam around 3pm. Don't know what to expect there with the internet... so I apologize if you don't hear from me again for a while. It's going to be a wonderful adventure.
Friday, October 26, 2007
For the record...
One of the fun perks of this trip was getting some new clothes. It should have been, and was almost a disaster. I bought some cheaper jeans and was told to buy them tight because they stretch out so much, and well, they didn't stretch out enough. So I bought some different jeans, the most expensive ones I've ever bought (though I know there are plenty out there that cost much more) and I loooove them. I didn't even wear them back home, I just washed them up and packed them... I was asking for trouble. But they're great. So I have to recommend Jag jeans, but maybe they're just plus size? I don't know. I also got some cool new sweaters, a chic trench coat (that has hung up all week in favor of wearing wool out in the freezing but so far dry weather), and a great new pair of shoes. The shoes also could have gone badly, I only wore them around the house a little before packing them. But they re great and the perfect alternate to my comfy but heavy Dansko clogs. These Softspots are lightweight and cushy. Like wearing slippers, love them!
Okay, the for the record part. I bought myself a new belt. I was all mad because I thought I couldn't even fit a regular XL belt. I found a 2XL at Target and that's what I have with me. But now I see that I'm actually wearing it on the last (smallest) hole. Guess I didn't quite know what I was looking for. But at least if this trip gets the better of me I can still use the belt! Just wanted to put in writing where I started. I've only done a few of my hotel room strength training exercises (the push-ups, crunches, and lunges I promise Luisa I would do). But I've walked as much as possible. Mostly for warmth and lack of anything better to do, but hey, I'm earning my sweets. We'll see how the rest of the trip plays out.
Okay, the for the record part. I bought myself a new belt. I was all mad because I thought I couldn't even fit a regular XL belt. I found a 2XL at Target and that's what I have with me. But now I see that I'm actually wearing it on the last (smallest) hole. Guess I didn't quite know what I was looking for. But at least if this trip gets the better of me I can still use the belt! Just wanted to put in writing where I started. I've only done a few of my hotel room strength training exercises (the push-ups, crunches, and lunges I promise Luisa I would do). But I've walked as much as possible. Mostly for warmth and lack of anything better to do, but hey, I'm earning my sweets. We'll see how the rest of the trip plays out.
Into the lake!
Yesterday I went to Kunsthaus, the art museum. At first I thought it was extremely empty, but it turns out they have an admission price for just the changing exhibit and that's where all the locals were headed. Plus I was there a bit early in the day. Normally I don't get the audio tour when I go to a museum, I prefer to just soak in my own impressions. But because I could read nothing but the name of the pieces I decided to go for it this time. It was actually very interesting, I liked hearing about the artist, the subject and sometimes even the relevance of the piece to Kunsthaus Zurich. The museum seemed sadly quiet and just full of staffers. Seems they are not hurting for patrons though, there was a story on the audio tour about a patron and a museum official traveling to France, and the patron fell through a bridge and into the waters of Monet's waterlilies. He took this as a sign, bought 3 of the paintings, and donated 2 of them to the museum. Nice! I love seeing van Gogh's works in person. I've seen Starry Night at the MoMA in NYC twice now, but my favorite is hanging right next to it. The Olive Trees has even more texture, and depth in the brush strokes. Here in Zurich I picked out the panel with the most texture and sat down to soak it in a bit. I love looking at his work from off to the side, so much of the variation in tone is actually shadow and light sneaking into the supposed two-dimensional piece. Really many of his paintings are practically sculpture! I finally encountered the crowd at the more temporary exhibit. Nice that people don't have to pay to see the whole museum every time they visit. The current exhibit was the works of Felix Vallotton, which was very interesting. I got the audio guide here as well and listened in on the artist's work progressing through his life. Very cool.
At breakfast before going out I picked up the Zurich guide that is offered for free in the lobby. Apparently Hooters is open in Zurich, oh the horror! I didn't know where to go for lunch and ended up at a place that my guidebook said had good lunch specials. I must have been too late again for lunch, so I just got the regular menu. Fondue and raclette were offered here, but I knew I'd be having fondue for dinner... plus the music and decor were cheesy enough on their own! Ooooo! I had the pumpkin soup that I've seen offered many places, which was very good, but rich with cream. And a small salad that was drenched in a dressing most similar to ranch, and none of the greens were all that... well, green. But hey, soup and salad seemed like the right effort to make when you know you'll be eating cheese and bread for dinner!
In the afternoon I wandered out to the park behind the main train station. The Swiss National Museum is back there too. There wasn't too much to see out there. Whenever I visit a new city it usually seems so big, spread out and hard to comprehend. And then as I wander around in circles for a few days I see how all the pieces make up the whole, and it ends up seeming smaller, more easy to swallow. Funny thing about Zurich is it is so compact that I am still surprised by just how close everything is, and just how quickly you can see something new. My walk in the park was about 10 minutes. Oh well.
I took myself out for hot chocolate at the Sprüngli cafe. Two men and a woman sat down next to me, they seemed to be speaking English as a common language though it was not the first for any of them. I asked them to keep an eye on my seat (and my chocolate!) when I got up to see if I wanted to order anything to eat, on my way back one of the fellows was headed over to the counter and he said, "Actually, I had a little sip, but it's okay." HA! I laughed. Very funny guy. The hot chocolate was very good, made with melted chocolate but I didn't know to stir it so the top seemed watery and the bottom was extra super chocolaty. Still, it was very good.
Afterwards I went to the cute flower shop I had noticed a couple days ago and bought a little bunch of roses to take to CF's coworker's house as a little gift for having us over. I still had extra time on my hand so I went back up the Lindenhof and just soaked in the view for a little while. A teenage boy started reading something out loud to the girl he was with, he was sort of laughing. I don't know if it was funny or if he just felt awkward. He noticed me paying attention and laughed some more. I wonder if he'd feel better if he knew I didn't know what he was saying. She answered back. I think maybe they were saying lines from a play and she knew the part. I'm not sure. I got out the camera and took a few more pictures. There were actually a number of people up there with me, unlike Monday morning. I offered to take a picture of an Asian couple who were going to try to do a delayed timer shot. They turned out to be American! Kind of a surprise. And the guy took two photos of me in return, so I finally have some proof that I am actually here! I decided to head back to the hotel, to upload photos and maybe, just maybe have a little nap since I knew we'd be out late. I encounter yet another American on the way, she was lost and trying to ask for directions from a local, I bought her along with me since I was headed across the water myself. Maybe there's more Americans here than it seems, and they're just keeping quiet, like me.
CF met up with me at the hotel, just when I was thinking I could get away with having a short nap and we scurried off to get the tram. His coworker's apartment was very large! I've never seen one like that in any city. His little boy is about two, I had met him (the coworker) a few years back when he was visiting Mountain View and the little boy had just been born. I gave them the flowers and they seemed to go over well. The little boy nodded his head at me as he said, "Dannn-ke!". His mother translated for me, it was all very cute. They poured some white wine (proper for a fondue dinner), we clinked our glasses (you must make eye contact while clinking, or it's very rude). I almost forgot to toast CF at all, so his eye contact with me was more of a sneer. There were some antipasti type nibbley things out and we sat down on their enormous Italian leather couch, the depth of the seat was as long as my legs. Now that's a good couch! We were joined by three other coworkers, and one of their wives. What a fun week they must be having at the office. The American, the Swiss, the Frenchman, The Spaniard, and the Portuguese (although he wasn't at dinner).
The little boy went to bed and we started in on the fondue. The hostess brought out some shots of a cherry brandy which you should dip your bread in and then into the cheese, it's supposed to help you digest so you don't end up with a stone of cheese in the bottom of your stomach. It was very strong though, so I just dipped a corner in. And of course jokes were made about what happens if you lose your bread in the cheese. "Into the lake!" was the judgment passed several times. But no, it never really happened. Dessert was a cake from Sprüngli and one of the local coworkers that was there (though he is currently on paternity leave and the 6-week old newborn joined us from time to time during the night) had brought my favorite luxemburgerli cookie. What a night! We caught a tram right around midnight once we were told the frequency slows down dramatically as the hour turns over to 0:00. Though I'm sure the walk home would have done us good, and wouldn't have taken long at all. I had a great night of sleep, even though it started a little later than it probably should have considered CF had to get up for one last day of work.
Today I'm headed out to maybe find a boat ride to take on the Lake (but not IN), maybe I'll head up the mountain to Uetliberg if the transportation day pass will get me there twice, we're planning on having dinner up there too. And mostly I am just going to take it easy, pack up and decide if I need a souvenir other than my photos and chocolate.
Tomorrow morning we get on the train to Cologne. As I am writing this I am getting Grey's Anatomy updates from Thursday night in the US. I am missing quite the shakedown! I'm happy that after today CF will be on vacation with me... even though it will probably be rainy in Amsterdam next week. I have enjoyed my time here but I'm just about ready to move on.
At breakfast before going out I picked up the Zurich guide that is offered for free in the lobby. Apparently Hooters is open in Zurich, oh the horror! I didn't know where to go for lunch and ended up at a place that my guidebook said had good lunch specials. I must have been too late again for lunch, so I just got the regular menu. Fondue and raclette were offered here, but I knew I'd be having fondue for dinner... plus the music and decor were cheesy enough on their own! Ooooo! I had the pumpkin soup that I've seen offered many places, which was very good, but rich with cream. And a small salad that was drenched in a dressing most similar to ranch, and none of the greens were all that... well, green. But hey, soup and salad seemed like the right effort to make when you know you'll be eating cheese and bread for dinner!
In the afternoon I wandered out to the park behind the main train station. The Swiss National Museum is back there too. There wasn't too much to see out there. Whenever I visit a new city it usually seems so big, spread out and hard to comprehend. And then as I wander around in circles for a few days I see how all the pieces make up the whole, and it ends up seeming smaller, more easy to swallow. Funny thing about Zurich is it is so compact that I am still surprised by just how close everything is, and just how quickly you can see something new. My walk in the park was about 10 minutes. Oh well.
I took myself out for hot chocolate at the Sprüngli cafe. Two men and a woman sat down next to me, they seemed to be speaking English as a common language though it was not the first for any of them. I asked them to keep an eye on my seat (and my chocolate!) when I got up to see if I wanted to order anything to eat, on my way back one of the fellows was headed over to the counter and he said, "Actually, I had a little sip, but it's okay." HA! I laughed. Very funny guy. The hot chocolate was very good, made with melted chocolate but I didn't know to stir it so the top seemed watery and the bottom was extra super chocolaty. Still, it was very good.
Afterwards I went to the cute flower shop I had noticed a couple days ago and bought a little bunch of roses to take to CF's coworker's house as a little gift for having us over. I still had extra time on my hand so I went back up the Lindenhof and just soaked in the view for a little while. A teenage boy started reading something out loud to the girl he was with, he was sort of laughing. I don't know if it was funny or if he just felt awkward. He noticed me paying attention and laughed some more. I wonder if he'd feel better if he knew I didn't know what he was saying. She answered back. I think maybe they were saying lines from a play and she knew the part. I'm not sure. I got out the camera and took a few more pictures. There were actually a number of people up there with me, unlike Monday morning. I offered to take a picture of an Asian couple who were going to try to do a delayed timer shot. They turned out to be American! Kind of a surprise. And the guy took two photos of me in return, so I finally have some proof that I am actually here! I decided to head back to the hotel, to upload photos and maybe, just maybe have a little nap since I knew we'd be out late. I encounter yet another American on the way, she was lost and trying to ask for directions from a local, I bought her along with me since I was headed across the water myself. Maybe there's more Americans here than it seems, and they're just keeping quiet, like me.
CF met up with me at the hotel, just when I was thinking I could get away with having a short nap and we scurried off to get the tram. His coworker's apartment was very large! I've never seen one like that in any city. His little boy is about two, I had met him (the coworker) a few years back when he was visiting Mountain View and the little boy had just been born. I gave them the flowers and they seemed to go over well. The little boy nodded his head at me as he said, "Dannn-ke!". His mother translated for me, it was all very cute. They poured some white wine (proper for a fondue dinner), we clinked our glasses (you must make eye contact while clinking, or it's very rude). I almost forgot to toast CF at all, so his eye contact with me was more of a sneer. There were some antipasti type nibbley things out and we sat down on their enormous Italian leather couch, the depth of the seat was as long as my legs. Now that's a good couch! We were joined by three other coworkers, and one of their wives. What a fun week they must be having at the office. The American, the Swiss, the Frenchman, The Spaniard, and the Portuguese (although he wasn't at dinner).
The little boy went to bed and we started in on the fondue. The hostess brought out some shots of a cherry brandy which you should dip your bread in and then into the cheese, it's supposed to help you digest so you don't end up with a stone of cheese in the bottom of your stomach. It was very strong though, so I just dipped a corner in. And of course jokes were made about what happens if you lose your bread in the cheese. "Into the lake!" was the judgment passed several times. But no, it never really happened. Dessert was a cake from Sprüngli and one of the local coworkers that was there (though he is currently on paternity leave and the 6-week old newborn joined us from time to time during the night) had brought my favorite luxemburgerli cookie. What a night! We caught a tram right around midnight once we were told the frequency slows down dramatically as the hour turns over to 0:00. Though I'm sure the walk home would have done us good, and wouldn't have taken long at all. I had a great night of sleep, even though it started a little later than it probably should have considered CF had to get up for one last day of work.
Today I'm headed out to maybe find a boat ride to take on the Lake (but not IN), maybe I'll head up the mountain to Uetliberg if the transportation day pass will get me there twice, we're planning on having dinner up there too. And mostly I am just going to take it easy, pack up and decide if I need a souvenir other than my photos and chocolate.
Tomorrow morning we get on the train to Cologne. As I am writing this I am getting Grey's Anatomy updates from Thursday night in the US. I am missing quite the shakedown! I'm happy that after today CF will be on vacation with me... even though it will probably be rainy in Amsterdam next week. I have enjoyed my time here but I'm just about ready to move on.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Then again, maybe not...
At the last minute he decided he didn't want to carry the computer around with him all day. So maybe you'll hear more from me after all! Weirdo. :)
Trekking in the world all by myself...
CF needs to take the laptop with him to work today and we're going to a coworker's house tonight for dinner, so you won't be hearing much from me today. I have two more days to fill here before we move on, and I'm running out of ideas. I will probably go to a museum or two, and it would be nice to see some of the lake if I can find a boat tour. And I still need to sit down somewhere and have a hot chocolate. The food is starting to drive me crazy, it's all so expensive (but a bit better when you remember the Swiss Frank is less than a dollar, plus service is included in the price) and that makes it hard to consider it worth it because not too much has really blown me away. It's mostly meat and bread... and sweets. Can't complain about the sweets really though!
Yesterday I decided to go to Lucerne (aka Luzern). Several friends had recommended it. I took the tram to the main train station. CF told me to take the 6 (Ooo, like JLo!) from Bellevue. Well, it turns out that a bunch of the 6 line trams are actually 5's, and he totally knew this because this is how he gets to work every day. Stinker. So we get to one large station and a bunch of people start to get on, an announcement is made in German and most, if not all, of them frown and don't get on. Oh crap. The doors close before I can do anything. I ride to the next stop and then walk back to that large station and wait for a real 6 tram. I finally arrived at the train station, and knew that I wouldn't be making the 10:05 train to Lucerne. The tram ride had taken about as long as my train ride would be. Oh well. I waited in line for my ticket, went downstairs to use a McClean WC (2chf to use the bathroom) and didn't end up waiting too long to get on my train plus I had my pick of seats.
Three Americans with some free time on a business trip got on the train and sat just far enough away that it wasn't easy for me to talk to them. I admit I listened to them for most of the 45 minute train ride. The countryside is beautiful and the train was exactly on schedule. It made me think of riding the train in Italy, and so did the Americans a few rows over, they were discussing their travels to Italy. When we got to our destination I tried to help them out because they were wondering what time the train goes back to Zurich. "I wrote down 10 after every hour, plus it looks like our train is just going back, so also 35 after." They looked very surprised that I was with them the whole time and was American. We were all operating off the same guidebook (I had pulled the relevant pages out of the book and brought only those with me) so I figured I'd see them around, but actually as small as Lucerne is, I didn't end up running into them again.
I think I was expecting more of a town, what I got was another city, a beautiful, very picturesque city. So I got over my expectations quickly. I went completely ADD wandering. Through old town, I paid 2chf for a decent enough apple strudel and that might have been the food purchase I have been most pleased with (outside of Sprüngli). I wandered around, wiping the flakes of pastry from my wool coat. The temperature was supposed to be warmer here in the valley but the wind was also stronger. I went up to the Old Town Wall and climbed a ridiculous flight of stairs, I couldn't convince myself to go up further in the tower, but the view from the wall ledge was lovely. It was a little scarier than I had expected looking up from the ground, but not as scary as getting back down those stairs! They were even worse on the way down. Thank goodness for my strong leg muscles!
I went up (away from the water) to the Lion Monument, Löwendenkmal, which commemorates Swiss Guard who died in Paris defending Louis XVI in 1792. Walking up the path to it, the instant I caught sight of it I felt an emotional reaction. Something about the scale, or the spirit, or something... I took out the guidebook pages and read that Mark Twain had called it "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world." And I really have to agree.
I went for a walk along the lake, it was a really nice, tree lined path. Lots of people were out for a walk. I was joined by many tourists wherever I went, but very few were English speaking. There's just not that many US or UK travelers here!
My appetite has been really weak, from the jet lag or disappointment in or the price of food, I don't know. But at least I miss lunch rushes this way. I eventually went to lunch round 2. I went to an old guild hall, right on the water. They gave me a cute little two person booth right in the window. I got a puff pastry pie filled with creamy gravy, little meatballs as well as chunks of meat, and mushrooms. There were even some steamed veggies on the side! Pretty darn good meal. While I was eating, a woman tried to speak to me, I asked her if she spoke English and she frowned and said, "No." and looked away disgusted. I don't know if she didn't know English or if she just didn't want to speak it to me. My first true language barrier.
I did some wandering across the old wooden bridges, Kapellbrücke is the oldest wooden bridge in Europe in fact. It was really cool to walk along as it zigzags across the water. I took one last round of photos. And even though I had arrived in Lucerne a little later than planned, I decided to head home at 4:10.
We had dinner in Zurich at an Italian restaurant. It was the easiest menu of the trip so far. Funny how I can get by in Italian so much easier than German. Yes, I know I studied Spanish, and a little Italian. But I think it's still easier. There was spinach on my pizza, I miss vegetables! We tried their carbonara. Not bad, very little cream used to make the sauce. I figure they have to have some good Italian food here, we're sharing a border with them! I had a glass of prosecco with the meal and we basically went home and went to sleep. My first night of eight hours. Ahhh.
Okay, I have to hand off the laptop... made this post just in time!
Yesterday I decided to go to Lucerne (aka Luzern). Several friends had recommended it. I took the tram to the main train station. CF told me to take the 6 (Ooo, like JLo!) from Bellevue. Well, it turns out that a bunch of the 6 line trams are actually 5's, and he totally knew this because this is how he gets to work every day. Stinker. So we get to one large station and a bunch of people start to get on, an announcement is made in German and most, if not all, of them frown and don't get on. Oh crap. The doors close before I can do anything. I ride to the next stop and then walk back to that large station and wait for a real 6 tram. I finally arrived at the train station, and knew that I wouldn't be making the 10:05 train to Lucerne. The tram ride had taken about as long as my train ride would be. Oh well. I waited in line for my ticket, went downstairs to use a McClean WC (2chf to use the bathroom) and didn't end up waiting too long to get on my train plus I had my pick of seats.
Three Americans with some free time on a business trip got on the train and sat just far enough away that it wasn't easy for me to talk to them. I admit I listened to them for most of the 45 minute train ride. The countryside is beautiful and the train was exactly on schedule. It made me think of riding the train in Italy, and so did the Americans a few rows over, they were discussing their travels to Italy. When we got to our destination I tried to help them out because they were wondering what time the train goes back to Zurich. "I wrote down 10 after every hour, plus it looks like our train is just going back, so also 35 after." They looked very surprised that I was with them the whole time and was American. We were all operating off the same guidebook (I had pulled the relevant pages out of the book and brought only those with me) so I figured I'd see them around, but actually as small as Lucerne is, I didn't end up running into them again.
I think I was expecting more of a town, what I got was another city, a beautiful, very picturesque city. So I got over my expectations quickly. I went completely ADD wandering. Through old town, I paid 2chf for a decent enough apple strudel and that might have been the food purchase I have been most pleased with (outside of Sprüngli). I wandered around, wiping the flakes of pastry from my wool coat. The temperature was supposed to be warmer here in the valley but the wind was also stronger. I went up to the Old Town Wall and climbed a ridiculous flight of stairs, I couldn't convince myself to go up further in the tower, but the view from the wall ledge was lovely. It was a little scarier than I had expected looking up from the ground, but not as scary as getting back down those stairs! They were even worse on the way down. Thank goodness for my strong leg muscles!
I went up (away from the water) to the Lion Monument, Löwendenkmal, which commemorates Swiss Guard who died in Paris defending Louis XVI in 1792. Walking up the path to it, the instant I caught sight of it I felt an emotional reaction. Something about the scale, or the spirit, or something... I took out the guidebook pages and read that Mark Twain had called it "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world." And I really have to agree.
I went for a walk along the lake, it was a really nice, tree lined path. Lots of people were out for a walk. I was joined by many tourists wherever I went, but very few were English speaking. There's just not that many US or UK travelers here!
My appetite has been really weak, from the jet lag or disappointment in or the price of food, I don't know. But at least I miss lunch rushes this way. I eventually went to lunch round 2. I went to an old guild hall, right on the water. They gave me a cute little two person booth right in the window. I got a puff pastry pie filled with creamy gravy, little meatballs as well as chunks of meat, and mushrooms. There were even some steamed veggies on the side! Pretty darn good meal. While I was eating, a woman tried to speak to me, I asked her if she spoke English and she frowned and said, "No." and looked away disgusted. I don't know if she didn't know English or if she just didn't want to speak it to me. My first true language barrier.
I did some wandering across the old wooden bridges, Kapellbrücke is the oldest wooden bridge in Europe in fact. It was really cool to walk along as it zigzags across the water. I took one last round of photos. And even though I had arrived in Lucerne a little later than planned, I decided to head home at 4:10.
We had dinner in Zurich at an Italian restaurant. It was the easiest menu of the trip so far. Funny how I can get by in Italian so much easier than German. Yes, I know I studied Spanish, and a little Italian. But I think it's still easier. There was spinach on my pizza, I miss vegetables! We tried their carbonara. Not bad, very little cream used to make the sauce. I figure they have to have some good Italian food here, we're sharing a border with them! I had a glass of prosecco with the meal and we basically went home and went to sleep. My first night of eight hours. Ahhh.
Okay, I have to hand off the laptop... made this post just in time!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Sometimes things just click...
This afternoon I was wanting a nap so bad, I was really hurting. I was trying to figure out a day trip for tomorrow, but I could barely keep my eyes open. I had a couple of hours before CF left work. I needed to get back outside but I really couldn't think of any particular reason. I decided to head out without my purse but with the big camera... I keep stashing it away in the bottom of my bag, this way there was no hiding it, so I would have no excuse not to use it. I just went out and wandered, and just when I was getting bored and considered heading back to the hotel (which still would have resulted in a nap), the light was suddenly perfect and all the floodlights were coming on and lighting up the city's spires and towers. It was beautiful. I walked back to places I've already been 3 or 4 (or more) times just to see if I could get a better shot. All my photos have been turning out so gray and dreary. Well tonight everything clicked and I got some fantastic shots. And I love the trams zipping through a bunch of them with a great motion blur. I had two funny encounters while I was "in the zone." Up at Saint Peter's a man started speaking German to me. I am a horrible person for what I said, in my defense I was caught off guard... all I got out was, "Uhhhhh, English?" Terrible. But he said to me, "I think you need a--" and then he made a tripod shaped motion with his hands. I showed him how my camera was actually doing pretty well in the dark. Then he noticed that I was shooting this clock tower with the tower of Fraumünster in the empty space right next to it, "Oh! Very nice!" Just then the bells of both towers started ringing in the 7pm hour. "Oh, thank you! Thank you!" My fellow photographer joked to the tower for my benefit. And for the next couple minutes we both took some shots while the bells rang loud and long. It was awesome. I looked down one narrow street and saw him shoot up into some rafters. Quite the kindred spirit I had finally encountered! I wonder if he went back to his home or hotel and uploaded his photos right away, too. Yeah, right!
I finally had to scurry back to the hotel because, well, when you gotta go, you gotta go! But it wasn't too long before I expected CF to be back and I spent some time looking through the photos I had just taken. I finally heard him coming up the stairs just when my eyes were about to give up on me pretending to be awake and roll back in my head. We walked over to the bratwurst stand we've been wanting to hit ever since we found out about it the night we got here. They basically hand you your sausage wrapped in wax paper and a napkin, you grab a little cup of mustard if you want it, and guess what, you grab another one of those crusty, chewy rolls. Apparently the way to eat this is double-fisting style, roll in one hand, meat in the other. But considering how freezing it is we hustled our loot back to our hotel room. And just as we arrived at the front door, a few rain drops began to fall. So glad we came back! We munch on our meal, and then broke out the luxemburgerli cookies I bought earlier. "Those are fantastic!" CF told me. "I know!!!" Who did he think he had to convince?
It's almost 10pm now, CF went to sleep right after finishing his last cookie. He had claimed earlier that we should stay up till 11 so we would sleep through the night. But as he dozed off he mumbled that if he's going to wake up at 4 or 5am, he should go to sleep earlier so he'll get a full night's worth of sleep. Whatever. I'm about to join him. But I'd better not be woken up by iPod drumming or under-bedsheet toe tapping again!
Tomorrow I might pull off a day-trip to Lucerne. I am rather unprepared as things stand right now, but I think it'll mostly be a matter of getting a train ticket and getting on the train. So hopefully tomorrow I'll be out for more of the day, I'm ready for an adventure... well, after a good night of sleep anyway.
I finally had to scurry back to the hotel because, well, when you gotta go, you gotta go! But it wasn't too long before I expected CF to be back and I spent some time looking through the photos I had just taken. I finally heard him coming up the stairs just when my eyes were about to give up on me pretending to be awake and roll back in my head. We walked over to the bratwurst stand we've been wanting to hit ever since we found out about it the night we got here. They basically hand you your sausage wrapped in wax paper and a napkin, you grab a little cup of mustard if you want it, and guess what, you grab another one of those crusty, chewy rolls. Apparently the way to eat this is double-fisting style, roll in one hand, meat in the other. But considering how freezing it is we hustled our loot back to our hotel room. And just as we arrived at the front door, a few rain drops began to fall. So glad we came back! We munch on our meal, and then broke out the luxemburgerli cookies I bought earlier. "Those are fantastic!" CF told me. "I know!!!" Who did he think he had to convince?
It's almost 10pm now, CF went to sleep right after finishing his last cookie. He had claimed earlier that we should stay up till 11 so we would sleep through the night. But as he dozed off he mumbled that if he's going to wake up at 4 or 5am, he should go to sleep earlier so he'll get a full night's worth of sleep. Whatever. I'm about to join him. But I'd better not be woken up by iPod drumming or under-bedsheet toe tapping again!
Tomorrow I might pull off a day-trip to Lucerne. I am rather unprepared as things stand right now, but I think it'll mostly be a matter of getting a train ticket and getting on the train. So hopefully tomorrow I'll be out for more of the day, I'm ready for an adventure... well, after a good night of sleep anyway.
Afternoon thoughts...
I've stopped back at the hotel to thaw out a bit and regroup. It's still freezing out there, kids. Here are some thoughts for the afternoon. I spent way more than I needed to on lunch just because I was too embarrassed to back out after I saw the menu (they had seated me at a table with no easy getaway!), the restaurant was full of chattering men in suits and a few well dressed ladies dripping in sparkling jewels. Holy cow, what was I doing there in my Gap t-shirt? However, someone did say Guten Tag to me there! I was going to do my best with the German menu, but they figured me out very quickly and brought me the English. It seemed like a bit of a defeat but it was very helpful. Afterwards I got a box of those precious cookies from Sprüngli so I can share them with CF later, and there actually is a sticker on the lid that does say to enjoy them as soon as possible! So I guess the guidebook wasn't just making things up. We'll have those tonight after we have bratwurst at Vorderer Sternen, I guess it's just a meat and potatoes kind of day.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Grüezi!
I think that's how they say hello here, we know such little German as it is, the Swiss-German factor just makes it all the more confusing. I haven't heard a single "Guten tag." It's Tuesday morning, we had another night of sleep that was cut short by waking up at 4am. I'm not sure if I woke up because of lingering jet-lag or if it was CF trying to use his iPod to lull him back to sleep. This time we did manage to sleep a bit more before going back downstairs for another delicious breakfast.
Yesterday started out so great, seeing CF off at his tram stop, wandering around with all the shivering people hurrying off to work... seeing the city wake up quietly, it actually seems pretty quiet here no matter where you are and what time of day it is. Not that I haven't seen any crowds, but I think the temperature being so low right now has kept people inside. Yesterday I found only construction workers up at the Lindenhof, a nice open square/park that is a bit higher than most of the city and is a great place to look back down and across the lake.
I didn't wait at all during my first visit to Sprüngli, a well known bakery and chocolate shop. I had heard of their Luxemburgerli cookies from my guidebook, it said they require immediate eating. I'm still not sure if that really means you must eat them fresh or if it's just because they're delicious so you want to eat them all right away. Right now their window displays are fun little piles of these little bite sized cookies. And upon closer inspection I realized they looked an awful lot like the French macaroons I am looking forward to having in Paris. So even though it was something like 9:30 in the morning, I decided to sample a few flavors. "What is this flavor?" I asked, pointed at one of the piles marked as a seasonal offering. The girl behind the counter said, "Feige, it's ummmm... it's a seasonal flavor." She didn't know how to explain it to me, but since I had heard it pronounced I realized I was being stupid and it was simply what I know as "Fig." "I'd like to try it, thank you." I also tried "Zimt" (cinnamon), and of course I got hazelnut. Three little cookies, 2chf (Swiss Franks, I think one is about 85 cents right now?). But so worth it, to my delight, they were indeed very similar to the macaroons I am anxiously awaiting. I sat on a bench outside, not minding last of the commuters giving me slightly odd looks. The meringue crumbled as I gave the first one a little squeeze. They were delicious. I will certainly be having some more of those before the week is over!
Zurich is a beautiful city. I wasn't expecting it not to be, but I guess people just think of all the banking done here and forget about the history and architecture. I decided to have lunch in Old Town, somewhere with some atmosphere. I ended up seeing the doorway to Zeughauskeller, and the windows revealed a bustling, and warm looking, crowd. So I went inside. I was seated at a large round table with other small parties. A Sicilian woman was just finishing her meal and conversation with a woman from Georgia, while an older German couple lingered over what appeared to be an enormous wine glass of beer. I didn't get to meet the Sicilian but the tail end of her conversation allowed me to slip in to chatting with my other fellow American. She was headed to Florence in the evening! Her daughter works for Coke and just moved her with her husband and 2 year old! What an adventure! I told her a little bit about visiting Florence, she asked me a little about California. It was nice to have some one to talk to! I wasn't too hungry so I just ordered the goulash, a roll with butter and a sparkling water. I'd later find out that this small meal cost me nearly $15, but that's just the way it goes in Zurich. The German couple moved on, and the Southern lady finally got to tell me that their drink was apparently brought to the table, on fire! I guess it wasn't just a beer but had some other alcohol involved as well. That is one serious drink for lunchtime! My soup was just perfect, the roll had a thick, chewy crust but was great for dipping (I hope that's not rude here). Eventually it was time to head back into the cold.
I wandered for another 2 or 3 hours, looking for a scarf for my poor husband's cold neck. The shops between Bahnhofstrasse (the "most expensive street in the world") and the river are rather high end, boutiques. I found no scarf for less than 80chf! I did manage to find a very sweet part of town with some small shops I would have liked to visit but Monday seemed to be an agreed upon closing day for them. I'll go back there before the week is up. I saw the shop that Samantha Brown visited on Passport to Europe, with the glass jugs of oils and liqueurs. Eventually I wandered back to Bahnhofstrasse and found Jelmoli, which was pretty much a Macy's-like department store (full of many of the same brands). I finally found some scarves in a price range I could stomach. But I had pushed my luck and my tired body was crashing and burning. I couldn't make a decision right then and I was pretty sure I could make it back before they closed at 8pm, I headed back to the hotel for a rest.
Okay, so first I stopped back in a Sprüngli for some truffles... but then I went back to the hotel. I got online and asked CF about what kind of scarf he wanted. He suggested going back and sending him a picture from my phone. I really did mean to go back out and do just that. But the next thing I knew it was an hour or two later and he was knocking at our room door. Poor guy was locked out since there is only one key! I was incredibly groggy and barely remembered laying down. He laid down with me for a little bit, then we pulled ourselves together and set back out to the department store. He found the perfect scarf (one I hadn't even noticed during my first visit) and chuckled a bit when he got back out on the street and felt the difference it made. We went to what my guidebook called Bierhalle Kropf, but the sign said Kropf Restaurant (maybe they've had a recent classy makeover?). We had a good, if overpriced meal, CF got his first beer(s) of the trip, I finally got to eat some Spätzli (little gnocchi-like dumplings) and got to listen in on a little bit of Zurich banker schmoozing at a large party of business people seated near us. We shivered all the way home and linked arm in arm we just sort of laughed. Even Zurich won't be this cold next week. I guess we finally broke our habit of visiting countries during heat waves!
So that was our first day, and it was followed by the second not so great night of sleep, but it's getting better. It's almost 9am, yesterday I would have been wandered around for an hour now and almost been ready for cookies. But today I'm just getting ready to hit the shower. I think I'll head back to Neumarkt, the street where I saw those sweet, but closed, little shops. And maybe visit a museum or two. The forecast is cloudy, high of 44 degrees. I am just now noticing that the temperature is supposed to climb a little bit as the week goes on, but so does the chance of rain... maybe I'll save those museums, we'll see.
Yesterday started out so great, seeing CF off at his tram stop, wandering around with all the shivering people hurrying off to work... seeing the city wake up quietly, it actually seems pretty quiet here no matter where you are and what time of day it is. Not that I haven't seen any crowds, but I think the temperature being so low right now has kept people inside. Yesterday I found only construction workers up at the Lindenhof, a nice open square/park that is a bit higher than most of the city and is a great place to look back down and across the lake.
I didn't wait at all during my first visit to Sprüngli, a well known bakery and chocolate shop. I had heard of their Luxemburgerli cookies from my guidebook, it said they require immediate eating. I'm still not sure if that really means you must eat them fresh or if it's just because they're delicious so you want to eat them all right away. Right now their window displays are fun little piles of these little bite sized cookies. And upon closer inspection I realized they looked an awful lot like the French macaroons I am looking forward to having in Paris. So even though it was something like 9:30 in the morning, I decided to sample a few flavors. "What is this flavor?" I asked, pointed at one of the piles marked as a seasonal offering. The girl behind the counter said, "Feige, it's ummmm... it's a seasonal flavor." She didn't know how to explain it to me, but since I had heard it pronounced I realized I was being stupid and it was simply what I know as "Fig." "I'd like to try it, thank you." I also tried "Zimt" (cinnamon), and of course I got hazelnut. Three little cookies, 2chf (Swiss Franks, I think one is about 85 cents right now?). But so worth it, to my delight, they were indeed very similar to the macaroons I am anxiously awaiting. I sat on a bench outside, not minding last of the commuters giving me slightly odd looks. The meringue crumbled as I gave the first one a little squeeze. They were delicious. I will certainly be having some more of those before the week is over!
Zurich is a beautiful city. I wasn't expecting it not to be, but I guess people just think of all the banking done here and forget about the history and architecture. I decided to have lunch in Old Town, somewhere with some atmosphere. I ended up seeing the doorway to Zeughauskeller, and the windows revealed a bustling, and warm looking, crowd. So I went inside. I was seated at a large round table with other small parties. A Sicilian woman was just finishing her meal and conversation with a woman from Georgia, while an older German couple lingered over what appeared to be an enormous wine glass of beer. I didn't get to meet the Sicilian but the tail end of her conversation allowed me to slip in to chatting with my other fellow American. She was headed to Florence in the evening! Her daughter works for Coke and just moved her with her husband and 2 year old! What an adventure! I told her a little bit about visiting Florence, she asked me a little about California. It was nice to have some one to talk to! I wasn't too hungry so I just ordered the goulash, a roll with butter and a sparkling water. I'd later find out that this small meal cost me nearly $15, but that's just the way it goes in Zurich. The German couple moved on, and the Southern lady finally got to tell me that their drink was apparently brought to the table, on fire! I guess it wasn't just a beer but had some other alcohol involved as well. That is one serious drink for lunchtime! My soup was just perfect, the roll had a thick, chewy crust but was great for dipping (I hope that's not rude here). Eventually it was time to head back into the cold.
I wandered for another 2 or 3 hours, looking for a scarf for my poor husband's cold neck. The shops between Bahnhofstrasse (the "most expensive street in the world") and the river are rather high end, boutiques. I found no scarf for less than 80chf! I did manage to find a very sweet part of town with some small shops I would have liked to visit but Monday seemed to be an agreed upon closing day for them. I'll go back there before the week is up. I saw the shop that Samantha Brown visited on Passport to Europe, with the glass jugs of oils and liqueurs. Eventually I wandered back to Bahnhofstrasse and found Jelmoli, which was pretty much a Macy's-like department store (full of many of the same brands). I finally found some scarves in a price range I could stomach. But I had pushed my luck and my tired body was crashing and burning. I couldn't make a decision right then and I was pretty sure I could make it back before they closed at 8pm, I headed back to the hotel for a rest.
Okay, so first I stopped back in a Sprüngli for some truffles... but then I went back to the hotel. I got online and asked CF about what kind of scarf he wanted. He suggested going back and sending him a picture from my phone. I really did mean to go back out and do just that. But the next thing I knew it was an hour or two later and he was knocking at our room door. Poor guy was locked out since there is only one key! I was incredibly groggy and barely remembered laying down. He laid down with me for a little bit, then we pulled ourselves together and set back out to the department store. He found the perfect scarf (one I hadn't even noticed during my first visit) and chuckled a bit when he got back out on the street and felt the difference it made. We went to what my guidebook called Bierhalle Kropf, but the sign said Kropf Restaurant (maybe they've had a recent classy makeover?). We had a good, if overpriced meal, CF got his first beer(s) of the trip, I finally got to eat some Spätzli (little gnocchi-like dumplings) and got to listen in on a little bit of Zurich banker schmoozing at a large party of business people seated near us. We shivered all the way home and linked arm in arm we just sort of laughed. Even Zurich won't be this cold next week. I guess we finally broke our habit of visiting countries during heat waves!
So that was our first day, and it was followed by the second not so great night of sleep, but it's getting better. It's almost 9am, yesterday I would have been wandered around for an hour now and almost been ready for cookies. But today I'm just getting ready to hit the shower. I think I'll head back to Neumarkt, the street where I saw those sweet, but closed, little shops. And maybe visit a museum or two. The forecast is cloudy, high of 44 degrees. I am just now noticing that the temperature is supposed to climb a little bit as the week goes on, but so does the chance of rain... maybe I'll save those museums, we'll see.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Guten tag!
So, here we are in Zurich.
It was a long day of travel. The woman in front of me on the plane was reclined, all the way, basically 98% of the flight, there was some pretty wicked turbulence which practically gave me a panic attack, I had planned on getting up and stretching my legs a number of times but after the turbulence, well, that just wasn't happening. I didn't get any real sleep as best I can tell, until we at down on the second plane and proceeded to get our takeoff delayed. I don't know why it is, but for some reason I always get fantastic pre-takeoff plane sleep. I'm always shocked when I wake back up and we're still on the ground. Our second flight (from Frankfurt to Zurich) turned out to only be about a half an hour. We took the train into the city and got to our hotel around the same time we had been taking off the day before (of course this wasn't really 24 hours, only 15).
Our hotel is clean and simple, quiet, and has a friendly staff. We unpacked and freshened up, knowing if we laid down at all we'd fall asleep and it was a bit too early for that, we headed out for some dinner. CF (Classy Fellow) quickly realized he was not wearing nearly enough clothing for the near freezing temperature, he added a sweater but I think he was still too chilly to put up with too much exploring. Somehow our first night in a new city never goes well. The city was very quiet and seemed fairly empty. It was about 8pm, we started to wonder if dinner places closed early on Sundays. We found a few options but got turned off by the prices, I think that's going to happen a lot this week! And then we happened to come back past the train station and finally settled on a place we had seen while walking with our bags earlier. Tidbits turned out to be just that. A vegetarian buffet of this and that and you pay by the weight. Everything we tried (which included an onion ring and falafel or two) was pretty darn good. We didn't want to eat much, we mostly just needed to get some food in our bellies and go to sleep. We came back, had some much needed post-plane showers, and fell into our comfy bed (Or beds really, it's two little beds pushed together!) and got some fantastic sleep.
But it only lasted so long. We were both wide awake at 4am. We tried to will ourselves back to sleep but it didn't really happen. CF got up at one point and got his iPod, and then proceeded to finger drum softly to himself... not realizing just how audible this fidgeting was. Around 5:30 we finally gave in and got out of bed. We managed to make getting ready take the hour and a half we had until breakfast was served, the GoogleTalk chatting with friends and family back home helped with that. Breakfast was just was the doctor ordered! They made us some very good coffee complete with a little pitcher of steamed milk for each of us. There was fruit salad, delicious breads and cheeses... and wait for it... you know my favorite part of breakfast in Europe: Nutella! Feeling human again we were suddenly excited to go out and see the sunrise. Well, we didn't really get to see the sunrise, but we were out by the lake as the light crept into the city. I walked CF to his tram stop, he bought himself a day-pass and I kissed him goodbye and set off on my walk.
I decided that since I was already out and about I'd just wander for a while without going back up for a guidebook or to look at the recommendations we had links to on the computer. For the morning I'd just see what I could see. I walked for about two and a half hours out in cold before finally giving in and coming back up for a break and to warm up a bit. I can't believe it's still before noon! So right now I'm going to look at the guidebook and get back out there for some lunch and to find my CF a nice warm scarf. I'll upload photos and tell you about the most wonderful little cookies in the world a bit later.
Oh and by the way, I can't read German to save my life! It was so much easier to get by in Italy. So lunch is going to be an adventure!
It was a long day of travel. The woman in front of me on the plane was reclined, all the way, basically 98% of the flight, there was some pretty wicked turbulence which practically gave me a panic attack, I had planned on getting up and stretching my legs a number of times but after the turbulence, well, that just wasn't happening. I didn't get any real sleep as best I can tell, until we at down on the second plane and proceeded to get our takeoff delayed. I don't know why it is, but for some reason I always get fantastic pre-takeoff plane sleep. I'm always shocked when I wake back up and we're still on the ground. Our second flight (from Frankfurt to Zurich) turned out to only be about a half an hour. We took the train into the city and got to our hotel around the same time we had been taking off the day before (of course this wasn't really 24 hours, only 15).
Our hotel is clean and simple, quiet, and has a friendly staff. We unpacked and freshened up, knowing if we laid down at all we'd fall asleep and it was a bit too early for that, we headed out for some dinner. CF (Classy Fellow) quickly realized he was not wearing nearly enough clothing for the near freezing temperature, he added a sweater but I think he was still too chilly to put up with too much exploring. Somehow our first night in a new city never goes well. The city was very quiet and seemed fairly empty. It was about 8pm, we started to wonder if dinner places closed early on Sundays. We found a few options but got turned off by the prices, I think that's going to happen a lot this week! And then we happened to come back past the train station and finally settled on a place we had seen while walking with our bags earlier. Tidbits turned out to be just that. A vegetarian buffet of this and that and you pay by the weight. Everything we tried (which included an onion ring and falafel or two) was pretty darn good. We didn't want to eat much, we mostly just needed to get some food in our bellies and go to sleep. We came back, had some much needed post-plane showers, and fell into our comfy bed (Or beds really, it's two little beds pushed together!) and got some fantastic sleep.
But it only lasted so long. We were both wide awake at 4am. We tried to will ourselves back to sleep but it didn't really happen. CF got up at one point and got his iPod, and then proceeded to finger drum softly to himself... not realizing just how audible this fidgeting was. Around 5:30 we finally gave in and got out of bed. We managed to make getting ready take the hour and a half we had until breakfast was served, the GoogleTalk chatting with friends and family back home helped with that. Breakfast was just was the doctor ordered! They made us some very good coffee complete with a little pitcher of steamed milk for each of us. There was fruit salad, delicious breads and cheeses... and wait for it... you know my favorite part of breakfast in Europe: Nutella! Feeling human again we were suddenly excited to go out and see the sunrise. Well, we didn't really get to see the sunrise, but we were out by the lake as the light crept into the city. I walked CF to his tram stop, he bought himself a day-pass and I kissed him goodbye and set off on my walk.
I decided that since I was already out and about I'd just wander for a while without going back up for a guidebook or to look at the recommendations we had links to on the computer. For the morning I'd just see what I could see. I walked for about two and a half hours out in cold before finally giving in and coming back up for a break and to warm up a bit. I can't believe it's still before noon! So right now I'm going to look at the guidebook and get back out there for some lunch and to find my CF a nice warm scarf. I'll upload photos and tell you about the most wonderful little cookies in the world a bit later.
Oh and by the way, I can't read German to save my life! It was so much easier to get by in Italy. So lunch is going to be an adventure!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Bon Voyage!
Today we leave for our multi-country 5 week adventure. I will miss this laptop dearly but luckily its big brother is coming with us, so I will be able to continue my habit of posting travel photos to Flickr as I go. I may or may not choose to blog here as well. We'll see. I'm pretty much packed, just a few things to toss inside the suitcase, need to make sure we have enough cash in our bank accounts, and I'd really love to get the house cleaned up more before we go. I hate coming home to pre-travel packing messes! I'm very excited just thinking about all the beautiful things were going to see, all the photos I will get to take... and of course all the fantastic food I will unfortunately eat! I'm ready for my fondue, chocolate, crepes, waffels, tapas etc. etc. etc. please...
I was looking for a little notebook to carry with me to record thoughts and I found notes from a very few days of last summer's Ireland adventure. Obviously I'm more into documenting my travels with photos instead of words. But in an effort to appreciate my words more I'm going to attempt to just type them out here before I start a new journey later today.
Tuesday--
I spent the morning resting my poor feet and shins (the blisters had led to unfortunate funny walking) as well as reading through my Lonely Planet yet again. This time I finally had the good sense to circle the interesting places on the maps, so I could see where my circles clumped. I took a long shower, gave in and pulled my hair back (too humid to have it down, feels bad and looks worse) and finally set out to do something with the day. I planned a route towards Merrion Square to see the Oscar Wilde Statue and the National Gallery. The walk as easy and really didn't take all that long. But I needed some lunch and had no recommendations close by. It started to rain and I picked a direction to walk. Lost again, so soon. I wander a little before I found some packed cafes. The Brewbaker cafe looked funny, the sign stated that they had "probably the best coffee in Dublin." Sure, why not. So I went inside, ordered a panini, and tried to get a sparkling water, but the European checker assumed I was trying to avoid it and gave me still. I came downstairs to find a seat, and that's where I am now, surrounded by theater posters (!) like they knew I was coming. Right now Patti is standing above me with her blond hair pulled back, diamonds on and arms in the air. Also around the room are Les Miz, Cats, Once on this Island, Lisa in Concert, and Dancing at Lughnasa. The chicken pesto panini is fine (they do love their "sweet corn" on everything here) nothing amazing but then at least I'm not out in the rain...
Wednesday--
And suddenly I am in Italy.
The sun was shining when we woke up late this morning. I decided to give my sandals a try. So far so good. And I saw it was going to be warm so I wore my capris. As I headed out it felt like a whole different trip. Yesterday was gloomy, I was gloomy, Dublin was gloomy. Everyone is in a good mood today. The woman standing next to me on a street intersection said to me, "Isn't it a nice morning?" I shocked her a little answering back in my American accent, "Yes, it's the first blue sky I've seen since arriving on Sunday." She asked where I was from, making her guess "the States." I told her San Francisco so I was sort of used to the weather, a little untrue since they live in this weather all the time. She wished me good luck and enjoy myself as we parted ways and the other Dubliners turned and looked as I thanked her. A girl could get awful nervous to talk if her accent is going to be that surprising. So I walked and walked and walked. I did pop into one shop, great looking stuff there, great smelling lavender soap and "Gran" and "Mum" coffee mugs I liked.
So, walking walking walking. It's the humidity plus the slightly higher temperature but sweat dripped down my back like in Italy. A couple on Grafton Street had on a tank top and no shirt. The buskers were out! The clever kid was back (note from the traveler: this was this amazing guy playing guitar on the street, I should find the video I took of him). Walking a ways was a very good thing to do. I saw how everything fits together, how it all related. The city begins to make sense. So I scoped out a number of restaurants. Blazing Salads is just a little take-away place. Fish and chips looks good but it's too hot. I do manage to finally see a part of town that look different! It's very nice, I like it. I decide to cross the river and check out Italian places. Bar Italia had Diane's Breasola salad on the menu. The enoteca has it too, plus lunch sounds good here, so that's where I am now. I supposed this is Little Italy. I'm having an excellent caprese and tomato basil soup that shimmers with olive oil (but the chunks of fresh tomato are amazing!). Outside people are dining al fresco. I figure I'll let the Dubliners enjoy their sunny tables. So funny to feel like I'm in Italy but then hear the thick Irish accents all around me and see the pale office workers scurry by in their button up shirts and ties. I like it. I think it was supposed to be 72 degrees today. A scorcher for Dublin. Everyone's walking by with ice cream, or is it gelato? We'll see.
It was.
Another day?--
Today I got a late start but plenty of sleep and a number of things planned. The musical pub crawl is booked for Diane, and theater tickets are purchased for next week. A preview of The Importance of Being Earnest starring all men on Monday at the Abbey, and The Constant Wife at the Gate on Thursday. I think the tickets were 15 and 28 Euro, not bad! Also bought our bus tickets for Saturday. I'm a bit worried about it but I imagine it'll be fine. No tiolet and no reserved seats, hope it's not too long a trip to Belfast. I'm up on the North side having a great lunch in a wonderful little cafe. Next will be Pirates if it really opened today, or else the Dublin Writers Museum. My ciabatta is grilled with chicken, stuffing and cranberry sauce in it, like Thanksgiving on a sandwich! The salad is very good. Why are the tomatoes all so good here? I think the "potato crisps" are Pringles. Funny.
Quotes I wrote down when I finally did go to the Dublin Writers Museum--
"New York is a real city -- Los Angeles has no navel -- no Broadway -- and nothing to recommend it except the sunshine and swimming pools..." --Brendan Behan, 19 May 1961
"Please do not crush me utterly."
"Sorry to crush you; but I never autograph books or anything else for sale." --G. Bernard Shaw, 26 June 1930
I was looking for a little notebook to carry with me to record thoughts and I found notes from a very few days of last summer's Ireland adventure. Obviously I'm more into documenting my travels with photos instead of words. But in an effort to appreciate my words more I'm going to attempt to just type them out here before I start a new journey later today.
Tuesday--
I spent the morning resting my poor feet and shins (the blisters had led to unfortunate funny walking) as well as reading through my Lonely Planet yet again. This time I finally had the good sense to circle the interesting places on the maps, so I could see where my circles clumped. I took a long shower, gave in and pulled my hair back (too humid to have it down, feels bad and looks worse) and finally set out to do something with the day. I planned a route towards Merrion Square to see the Oscar Wilde Statue and the National Gallery. The walk as easy and really didn't take all that long. But I needed some lunch and had no recommendations close by. It started to rain and I picked a direction to walk. Lost again, so soon. I wander a little before I found some packed cafes. The Brewbaker cafe looked funny, the sign stated that they had "probably the best coffee in Dublin." Sure, why not. So I went inside, ordered a panini, and tried to get a sparkling water, but the European checker assumed I was trying to avoid it and gave me still. I came downstairs to find a seat, and that's where I am now, surrounded by theater posters (!) like they knew I was coming. Right now Patti is standing above me with her blond hair pulled back, diamonds on and arms in the air. Also around the room are Les Miz, Cats, Once on this Island, Lisa in Concert, and Dancing at Lughnasa. The chicken pesto panini is fine (they do love their "sweet corn" on everything here) nothing amazing but then at least I'm not out in the rain...
Wednesday--
And suddenly I am in Italy.
The sun was shining when we woke up late this morning. I decided to give my sandals a try. So far so good. And I saw it was going to be warm so I wore my capris. As I headed out it felt like a whole different trip. Yesterday was gloomy, I was gloomy, Dublin was gloomy. Everyone is in a good mood today. The woman standing next to me on a street intersection said to me, "Isn't it a nice morning?" I shocked her a little answering back in my American accent, "Yes, it's the first blue sky I've seen since arriving on Sunday." She asked where I was from, making her guess "the States." I told her San Francisco so I was sort of used to the weather, a little untrue since they live in this weather all the time. She wished me good luck and enjoy myself as we parted ways and the other Dubliners turned and looked as I thanked her. A girl could get awful nervous to talk if her accent is going to be that surprising. So I walked and walked and walked. I did pop into one shop, great looking stuff there, great smelling lavender soap and "Gran" and "Mum" coffee mugs I liked.
So, walking walking walking. It's the humidity plus the slightly higher temperature but sweat dripped down my back like in Italy. A couple on Grafton Street had on a tank top and no shirt. The buskers were out! The clever kid was back (note from the traveler: this was this amazing guy playing guitar on the street, I should find the video I took of him). Walking a ways was a very good thing to do. I saw how everything fits together, how it all related. The city begins to make sense. So I scoped out a number of restaurants. Blazing Salads is just a little take-away place. Fish and chips looks good but it's too hot. I do manage to finally see a part of town that look different! It's very nice, I like it. I decide to cross the river and check out Italian places. Bar Italia had Diane's Breasola salad on the menu. The enoteca has it too, plus lunch sounds good here, so that's where I am now. I supposed this is Little Italy. I'm having an excellent caprese and tomato basil soup that shimmers with olive oil (but the chunks of fresh tomato are amazing!). Outside people are dining al fresco. I figure I'll let the Dubliners enjoy their sunny tables. So funny to feel like I'm in Italy but then hear the thick Irish accents all around me and see the pale office workers scurry by in their button up shirts and ties. I like it. I think it was supposed to be 72 degrees today. A scorcher for Dublin. Everyone's walking by with ice cream, or is it gelato? We'll see.
It was.
Another day?--
Today I got a late start but plenty of sleep and a number of things planned. The musical pub crawl is booked for Diane, and theater tickets are purchased for next week. A preview of The Importance of Being Earnest starring all men on Monday at the Abbey, and The Constant Wife at the Gate on Thursday. I think the tickets were 15 and 28 Euro, not bad! Also bought our bus tickets for Saturday. I'm a bit worried about it but I imagine it'll be fine. No tiolet and no reserved seats, hope it's not too long a trip to Belfast. I'm up on the North side having a great lunch in a wonderful little cafe. Next will be Pirates if it really opened today, or else the Dublin Writers Museum. My ciabatta is grilled with chicken, stuffing and cranberry sauce in it, like Thanksgiving on a sandwich! The salad is very good. Why are the tomatoes all so good here? I think the "potato crisps" are Pringles. Funny.
Quotes I wrote down when I finally did go to the Dublin Writers Museum--
"New York is a real city -- Los Angeles has no navel -- no Broadway -- and nothing to recommend it except the sunshine and swimming pools..." --Brendan Behan, 19 May 1961
"Please do not crush me utterly."
"Sorry to crush you; but I never autograph books or anything else for sale." --G. Bernard Shaw, 26 June 1930
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