We have a plan it’s mapped out from our AI friend “Doc”
First up Lake Zurich and honestly I am not sure I have ever seen a swan fly…
The skies had some clouds but blue skies are up there, so we found a path and enjoying the quiet of morning around the lake
Hey wait a minute we are way off track. The lake….distracted us – Rut roh there’s always a tram to get us back to the start.
Back on the river to restart & explore old town
The clock tower bells are ringing beautifully across the city.
The Fraumünster we’ll explore later to see the Marc Chagall windows
St Peter Europes largest church clock face
Further up the river…is that a giant Sequoia in Zurich???
We were ready to visit the Grossmünster and climb the 187 stairs to the top. WAIT!! WHAT????
The guild of the Red Eagle an emblem for carpenters, bricklayers, barrel makers, vintners and construction workers all tradesmen responsible for building this grand city.
There are side streets with vintage shops, crafters, jewelry makers, cafes, roasters and chocolates, all bursting with charm
And steps lots of them to go along with the cobble stone and brick layered streets.
A few signs along the way to remind us to laugh
And important reminders too
We made it to the fancy street Bahnhofstrasse but those designer stores are too much for us. We much prefer the other side of the river
St. Peter’s Church is the oldest parish church in Zurich. The original foundation walls from the 9th century are still visible under the choir.
The city’s first mayor, Rudolf Brun, acquired St. Peter’s in 1345 with all the associated privileges and obligations. His grave and monument can be found by the outer tower wall. The first reformed pastor, Leo Jud (1523-1542), was a friend of Zwingli and contributed to the first translation of the Bible in Zurich. J.C. Lavater was pastor from 1778-1801. His gravestone can be seen in the church wall.
The church clock face measures 8.7meters (25.5 ft) in diameter. There are five bells dating from 1880 in the tower – the largest of which weighs over six tons without its clapper.
Clocks are Switzerland and we love them at every turn
A visit to Fraumünster, one of Zurich’s oldest sacred buildings. It has a rich and chequered history. Gotteshaus St. Felix und St. Regula’ was founded as a convent on 21 July 853. The convent played a major role in Zurich’s development from a Celtic, then Roman settlement of regional importance into a prosperous medieval town. From the 8th century onwards, Zurich was a strategic base within the empire of the powerful Carolingian dynasty.
Fraumünster was a Benedictine convent for many centuries. The abbey’s crucial significance is evidenced by the fact that it had the right to mint coins on behalf of kings, collect tolls and hold markets from the 11th century onwards. In addition, the incumbent abbess was the official ruler of Zurich from the 13th century onwards, holding the title of royal princess. This era came to an end with the Reformation: in 1524, the last abbess, Katharina von Zimmern, handed over the abbey and all its goods to the city of Zurich.
The great organ was inaugurated on 4 October 1953 by the famous French composer and organist, Marcel Dupré. Its four manuals, 5,793 pipes and 95 registers make it the largest organ in the canton and the third largest in Switzerland. The longest pipe measures ten metres and the shortest just three centimetres. The two-manual organ in the chancel can also be played from the great organ. Together, the two instruments produce an impressive sound inside the church.
The great organ is popular owing to its warm, symphonic tone and is played during church services and at international organ recitals.
‘He must have an angel in his head, Pablo Picasso once said of his fellow artist, Marc Chagall. It is indeed amazing that such a spiritually inclined artist as Chagall, who was born in Vitebsk in Belarus in 1887, only discovered stained-glass painting at the age of 70. The stained-glass windows Chagall had designed for a synagogue in Jerusalem were already world-famous when Fraumünster parish priest at the time, Peter Vogelsanger, ventured to contact the elderly artist in 1967. The result of this courageous request is a unique, highly spiritual work of art that is extremely colourful and expressive: a pictorial symphony of biblical images. The windows were inaugurated in the presence of the then 83-year-old Chagall in 1970.
The Zurich couple Lou and Heinrich Hatt-Bucher paid his fee plus the high production costs. At the time, the donors wanted to remain anonymous.
We found a nice spot to chill & rest our feet already clocking 14,741 steps.
We’re hopping on the #4 that will drop us at close to our home away from home to open our windows and enjoy. Tomorrow is our last full day is Zürich and we have a date with the Lindt factory.
