Munich, Nuremberg, and Zurich: Zurich and Liechtenstein

Zurich along the Limmat River

We took a short flight on a Bombardier-Q400, a 76-seater jet-prop “puddle-jumper” from the Nuremberg airport to Zurich. It’s been a while since we’ve flown on anything without the name Boeing or Airbus attached to it! Nice smooth ride on this little guy, we might add. We were excited to visit this Swiss city for the first time, but never expected to fall in love with it.

Zurich

Zurich’s Altstadt (old city) lies along the Limmat River which flows into Lake Zurich. Much like the Seine in Paris, the Limmat divides the old city in two with several short but scenic bridges connecting the two sides. We had mostly gorgeous weather with sunlight shimmering on the ever-present water.

Double-spired Grossmunster church

Both sides of the old city offer impressive churches as well as other antiquated and behemoth structures. The Grossmunster is a monster-sized church with two identical soaring spires. Directly across the river is a much more sedate church called the Fraumunster which was originally an abbey for aristocratic women. This church holds one of Zurich’s greatest treasures: five stunning stained glass panels by Marc Chagall.

Chagall stained glass

The stained glass panels are typical Chagall works with bright colors and whimsical figures. Such an expression of love and joy. What is truly amazing is that Chagall never even attempted to work with stained glass until he was in his seventies. These panels were installed when he was 83 (he lived to be 98).

A Canaletto view of Venice

Speaking of Chagall, we also spent several hours in the Kuntshaus, Zurich’s premier art museum. One room held three of Monet’s oversized water lily paintings and another had five Chagall’s.

Chagall's "Above Paris," one of Anne's favorites

Including a painting called “Above Paris” that Anne wanted to take home with her. Some paintings of other favorite artists were there also, such as Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, Canaletto, and Guardi.

Bucolic backstreets of Zurich

We explored both sides of the Limmat River and were surprised by the peaceful, quiet backstreets that felt more like rural passageways in small villages rather than routes thru Switzerland’s largest city. These streets were often cobbled and limited to pedestrian thoroughfare, making a stroll thru the Altstadt a fun adventure in Zurich.

Montmartre-like area of Zurich

Anne’s favorite part of the city was a hilly area on the west side of the Limmat, that reminded her of Paris's Montmartre with its meandering lanes and old multi-story buildings.

Fabulous view from the Lindenhof Plaza

Frank and Anne headed up to Lindenhof for a finale sight, a large park high above the city with lots of Linden trees (naturlich) and fabulous views of the Limmat River and the city buildings below. All we needed was a bottle of wine, and we could have sat there for hours.

Vaduz Castle overlooking the town of Vaduz, Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein

We took a day trip to Vaduz, the capitol city of tiny, mountainous Liechtenstein. To be honest, we made the trip mostly for the bragging rights. How many people make it to Liechtenstein, right? Well, M&M beat us to it, so that was even more of an incentive to go - ha, ha. It turned out to be another really nice day trip. The weather was great, and the adventure was exciting.

Liechtenstein is located to the east of Switzerland, and occupies about 62 square miles of very mountainous territory. This German-speaking principality has a population of a mere 37,000 people who have one of the highest standards of living in the world and an unbelievable unemployment rate of just 1.5%! There are more businesses in Liechtenstein than people.

Scenic Alps of Liechtenstein from vineyard below

The train ride from Zurich to a town called Sargans was exceptionally scenic. We followed the edge of Lake Zurich and then wound our way up into the Alps. All of a sudden, we were in “Heidi Country!” At Sargans, we left the train and took a 45-minute bus ride into Vaduz. We were so proud to see our public transportation skills coming back!

The city of Vaduz is more modern than quaint, but it is perfectly situated in the upper Rhine Valley surrounded by soaring peaks. We ate a wonderful lunch at Hotel Adler where Frank got to try the local brew and Anne tasted her first Liechtenstein Pinto Noir. Both were excellent!

Frank with our hosts Barbara and Christophe at the
Hofkellerei Winery

We hiked out of town a bit to the Hofkellerei, a wine tasting room of the Princely Wine Cellars owned by the Liechtenstein Foundation. We had a great time here, tasting new and interesting wines and enjoying the hospitality of our hosts -- Barbara and Christophe. What fun people!

Pinot Noir grapes just waiting to be picked
(or eaten -- yummy!)

Afterwards, we walked through the vineyards, taking pictures of the grapes against the backdrop of the mountains and Schloss Vaduz (Vaduz Castle).

At the famous Sprungli choco shop

Swiss Chocolate

Zurich is well-known for exquisite tasting chocolates, and great chocolate shops to boot. We, being the consummate global chocolate lovers that we are, needed to go on a walking expedition thru Zurich in search of the finest choco spots we could find. Two shops popped to the top of the list: "Sprungli" and "Teuscher" We did indeed locate them both and were not sorry that we spent time running them down.

Of course, we picked up an inordinate supply of their most savory, delectable chocolate bars and truffles to stock up our Pocono homestead back in Pennsylvania. We also grabbed a bag of champagne truffles at Teuschers that we promptly devoured on the fly as we sauntered the backwater cobble-stoned areas of Zurich.

Searching for the perfect chocolate

Feeding some of the many swans along the Limmat River

Summary

On a side note, in southern Germany, where much of our travel took place, we found that many places (restaurants especially) do not take American credit cards. Cash is king and the main vehicle for purchase. In Switzerland, where all things seem to be much more expensive, the credit card is welcome. So, if you are planning an excursion to these areas, plan on having much cash on hand in Germany, and not so much in Switzerland.

The lovely Fraumunster church

That wraps up our current European venture. We are so glad we did this and so relieved to see that Europe is just as vibrant and wonderful as ever. We never felt any safety concerns while there, despite the seemingly daily bad news concerning secure travel to certain areas of Europe. Happy travels to all, and we’ll see you next time on the road.

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