Füssen and Zürich

On Friday morning, Elisabeth and I took the earliest train to Munich. There, we switched to Fussen, which is a city in southern Germany, actually right near Austria. It only takes an hour and half by car, by it took us nearly four hours by train because of having to transfer. This small town is a big tourist hub because it is the sight of the Neuschwanstein Castle! It was incredible! (If you haven't read my previous post, this castle was Walt Disney's inspiration for the Cinderella Castle and the sight for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) I hadn't really heard of this castle before, but my Aunts Cathy and Bonita came here twenty years ago when they came to Germany when Matt and I were born, so my mom really thought I would like to see it. Luckily, I reserved our tickets ahead of time, which saved us, so we could hike around the castle and take pictures! We decided to splurge and pay the five euro to take a carriage ride up the hill to the castle. I figured- how can I turn down a carriage ride to the Cinderella Castle?! The tour inside wasn't that great because the woman had a thick accent and it was very short. We felt like cattle being herded quikly from room to room. However, the rain started once we finihed taking our pictures outside and then stopped right before we had to hed back to the train station. Even though we weren't there for very long, I am really glad I went! It was a beautiful sight! Good thinking Mama! :)

From Fussen, we switched trains in a small town in Germany and then headed to Zurich. It was really neat to be in three different countries in one day- Austria, Germany, and Switzerland! We checked ourselves into the hotel and then went straight to bed! The hotel was not very nice- right above a bar and shared bathrooms, but it was right in the center of town and being students, we can sleep through anything!

Saturday, I used our family friend, Christy McConnell's recommendations! We strolled down the Banhofstrasse, which is like Paris' Champs-Elysees or Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive, filled with tons of shopping. There were even seven H&Ms! We also went into Hiematwerk, which is a neat store where everything is hand-made in Switzerland, but of course with a price tag! Overall, Switzerland is really expensive. First, everthing seems more expensive because of the dollar to swiss franc but then it is just a pricey country! We went into this one church that is known for it's stained glass, but most of the churches had weddings going on so we couldn't go in. Elisabeth felt bad not going to museums and such, but I personally cannot look at anymore art. It is all blending together!

After strolling around the city all day, we saved the best for last- the chocolate shop! I tasted chocolate from the two main chocolate shops in town and agree with Christy's choice, Teuscher Chocolate! Amazing truffles! That night we rode the big ferris wheel and saw Zurich all lit up!

Gotta love Swiss chocolate!

As my guide book says- the Swiss don't stand for anything other than themselves. They have Swiss flags everywhere!

The streets had tons of pretty flower shops like this one!

The largest clock face in Europe

Overlooking the river

Sunset on Lake Zurich

On Sunday, we went to mass at a Catholic Church. Turns out, those are hard to find because Zurich was really big into the Protestant Reformation- very different from Austria and Italy! The mass was in German of course, so we were pretty confused. Some things were different, but I thought well maybe it's just a Swiss thing. After the mass, we were invited to join them for coffee and biscuits. After talking with some people, we were then informed that it was a Catholic, not Roman Catholic Church. Whoops! This is where knowing German would come in handy! This church broke off after the first Vatican Council. They were really nice and wouldn't let us pay for our food!

Then, we did what every Zurichan does on Sunday- the lake! A river flows right throught the middle of Zurich and then meets with Lake Zurich. The water was really cold since it is glacier water, but the scenery was great! It was nice to just lay out and look at the mountains! I took my last train back last night- thank goodness because it was really hot and crowded!

The water was so clear and there were swans swimming all along the river!

Our great view on the lake!

The weekend was great! Everyone is Zurich was incredibly nice and the weather was perfect! Not too hot, not too cold- all we needed was a light jacket!