Sunday, December 11, 2011

Adventures in Europe: Part 2b

Where did I leave off? Ah yes, the Insomnium concert!

The day after the Insomnium concert, Jennifer and I decided to go back into town, with our hearts set on muesli from Henrici, which Jen says is some of the best she's had. Granted, Jennifer makes a mean bowl of muesli (and heavenly lattes), as evidenced by my daily breakfast...
Yogurt + apple + banana + muesli + coffee = happy Margaret.
I even brought home some of this muesli!
...but Jennifer really thought I should try Henrici's. Unfortunately, we arrived there too late and they were completely sold out of it! I guess it really IS that delicious there! Luckily, they were not out of the flammenkuchen, which is basically paper-thin crust covered in bacon or pancetta, cheese, onions, tomatoes...it was basically the most delicious "pizza" I think I've ever had (and yes, I did use a LOT of superlatives when I was in Switzerland -- it really was that amazing of a place!).
One of the flammenkuchen that we shared
Finally full, we set out on a walk around town, full of cheesy pictures of me standing in front of churches and city scenes (I'll spare you most of these pictures).
View from below
View from above
Jennifer and me on the city wall
We made our way to the city wall which had amazing views, before heading toward the funicular that took us up to ETH, a university in Zurich. From there we had a pretty view of the city and the sunset.
Up at ETH
Afterward, we couldn't resist a walk over to Cafe Peclard for a hot chocolate and more festive decor. 
Nothing says "it's the holidays" like hot chocolate in Switzerland
From there, we headed home and prepared for the next day's journey, which would involve a trip to the Alps!

We started our day with proper fueling for any trip to the Alps -- coffee and monkey bread
Ignore the ugly part on the far end...it was my responsibility
to flip the pan onto the plate and I failed miserably
SO tasty. Jennifer had a mix that we used, but I'd love to try the recipe I linked to above!

Once we'd filled our bellies, we set out for Säntis. In case you were unaware (which I was until just now), Säntis is the tallest mountain in the Alpstein massif of northeastern Switzerland at 2,502 meters/8,208 feet! It took us three trains, a bus and a cable car to get there (with a little stop from the nicest train conductor EVER since we had gotten on the wrong train...), but as you can imagine, it was well worth it. I mean, when in Switzerland, one must visit the Alps!

I'm just going to let the photos speak for themselves...










It was absolutely beautiful! I am so glad that I made the trip out there. It was the perfect way to end my trip to Zurich. As soon as we got home, we had another delicious fondue dinner, and a party with a ton of Jen and Fred's friends. It was so much fun, and I really hope to make it back again...maybe in the warmer summer months? I think it's really only fair to see a place in the cold AND warm months before you decide how much you like it, right?

As I flew out of Zurich on my way to London (I had to fly to Gatwick, then get on a bus that took me to Heathrow five hours before my flight back to the US...needless to say, I spent a LOT of time pacing the concourse and making unnecessary trips to the Harrods shop!), I got one last glimpse of the Alps:
The Alps from my window!
Sigh. See you again soon (I hope), Zurich!

Regularly scheduled Have A Good Run posts to resume next week!

2 comments:

  1. great story...food...and fantastic pictures. i think you shld take yr dad next time!

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  2. Yey! Margaret, I'm so glad you had a good trip out to visit. We had so much fun visiting. I'm already looking forward to your trip out when it's warm!

    p.s. your photos of the alps are so beautiful! xx

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