Due to Paul’s adventure with French medicine, Reggie had
cancelled our planned foray into Switzerland . Thinking to make it up to her, he suggested
(and planned) a day-trip to Zurich
to see the lake, visit the old town and the Grosse Kirk. So off we went.
No doubt this would have gone better with a guide to Switzerland or
at least a map. And better planning. Nonetheless, our able
Mable the GPS lady got us there. On the
way we remembered that Switzerland
is not part of the EU. We were stopped
at the border, showed our passports and were instructed that we had to pay the Road
Tax and get a sticker for the car.
Conveniently, they could do that for us right there. For SF40 or $50.
Good for a year though!
The cost of the trip had just doubled. We parked within walking distance of the old
church (no photos allowed, but singularly uninteresting anyway after the Gothic
thrillers of France ),
checked it out quickly, strolled about and had lunch. Paul then asked a German-speaking Swiss
couple where the nearest public washrooms were.
Now, whenever he says anything in French to a Frenchman, he always gets
blank stares until after a few repetitions, he happens upon the exactly correct
pronunciation. Until then apparently,
it’s just gibberish. It was a bit of a
shock therefore, when the German-speakers immediately grasped the essence of
his question and responded with a two-minute barrage of no doubt helpful
instructions in Schweitser-Deutsch.
Paul smiled, nodded, thanked them and walked on none the wiser, having
thoroughly exhausted his childhood German repertoire.
More window-shopping (the Swiss have discovered that
tourists like the Old parts of towns, so those are loaded with upscale boutiques
and pricey bars), a Gelato, and back on the road. Returned to Strasbourg in the rain in time for
Rush-Hour. Altogether, not the greatest
side-trip. Paul blamed the planning.
Random castle en route
Grosse Kirk Zurich
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