We used an iPhone app for our self guided tour of the old city. We discovered this app in Geneva and found it to be a useful tool. It uses the GPS location data from your phone to guide you along a route with audio that kicks off once you reach the required destination. You can download each tour as a package when on Wi-Fi so you don’t have to use mobile data as you wander around the city. There were two walks and a run listed for Zurich. We settled for the old city walk. 🙂
The walk starts and ends at the railway station and traverses about 9 Km. Again, the weather was perfect for this activity but there was a haze that washed out the skies. Chris was sure her images from our last visit here in 2012 were a lot sharper.
A ferris wheel had been setup near the waterfront of Lake Zurich.
Chris grabbed some photos as we looped over the top of the arc that would not be possible otherwise.
When we got to the Fraumunster Church that contains the stained glass panels by Marc Chagall, we were disappointed to find it temporarily closed. We have seen these magnificent panels on our previous visit and so this was not devastating but it would have been nice to visit with them again.
We completed the walking tour and had a salad with a nice bottle of wine in our apartment watching the ABC news and pre-budget speculation on iView.
A visit to the zoo
Our final day in Zurich was spent at the zoo. We left our apartment and took the tram into the railway station and then walked to a nearby shop which was supposed to store our bags for the day while we visited the zoo. But when we got there, the proprietor refused to accept our bags. Chris had made the booking on-line but the shop keeper said he was not getting paid by the on-line system and so he was not going to take our bags. This was annoying as we had waited till the store opened and then had to drag our bags back to the railway station and store them in lockers there paying for the service – again. As we rode the tram out to the zoo, I was drafting an e-mail asking for a refund. I expect pigs may sooner fly.
The zoo was a strange mix of old and new. The site is compact, with residential housing just over the fence, and sits high on the hillside overlooking Zurich. The older sections felt like the Taronga zoo of old with cramped cages and pits with bars. The newer sections were bright and vibrant with lots of educational aspects for young children.
A recent addition to the zoo was a new enclosure for the koalas which looked like a crude facsimile of the Sydney Opera House with sail-like roofing. When we visited, the koalas were being fed and the crowd seemed transfixed by the commentary of the keeper who went on and on in Swiss German for as long as we were there. Even the koalas looked a little bored – but then again, they always seem that way to me.
We left the zoo and made our way back to the railway station, recovered our bags and then caught a train to Zurich Airport.
We checked in and then reclined for an hour or so in the Emirates lounge before departing Zurich nearly an hour behind schedule bound for Dubai and then for home. The flight was not full and we were able to block the two middle seats in the centre row (of four) and Chris was soon asleep lying across the seats. I continued with season three of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
I am writing this update in the Emirates lounge in Dubai. Our trip from Zurich was smooth as silk in an Airbus A380. Our final sector to home is also on an A380 and it is sad to see that this wonderful aircraft is being decommissioned around the world after just a little over 20 years of service (and being replaced by more fuel efficient wide body planes like the Boeing 777).
Kerrie Nolan has exceeded our expectations in organising the weather for this trip. Aside from Annecy, every stop has been blessed with perfect travelling conditions, blue skies and lots of sunshine. And she has been efficient too – as we were sitting in the lounge in Zurich waiting to board the plane, the rain started and the tarmac was soon awash with water.
I will be providing a final update once we reach home with the usual trip data points and some fun pictures.
Thanks for all your comments and interest in our travels. I hope you enjoyed our updates, which aside from our visit to CERN, I’ve tried to keep short and informative with some colour and movement.
We’re looking forward to seeing you all again very soon. 🙂
Lots of love – Chris and Greg Belcher.
What a gab journey. Great weather and lots seen, done and enjoyed. Thanks for sharing