After boarding a train in Venice, Italy, we were able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the beautiful countryside views as we traveled to Milan, Italy, and then on to Zurich, Switzerland.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
In Milan, we had to make our first train switch to eventually reach Zurich. (There was no direct train service from Milan to Zurich that day.) Much to our surprise, when we arrived at the Milan station, the line of people for our next train was so long that they had divided the line into five sections. Of course, we were near the back of the last line. This did not look good! When the train arrived at the station and the doors opened, the lines disappeared, and everyone made a mad dash for the open doors. It was obvious that we were not going to make it into a car close to us, so Kolohe said we needed to run for the back of the train as fast as we could, pulling our suitcases. We made it into the last car, only to have a mob of people behind us that kept pushing the people ahead of them through the open doors. When we were packed in the railcar like sardines in a can, the doors closed, and we were on our way. If all the people on the train were going to Zurich, it was going to be a long trip.
Fortunately, in about 30 minutes, we reached Lago di Como (Lake Como), and most people got off the train. We then found places to sit and store our suitcases.
It was somewhere after the city of Como that the train crossed into Switzerland. I think the boarder crossing was at Chiasso, and the next train switch was at Arbedo-Castione, but I'm not certain.
Before we arrived at the next station, the granddaughters happened to mention that we only had 2 minutes to catch the next train. However, they assured us that we did not have to worry because the next train platform was not too far away, and we could just run between trains. Easy to say for people in their 20s.
So, as we approached the station, we stood by the doors with our suitcases. As soon as the doors opened, we ran as fast as possible to the next platform and jumped into the first car. Of course, this was the First Class section, and we only had Standard rail passes. Without getting off the train, we were able to walk through the First Class section back to Standard seating. The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we arrived in Zurich without any problems.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Zurich Hauptbahnhof is the largest train station in Switzerland and one of the busiest in Europe. We were greeted in Zurich by a colorful Swiss Angel that was flying overhead.
In front of the station was a statue of Alfred Escher, a prominent Swiss politician and railway pioneer.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Bahnhofstrasse (Railway Station Street) begins at the train station and is Europe's most expensive street for retail property. The street is also the third most expensive in the world. We splurged and purchased some candy at one of the shops.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Pestalozzi Monument is located in Pestalozzi-Anlage (a small park) in downtown Zurich and was dedicated to the memory of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827). Pestalozzi was an educational reformer and is recognized for his pedagogical work.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
We walked past St. Peter's Church with its large tower clock and continued on to the Fraumunster, a historic church with crypt and a museum.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
The Munsterbrucke (bridge) crosses the River Limmat at Munsterhof and connects the historic section of Zürich to the more modern part on the other side of the river.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Our two guides insisted that we go to Sternen Grill for some "Brots." According to Sternen's, "Here, world stars, tourists, commuters, students, pensioners, celebrities, locals, business people and all sausage lovers enjoy 'the original' and many other Swiss classics until late at night. The St. Gallen bratwurst with the devilishly spicy star mustard and the crispy Gold-Burli is in great demand." We each decided to try something different and then share, so we could taste more types. Our guides ate everything, but my stomach did not do too well. On the front of their menu, it states "Wurst Geht!," which I think translates to "Worst Gut Ache."
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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