[CR Switzerland] Day 02

September 18, 2006
Zurich - Bern - Murten -Geneva

Morning Call : 6.30 AM * Bags and Breakfast : 7:30 AM
Leave Zurich : 8:30 AM

Argh. Despite the fairly late departure time, the sky still refused to play nice, and we left Zurich in miserable weather. The TD did the usual "administrative details" spiel as we pulled out of the city - seat rotation rules, safety precautions, call times, and so forth. The audio tape detailing emergency procedures was new to me, and I had to smother chuckles while watching him make like a flight attendant, pointing out the emergency exits and the hammers for breaking the windows.

It was still raining when we arrived in Berne. Not too hard, more of a medium shower. Kept praying for the sun to come out, or at least for the rain to stop before we had to do any walking. Dad also managed not to bring a waterproof jacket on the trip, and Ma is not happy in the rain, poor dear - so making sure they'd be all right was on my mind as I bundled them into the kiosk by the Bear Pits. I managed to snap a couple of pictures before dashing for the washrooms, then found my parents happily browsing through the souvenirs in the kiosk. I pounced on a cowbell/coin savings bank for my best friend. Ma picked out various flavors of Ricola to ward off sore throats, and a little bear on a keychain. Dad got himself a baseball cap.

More pictures of the bears were taken on the way back to the bus. They look healthy and well-fed, as they ought to, as "pets" of the city. Certainly they know how to get people to take pictures of them - by sitting down near the guard rail and looking as cute as a three-hundred pound creature can look. ::grin::

Then the bus took us down the main street so that we could see the statues that were positioned at intervals down its middle. I quickly discovered that I was on the wrong side of the bus for good pictures! Before long, we were in Parliament Square - to find the the view of the lovely Parliament House was blocked by some sort of farmers' gathering - tented stalls were set up in the square. The landmark for the meeting point was easy to remember - the imposing Swiss National Bank building beside Parliament House.

Then we were led on a short walk towards the center of town. At least, it would have been a short walk in summer sunshine (or maybe not, considering the tourist crowds); the cold weather made it seem a little longer than it was. Elmar pointed out places along the way that we might want to explore after having lunch, before setting us loose at the top of the main street.

We found ourselves heading for the Migros cafeteria, a nice little place with a unique way to get used plates/utensils into the kitchen: one puts them onto a conveyor belt! Once outside, I snapped a few more shots of the clock tower and one of the statues in the main street. Would certainly have walked down the main street for a few more photos if I'd been allowed to, but it wasn't meant to be this time. (You see that I am dead set on doing this tour again someday, God willing.)

We found an Apotheke on the way back to the bus, using a side street parallel to the one we'd used coming into the downtown area. It was here that I finally found the Ricola cough tea that I'd discovered in Vienna. There was also another tea blend, to promote a good night's sleep, if I'm guessing correctly. Did a little browsing, then back out into the *very* brisk air; more cold than rainy now, which I took as a promising sign.

Waiting for the bus, I managed to snap a couple of pictures of the Swiss National Bank office. Then off to Murten, with the promise of clearing skies the closer we got to the place. The parents and I declined to follow the group up to the ramparts, and strolled down the main street instead. We found a little coffee shop where we started what would become a custom throughout the tour - sitting down for a cup of hot chocolate!

Realized that I was running low on Swiss francs, and so ran ahead to the local bank to change some. Having been warmed up nicely by the hot chocolate, we then strolled up the street a little more, and found a vantage point overlooking the lake behind Murten. Dad took a few experimental steps down some stairs, but decided against going further, so we backtracked and walked through the back street running parallel to the main street. We passed a hotel where I waved at the young chef who was dreamily looking out the window, and she waved back at me.

By the time we gathered at the meeting point, the sun was out, and showed every intention of staying out as we pulled out of the parking lot. The skies cleared steadily all the way to Geneva, and we made such good time that we were able to have an unscheduled stop in Nyon to stretch our legs along the shore of Lake Geneva, admire the floral gardens on the hill near the bus, and take pictures of the fake Roman ruins above them. Apparently, the Romans left lots of architectural structures all over Switzerland, but some towns that missed out on having authentic ruins, decided that the next best thing was to create their own.

It was good to feel the sun and stretch muscles by the lakeshore. I caught sight of a flock of ducks, and immediately reverted to age six. When two swans sailed into view, it just added to the fun of taking their pictures.

We pulled into Geneva with the sun lowering in the sky, and heavy traffic (by Swiss standards, anyhow). The Jet d'Eau was nowhere to be seen at first - apparently the pump was under maintenance, and they only run it on days with sunshine. With the forecast for bright skies tomorrow, we're going to be lucky! Eventually, we did see it after all, backlit by the sun and looking quite impressive indeed.

Our Geneva hotel had the famous small capacity elevators that I remember so well from previous trips to Europe. Apparently when they say the capacity is "five persons", they are thinking of runway models, not the usual tourist shapes! I happily noted that there was a Migros beside the hotel, and skipped over to buy dinner and a few necessary supplies. Decreased the stash of soup packets so that we'd have something hot to go with dinner, then settled down to do small laundry bit before turning in for the night.