Вне конкуренции или швейцарско - итальянская безупречность (Часть 2) Out of competition or Swiss - Italian perfection (Part 2)

Day Three: Switzerland! ! ! The country I fell in love with at first sight! ! !

So: local time is 8.00 and we are leaving for Zurich (the distance from Bobingen is 280 km. ) Outside the window there are already magnificent mountain landscapes of the majestic Alps, the beauty of meadows and lakes, and we are greeted by a small "paradise" on earth - Switzerland! We could not resist to stop on the road and capture all this beauty.

Inspired by the scenery outside the window and a fascinating story about Switzerland, at 11.00 we arrive in Zurich. And the first thing you pay attention to is clean mountain air. And our acquaintance with Zurich, as always, begins with a sightseeing tour. Our guide was Valeria, a wonderful guide with a huge amount of knowledge, who told us so colorfully and fascinatingly about the country of mountains and lakes of Switzerland, about Zurich and its traditions, that the city simply fascinated us.

Our tour began with an acquaintance with the old town, or Alstadt as it is called - this is the oldest part of Zurich with small old streets imbued with the spirit of the Middle Ages, the year of construction is written on the houses and there are even houses built in the 10th century.

You can even wash your face and drink water from the fountain, of which there are a lot in Zurich. By the way, the water is perfectly clean everywhere and the residents drink water directly from the tap, and from the fountains on the street.

Lenin lived in this house.

Here, an obligatory part of the program includes a visit to a chocolate confectionery, of which there are a lot everywhere, we also looked into one of them. Prices in Zurich for everything, I’ll tell you, “do not indulge”, but it’s understandable, after all, the financial capital, but you still need to try these goodies, otherwise it’s a shame to be in Switzerland and not try the famous Swiss chocolate.

Two towers rise above Zurich - this is St. Peter's Church and Fraumü nster.

St. Peter's Church is very majestic, as is the former convent Fraumü nster. Further, we go up the hill and get to the Lindenhof observation deck, from where you can see the city and the Limmat River, which flows through the whole of Zurich.

We descend back and go towards the lake, and now Fraumunster appears before us.

But the main church of Zurich and its symbol is the two-domed Grossmü nster Cathedral.

The main street of Zurich is Bahnhofstrasse, it is pedestrian, no cars drive on it, only public transport (if I didn’t mix anything up)

We walk along Bahnhofstrasse and exit to the square near the lake - Burkliplatz.

turpravda.en/newimg/3/800x600/00/01/57/49/1574987.jpg" /> Yes. . . the financial capital really knows its worth, Zurich is truly a city of calm and measured. Despite the fact that it was a Sunday, it was surprisingly quiet in the city, and we went for a walk along the lake (since the review ended and we were given a couple of hours of free time). Further, the lake expanded, forming something like a park and beach area, where local residents calmly rested and swam. Right on the shore, freelance artists built bizarre stone compositions. We also decided to join the vacationers and check the temperature of the water (the water was even very warm), it's a pity we didn't bring bathing suits, otherwise we would certainly have taken a swim.

From the pier you can take a boat and take a walk on the lake.

But since we had limited time (that's putting it mildly), the boat didn't shine for us.

Well, that's all. Zurich in 4 hours is a gamble, of course, but nothing can be done. There was a temptation to stay in Zurich until the evening, but the temptation to see Lucerne was higher. And now for 28 euros at 15.00 we go on an optional excursion to the very center of Switzerland - fabulous Lucerne. It really absorbed all the values ​ ​ of the country - a picturesque winding lake, and ancient architecture in the style of a "gingerbread town", and the high Alps. 60 km. On the way we are in Lucerne, and the same charming Valeria is with us.

The whole tour passes through the old part of the city, you have to run a lot, uphill, downhill, but who cares now?

The hallmark of Lucerne, as well as its main monument, is the sculpture "The Dying Lion". It was erected in honor of the soldiers of the Swiss Guard. Mark Twain said of him - "this is the saddest statue of stone. "

Next, we visit another object that deserves attention - this is the church of St. Leodegar. It is named after the patron saint of the city. It combines Gothic and Renaissance elements.

And suddenly the picture is like from a fairy tale. . . you seemed to be in a fairy tale land. . . 58/1575827.jpg" style="height: 533px; width: 800px" />

This is the Mill Bridge - the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe - Kappelbrü cke, as the Swiss call it. It is all painted with frescoes or paintings on the theme of "dance of death". Why such a theme was chosen for painting, I did not understand, but maybe I listened.

A water tower was built right there. The current is very strong, there are even locks that periodically open and close. And from here you can see the oldest building in the city - this is the Jesuit church, built in the Baroque style.

And all the tourists are shown such a tower with a clock. This is the Old Town Hall of Lucerne, which has a very interesting history. And today, it is a museum telling about the history of Lucerne. But the museum is not boring at all, there is even a permanent exhibition "Toy Museum", where it is interesting for everyone, both children and adults.

And in the very center of the old town on the Kappelplatz square is the Fritsch Fountain. This is the oldest fountain in Lucerne (built in 1581) and was the first building outside the fortress wall and is dedicated to the legendary resident of the city.

Honestly, everything is very fabulous. Lucerne with its dollhouses on narrow clean streets is just a feast for the eyes! Many houses have frescoes that the townspeople once used to decorate their homes, they are very colorful.

Here is one of such bright houses "Fasnacht", the frescoes on it depict the heroes of the local carnival. And who can not get to the carnival, they can try to visit it, just looking at the pictures.

They also say that you should definitely climb Mount Pilatus, from where a stunning panorama opens, but we were very limited in time and alas... the mountains next time.

And in my free time I managed to admire the lake a bit, chat with the local swans, which here, like all the Swiss, are very majestic, proud and calm.

Well, the final part of our program was shopping, in the sense of buying at least some gifts home.

The guide advised the easiest option, to walk to the station (literally 15 minutes from the end of the review) and there are 2 large supermarkets, in one you can buy alcohol, but everything else is more expensive there, and in the other the same products are cheaper, but there is no alcohol. We bought chocolate "Sprungli" and "Tablerone" (in the form of the Swiss Alps), they also recommend "fry", "nestle", "lindt". Well, how to be in Switzerland and not bring Swiss cheese. On the advice of the same Valeria, we bought alpenkese and bergkese cheeses (that’s how it sounds in Russian), these are traditional cheeses made from mountain cows’ milk, they have protected PDO quality (prices are from 4.5 to 6 euros for 200-250 grams). The cheeses are very tasty, we tried them at home, everyone liked them. We also bought the famous Swiss cheese with large holes - Emmental, I also liked it (but I'm generally a cheese lover, so I can have a very subjective opinion, because my husband said, well, cheese is like cheese).

Cherry tincture "Kirsch" is also appreciated (but it is strong, essentially brandy). As souvenirs, tourists buy music boxes in the form of a house - a chalet, cows with bells made of glass and porcelain, someone buys high-quality Swiss watches, knives are also in demand among tourists, and, in general, the rest is all sorts of junk, as my husband says ( so we still buy something from the gastronomic department, but otherwise we limit ourselves to refrigerator magnets).

We didn’t manage to have lunch in Switzerland, we had a bite of sandwiches on the bus on the way from Zurich to Lucerne. According to a survey conducted on the bus, it turned out that everyone had a "bummer" with lunch, but this, unfortunately, is the disadvantages of such bus tours.

In general, this is Switzerland in one day - a kaleidoscope of events, emotions are going wild, the brain does not have time to process information, you are in euphoria... But the day is over, but you still need to get to the place to spend the night.

We get on the bus and head to France to the beautiful city of Annecy. The distance to Annecy is 260 km. and around 11 pm we arrive at the Comfort Suites Anncy Seynod 3* hotel. The hotel is pretty decent, breakfast, by the way, too. Somehow like this. We are in France.

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Germany

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France

Italy

Austria