End of the Line. Sunday 9/1/19

We like to walk, and we like to explore, that's been established in our blog!  Today we'd spend one last day traipsing around Switzerland, exploring the byways of Old Town Zurich.  We had no set plan, although we did want to cruise the Limmat River, and ogle Old Town's picturesque, medieval architecture.  After that, we'd walk, starting from the Main Station.

Showers were predicted, gray skies a fact, and we were prepared with umbrellas.  We were sprinkled on but never had to open the bumbershoots.  Huge Hydrangeas blossomed in front of the Fly Away Hotel where we're staying.  Most of our group is gone, including our friend, Sheila, but a few lingerers will be in town, too.

This boat trip on the River Limmat was included with the 24-hour train ticket given to us by our guide, Karin, so it was free.  You can see the long, sleek boat above, with the green roof.  It's low, really low in the water to fit beneath Zurich's low bridges.  We could still see out of windows and the top, allowing us to take in some of the most beautiful sights that Zurich’s Old Town has to offer, and then along Lake Zurich.  It stopped several times to pick up/drop off people and only lasted about a half hour, but we enjoyed it immensely.

Limmat River, near the Main Station.

We were allowed to enter Predigerkirche Church, but could find no information on it, not even its name. Bowled over by its simple, virginal white interior, we looked it up on the Internet later. Originally a Dominican church, the Predigerkirche became Protestant during the Reformation. It was first built in 1231 and it's one of four main churches in Old Town Zurich.

I bet this beautiful pipe organ would turn out wonderful sound!  Initially installed in 1503, 24 years later it was broken in the aftermath of the Reformation struggle.  In 1879 the first new organ after the Reformation was installed, and in 1923 it was replaced by a new organ.

Predigerkirche spire -- 88.9 ft, and full of history itself.

This street looks fairly deserted, but, in fact, lots of people were Out and About on a Sunday, strolling along the narrow streets and contorted alleyways.  As the morning wore on, cafes filled with coffee drinkers, and possibly they'd taste a pastry or two.  We stopped in one ourselves, called Joe and the Juice, and savored not just a short cuppa, but the joy of simply kicking back.

Grossmünster's double towers are Zurich's iconic landmark ... they are visible all over Old Town. The 12th century church has plenty of both historic and architectural significance.  No photos allowed inside.  All those crisscrossed lines in the picture are trolley electrics.  According to legend, Charlemagne built the towers at the location where the graves of the city saints Felix and Regula were discovered.

We managed to get down to the crypt and my camera kinda accidentally clicked at this point.  No one knows what lurks beneath the cement flooring (bodies, for sure!).  We didn't tarry down here.

Charlemagne, the original statue, from around 1491,
is in the crypt, above center.  

We wanted to tour Fraumünster Church, too, famous for its gorgeous Chagall stained-glass windows, but we would've had to pay to listen to the hour-and-a-half-long audio, and no pictures.  We wouldn't have minded paying, but everybody wants to take inside pictures, so we skipped it.  Besides that's a big chunk of time out of our one day here.

So, we meandered the streets, sat down when we wanted to, peeked into the old buildings, peered in windows. and had a wonderfully laid-back day.  We walked and walked and walked.

We rode the Polybahn funicular from the Central Square near the Main Station to the terrace at ETH Zurich -- a science, technology, engineering and mathematics university, which was bustling with a science fair for kids.  Inside the Main Building, we watched small kids and bigger kids and parents participating in all kinds of experiments.  You could tell the kids were really into learning.  Fascinating to watch.  FYI:  Albert Einstein studied here from 1896 to 1900, and from 1912 to 1914 he worked as a Professor of Theoretical Physics at the university.  Cool beans!  We hung around for a while and then rode the funicular down.

Finding the Main (train) Station is easy ... it's another landmark building ... chock-a-block full of people coming and going, as well as shops and places to eat, etc.  We boarded our train back to Kloten.  Packing our bags came next, not much fun in that.

Happy with our day in Zurich.

St Peter Church (above) is the oldest church in Zurich, and it has the largest clock tower face in Europe.  Now, it's saying goodbye to us.  Thanks for the memories, Switzerland.  You may be a small-by-size country, but your beauty is matchless ... and timeless.

We'd arranged to meet the remaining group friends for dinner at the hotel, sitting outside on the patio.  A few drops fell, but under their giant umbrellas, they didn't matter.  Jimmy had the world's biggest calzone and I had a small pizza.  The group rehashed some of our favorite adventures, all agreeing on what a stellar trip it was!  I guess I didn't get a picture, phooey.  Thanks, Roads Scholar, for such a fine program.  

We'd be up early to catch the shuttle to Zurich's airport.  Nice for all three of us that Elaine will be on the same flight to Dubrovnik.  She'll join a different group tour of the Balkans.  Wouldn't it be amazing to see each other somewhere in Croatia or Slovenia?

Hello, Zurich! Saturday, 8/31/19

We've had a fantastic couple of weeks in the Swiss Alps, hiking in and around Wengen and Bettmeralp, but now it was time to descend to lower altitudes -- to be exact:  Zurich at 1340 feet.  Our Road Scholar journey in Switzerland officially ends tomorrow.  Many in the group will fly directly home, some will stick around Zurich, or move on to other locales.

When we transferred from Wengen to Bettmeralp, the bus drove over the scenic Grindelwald Pass.  (Ya know, I doubt there are too many non-scenic spots in Switzerland!)  Today the route we'll take to Zurich is over the Furkapasse (Furka Pass), at nearly 8,000 ft.  Most of the way will be on narrow two-lane roads, which, when you consider the size of these buses, is quite a feat. 

Picturesque shots I took from the bus window as we rolled along.

What a treat to see all this green!

Window boxes and flowers ... unbeatable combination.

The Swiss have mastered the art.

Can't quite make head nor tails out of these zigzags?  This is the road we're on!  Up and up to the Furka Pass.  I took several of these pics, aghast at our roadway!

Passing the dinky town of Gletsch, not far from the pass, we saw this gray mass ... a rock field from the retreating Rhone Glacier.

The bus stopped close to the summit, parking next to the Hotel Belvédère, where we saw this glacial lake formed where the glacier used to be.  If you look closely, you  can see ice in the water by the far edge.  And here the Rhone River arises from the glacier of the same name.  The river is ROARING out of the lake.

In the center (above) is the actual glacier.  We didn't walk this path as we didn't have time, but apparently you can get close to the glacier.  Below, I'll attach a photo from the web of how the glacier used to look when it nearly overran the Grand Hotel Glacier du Rhone in Gletsch ... back in 1856 (and up till the turn of the 20th century) ...

... and the same hotel you see above can be seen at the red check mark (below), though looking in the opposite direction.  In other words, the green valley below used to be a solid sheet of ice.  If you enlarge the picture, the hotel might pop into view.  Use your back arrow to return to this post.

River Rhône, tumbling from its namesake glacier.

Also at the summit, you can walk to the Ice Grotto.

No thanks.  Been there, done that this trip.

Back in the bus and heading down the challenging two-lane switchback road that the bus is sharing with cars, trucks, bicycles, guys on roller-skis and maybe even pikas.  Some in the group were gasping at the sheer drop-off on one side, and the narrow misses with vehicle side-view mirrors on the other side.  What a ride! 

We watched the tiny town of Realp grow as we descended the switchbacks.  I wouldn't take this bus-driving job for all the money in Switzerland.  It ain't easy navigating these behemoths on 90° turns, even without oncoming traffic!

The Furka Pass was used as a location in the James Bond film Goldfinger.  One curve on this side (east) of the pass is even named "James Bond Strasse."  You can park a car there and enjoy a great view over the Valley. 

Crazy sculptures at a rest stop on the freeway into Zurich.  These sculptures are made up of thousands of small gears and metal parts from anything and everything.  Jimmy liked the car!

And finally, a look at Lake Zurich (or was it Lake Lucerne?) as we closed in on the city.  Jimmy and I have two nights at the Hotel Fly Away near the airport in Kloten.  After settling in our rooms, the group walked en masse to the nearby train station where we boarded a train to Zurich's multi-level Main Station.  There we learned which track and which train to take to get back to Kloten ... important to know when there's 26 tracks from which to choose!  The group split up at that point.  Jimmy and I walked around some, admiring the Old City's famous architecture before returning to the train station/hotel.  Hungry, we bought sandwiches at the Co-op in the station while we waited for our train and devoured them in our room.  And then, good night!

Tomorrow he and I plan to explore the capital city at our leisure.

Bettmerhorn! Friday, 8/30/19

In the last 10 to 12 days, Jimmy and I and our Road Scholar group have hiked a good-sized portion of the Swiss Alps, which took a lot of energy, but which we tackled with relish!  This trip has been a fantastic experience, viewing panoramic alpine scenery while walking-hiking around mountain paths, a real wonder.  The group has been enthusiastic!  Today our final "walking" field trip involved a cable car ride to the Summit Station atop Bettmerhorn (8684 ft), and hiking on from there.  We were looking forward to this one.

Bettmerhorn, as seen from our hotel porch.  Zoomed in.

Bettmerhorn means Bettmer peak.

But first (as we've been known to say), but first we had to walk to the cable car station, which was uphill and probably a mile away, give or take.  We got an early start, and got our aerobic exercise right away.  Worked off breakfast!

I swear, I don't know how they do this successfully all over the world.  These things shoot up to the top of mountains at such an angle, it simply blows my mind.  Smooth, too, usually.  This pic was taken at the top of the cableway summit station, looking down on Bettmeralp and Bettmersee (lake), far below.

At the top, Bettmerhorn summit station offers impressive views of the Bernese Alps and breathtaking views of the Aletsch Glacier.  We stopped to take photos from the restaurant (not open yet) and use the restrooms.  It wasn't cold at this elevation; neither was it warm, but it was very bright!

Inside the station was a 3D table model of the glacier and surrounding peaks, as well as information on the glacier itself.  I've included a few panel pics, above. 

We regrouped and began our walk to the glacier overlook.  We weren't alone, families and day trippers and small busloads of others used the same cable car system to reach this destination.  Just imagine this one fact, if you will.  At the curve, the glacier is one mile across, from one side to the other.  Also, you can see how high/deep the Aletsch glacier was not THAT long ago:  Where the lighter/darker colors change on yonder mountain.

The glacier at this point is 900 meters thick (2,953 ft).  With binoculars, the group was able to spot a "glacial erratic" sitting atop the ice.  It would be hard to guess the boulder's size since we were so high above it, but we guesstimated it to be the size of a SUV or a small truck.  It looked like a pebble without the binocs.  I took a picture, but didn't include it -- too hard to decipher.  I loved looking at the polished blue ice (below)!

Equally noteworthy to us is what you see below.  I've check marked (in yellow) both Wengen, near the top, and Bettmeralp, close to the bottom -- the two places we've stayed in Switzerland, on either side of the Jungfrau and the Bernese Alps.  If the crow flew, it would cross the space (up and over, for sure) quickly.  As the road goes, it's around the mountains, not over.  We've been blessed to see this part of the Alps and the Aletsch Glacier from both ends.  From the source to it's termination.  Wow.  Really, wow!  

After this, our local guide, Dominique, took half our group (a few more than half) for the longer hike along the glacial ridge and return down to the hotel. Our half (a few less), with Karin in the lead, took the shorter hike along the ridge and back home ... a 2300' descent. We made the correct decision.

Boulder-hopping isn't easy, especially if you have short legs!  Everyone had to be sure-footed before stepping down.  All the while we were treated to wonderful glacier/mountain views.

By this time, the day had warmed significantly and the sheep were trying to hide in the shade.  Some of the sheep had blue markings, another herd was marked in green.  The colors identified the sheep as belonging to certain farms.  They looked different than sheep in the US.

Stunning!

In the thin, bright sunny air, quite a few hikers got sunburned on this trek along the ridge and down toward the hotel, despite sunscreen and hats.

My Mom would have a heart attack if she were still alive and saw me standing on this rock a thousand feet, or more, above the glacier, straight down to the ice.  Heck, I'd probably crack my head open first on boulders before I hit the ice.  No worries, I didn't fall.

Imagine eating lunch parked on a boulder, surrounded by this sight!

This good ol' boy (a young'un, we thought) came mooving down the trail while we ate our sandwiches.  It passed us, got maybe a hundred yards further on, stopped, mooed again, then turned around and ambled back the way it came.  It was probably looking for its mommy and/or its buddies.  Lunchtime entertainment!

The last hike?  We saved The Best for last.

The air -- so clear.  The colors -- greens and blues, whites, so brilliant.  Mountaintops you could almost touch --  everything in high-definition!

Yet, you have to know our knees felt that 2300 ft descent!

We put six miles on our feet today, nearly 16,000 steps, both up and down, not the most we've done this trip (but respectable!), coming from that ridge you see high over the lake (above).  The other group did like eleven miles, which we didn't want to do.  Besides, we got back a lot earlier than they did!  What an extraordinary place to spend time.  Today's hike was a showcase, purposeful; if you didn't want to hike down, you could've ridden the cable car back, and one of our group did that.  There are no forced marches here!

This would be our last night at Hotel Waldhaus and we were sad to leave.  Our host, Ernest, had an elegant six-course farewell dinner prepared for the group this evening.  Eggplant Mousse started us off, followed by Broth with Port-wine, Strudel with mushrooms, salad from the buffet, and a Refreshing Sorbet.  The main course was a "Filet from the organic pork with veggies and red wine risotto."  Muy delicioso!  Or should I say Wunderbar?  Finally Panna Cotta followed the cheese course.  Fine wines were offered, as well as beers, and coffee for Jimmy and me.  Oh my goodness, we were stuffed, sated with such an extra-special dinner.

Tomorrow we take the cable car down one last time and board the bus to Zurich.  Some will fly home directly, others will take advantage of the city for sightseeing and/or shopping.  We'll spend two nights in Zurich.  Then we'll hop on a Croatia Airlines turboprop for Dubrovnik!  Pinch me.