Zurich

As a crossroads of the financial world, Zurich sort of lived in my imagination as a glamorous setting for international intrigue and mystery.  I pictured bankers, spies and various chic people all drinking red wine together and plotting... um...something... against the backdrop of a gilded European metropolis.  However when I arrived late Sunday afternoon in advance of my Travel Channel shoot, I found what appeared to be a sleepy little medieval village.   The shops close early on Sundays, and there were few people out on the street.  Welcome to Zurich:  population 370,000.  Much smaller than I expected.



When I scouted the three main churches I'd be filming the next day in Old Town, I was surprised to see that they were all within about a two minute walk from each other.   
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Here's the Fraumunster, established in 853 as a convent for noblewomen.  The Abbesses of the Fraumunster held most of the power in Zurich until the Protestant Reformation in 1523.






Speaking of the reformation, just across the river is the Grossmunster where the city council voted to adopt Protestantism in 1523.









Back on the other side of the River Limmat is St. Peter's church (to the right of the Fraumunster).  These churches lack a lot of the ornamentation you might see in other houses of worship around Europe.  After reformation, the Protestant clergy ripped out the organs, statues and other Catholic iconography.
















St. Peter's dates back to the 8th or 9th century.  The structure you see today does not.  It was renovated and rebuilt in the 13th and 18th centuries.  The Fraumunster and the Grossmunster share similar stories.  One of the challenges in writing for TV is finding an entertaining way to tell people when a building in Europe was constructed.  There's usually only a few seconds to do so, and most of these places took hundreds of years to reach their present state.  Instead of putting in a dozen qualifiers (ie, "While the choir was completed during the height of the Renaissance, the nave was built under the direction of Horace the Mad some several hundred years earlier"), I usually just say when construction began.



But enough about names and dates.  Here's a pic of yummy Aelplermagronen - a Swiss dish.  It's basically mac and cheese made with Gruyere, fried onions, potatoes and a side of apple sauce.  There were some cafes open late on Sunday catering to scattered tourists and students (Zurich is a big college town).  I had this.  Welcome to Zurich!

 












I can't really describe the feel of Zurich without mentioning the trams.  They're always on scene, gliding past in a rhythmic whooosh.  I've only lived in New York and Los Angeles, so I found the vibe here tranquil and slow paced.  My production assistant grew up in a small Swiss village, however, and he thought that life in Zurich was hectic and nearer to lightening speed.  I guess it's all relative.




I took advantage of the tram service.  If you purchase a Zurich Card at the start of your trip, it'll buy you unlimited tram service and entry to museums for a proscribed number of days.  This is a tourist friendly city.






The first few days of filming overseas are always a little bit of juggling act as I try to navigate a new culture and probably commit a few faux pas in the process.   Working in a foreign country is definitely an immersive method of travel.  When I'm wearing my producer hat, I'm fairly gregarious, a little loud, and I smile a lot.  Basically, I'm very American.  The German speaking Swiss have a reputation for being more reserved, so I tried to be respectful of this.  There is definitely an air of formality Zurich, especially when you first meet people.  They warm up quickly though, and I found the Swiss to be friendly and down to earth.  They're also extremely solicitous - I've never had so many strangers (women and men) offer to carry a bag or stop to help if I looked lost.  On the flip side of this, I was scolded by a stranger for letting my car idle.




One of the neighborhoods I featured was the Schipfe area of Old Town.  This was the headquarters of the silk industry in the 16th century and a transfer point for merchandise throughout Zurich's history.  Today, it's a laid back, craftsman paradise.  We stopped into two shops and met some local proprietors, both of whom were extremely welcoming. 




 












Here's Susanna Ruttiman - she's a sculptor.  Her studio is full of lovely female statuettes.











Vladimir Pusec, owner of Zur Kristall-Hohle, collects all the crystal you'll find in his shop.  He spends weeks in the Swiss Alps mining for quartz, amethyst and other gems. 





 















But back to food.  While you're in Zurich of course you have to sample some fresh chocolate and pastries.  I went to the Sprungli flagship store on the Paradeplatz. 







It seems like the recipe for making delicious food is the same everywhere:  keep it fresh and pay attention to detail.  It sounds simple, but when you come across a world class confectioner (and Zurich is home to many world class confectioners), you realize how special this is.




Sprungli makes these delicious sweets called Luxemburgerli.  They're like French macarons only lighter and more delicate.  They're made fresh each day.  If you buy a box, refrigerate it right away.  They'll keep for three days.  Or do as I did, and eat it right away.








More yummy food.  Here's the traditional Swiss dish, Zürigschnätzlets, veal in a mushroom and wine sauce, with Roesti, fried potatoes. 







I enjoyed this meal at the Zunfthaus Zur Waag.  This restaurant is an old guild hall (zunfthaus) established in 1336.  The rise of the trade guilds in the 14th century gave the emerging middle classes more political clout.  It's an important part of Swiss history.




 

The Zunfthaus Zur Waag was and still is home to the linen weaver and hat makers' guilds.  You can check out the crests of the founding families on the building's stained glass windows.



 



The last segment of the shoot was the Zurich Opera House.  You should definitely try to catch an orchestral, opera or ballet performance.  People dress to the nines when they come here (I saw some ballgowns), so don't show up like I did in a khaki skirt and jean jacket.
















All in all, Zurich is beautiful, charming city.   Its mix of contemporary elegance and historic beauty make it a wonderful destination for shopping, sightseeing and whiling away an afternoon.

After wrapping the shoot in Zurich, I spent a few days with friends who live near the city of Lucerne.  This also has a beautiful old town.




The famous Chapel Bridge.  It was originally constructed in 1333.  Most of the bridge was rebuilt after a 1993 fire.








I arrived here during the rush hour, so it's hard to make a proper comparison; but Lucerne seems to be a more bustling city than Zurich.  Maybe it's the New Yorker in me, but I was relieved to finally be surrounded people jaywalking and hurrying in every direction.   I didn't realize I had been missing a little urban chaos.


















Access to the Alps is a short train ride from Lucerne.  I took a great daytrip to Mt. PIlatus.  A cog railway (the steepest in the world) will take you to the top at 7,000 ft.







On the ride up, I sat across from Swiss woman who kept exclaiming in German how beautiful the scenery was.  I agreed with a smile, not quite sure if I should let her know I couldn't understand her.  When she started speaking to me in full sentences, I interrupted with “kein deutsche” (“no german”).  For the rest of the trip, we periodically smiled at each other.




At the top of Pilatus are hiking trails of varying degrees of difficulty.  I chose a slightly treacherous 45 minute walk along the mountain ridge.  It's a steep drop off to the left.













You can hike to Klimsenhorn Chapel (built in early 1860s) or stay overnight at Hotel Pilatus-Kulm.




I sat outside for lunch at the hotel while clouds started to form below the peak.  It was so peaceful, sitting up there in the chilly quiet.  I could hear the faintest clinking of cowbells echoing up from the valley below.  I don't think you can really get a sense of what Switzerland is about without spending time in the countryside and the mountains.  It's...pastoral. 













For the trip back, I took a gondola down the other side of the mountain, bringing me closer to Lucerne.    Who needs theme parks and roller coasters?  Swaying from a cable while descending into the alpen mist was pretty darn thrilling.

The day before I left Switzerland, my friends suggested we head to one of the small towns to watch the cows returning from their summer grazing in the Alps.  I didn't know what to expect, but once the celebration started, I wished I had brought along my video camera.  This would have been a great addition to the Travel Channel video. 



We went to the town of Schupfheim.  The parade started with yodeling choirs.  It was a little surreal to realize that I was watching actual Swiss yodelers doing actual Swiss yodeling.  I just wasn't expecting it.  I really wished I had brought along my video camera.









Next came the alpenhorns.  These instruments were originally used to communicate from the mountain tops.  The music was beautiful and haunting. 









Then the cows came home!  And I learned where the phrase comes from!








These animals spend summers grazing in the Alps.  Every fall, the various farming families return and parade their cattle through the town.  There's plenty of local cheese and butter on hand.   As it was still morning, there were a lot of people selling coffee.  Mit Schnapps. 




The crowd seemed truly appreciative of the farmers.  Many of these small villages were once solely agricultural outposts, dependent on their livestock.   There was a real sense of tradition permeating the day.  The families and their cows all received huge rounds of applause.