On the final day of 2018, we were up early for the complimentary breakfast at our hotel (Hotel Marta - really great selection, and all you can eat, which bodes well in expensive countries for Derek). Well caffeinated once again, and high from finally having slept enough the day before, Derek was ready to go right away, but I was feeling overly full and tired, so we went to our room. The gloomy grey-white day is massively demotivating for me, so I slept while he broke out his new charcoal sketch book to work out beautiful sketches of the Eiger and Matterhorn peaks...clearly, his primary interest for this trip are quite obvious! He went for a nice run on the Limmat River and up to Lindenhof park, where he could see for miles from the site of a (now long gone) Roman fort. Pieces of art, including a full size chess board, dot the park's landscape, and he returned thrilled that he had the time to work out in such a lovely place.
We met our friends Dianne and Jared, having just arrived from Austria, and their friend Rich back at the hotel. We wandered the alleyways looking for lunch, and found The Spaghetti Factory (not the version you may know from America - this is the real deal), which was overly crowded, but then, they all were. We walked further, determined waiting was our best option, and circled back just in time to slide in front of a family coming in with their kids and luggage. We enjoyed fresh pasta and great conversation, and were pleased with the meal (well, all but the 9 franc charge per bottle of water, which wasn't served from a new plastic bottle - watch it if you order water in restaurants!). From there, we wandered in the spitting rain through the streets to see the city's beautiful architecture.
We started wandering in the old town district along Augustinergasse, with incredible "reading nooks" jutting from their stunningly painted street-facing facades, which have been captivating shoppers since the 17th century. We found St. Peter Kirche (German for "church") with Europe's largest church clock, which was developed in the 15th century, and enjoyed a lovely fountain just down the street filled with roses right outside of the green-spire topped Christkatholische Kirchgemeinde (Catholic church - it was closed).
We window shopped on to the most expensive street in Europe, Bhanhopfstrasse, looking out for chocolate shops that we might visit and to gawk at the crazy holiday window display at Confiserie Teuscher. Derek led us to a wildly popular, jam packed chocolaterie called Confiserie Sprüngli (Bahnhofstrasse 21) where he bought us each a truffle to enjoy, which we pulled from a "mystery" bag he had assembled.
Fraumünster Church with its iconic narrow, green spire and unique, more modern-styled stained glass and Grossmünster church, a Romanesque cathedral easily recognizable by its twin towers (we were unable to go in as they close at 5 pm and we arrived one minute too late) rounded out our sightseeing.
While wandering we also found Café Schober, a hundred year old cafe serving handmade chocolates and beautiful cakes, with unbelievable ceilings and stunning holiday decor. Thirsty for some great dark beer, we made our way back to our hotel to enjoy the pub right next door, the Bonnie Prince, where we used a few of the last hours of 2018 telling stories and talking politics and commiserating over our travel experiences (and being openly jealous of one another's conquests).
When hunger set in, we wandered the streets unsuccessfully trying to find an open table for 5 in a restaurant that wouldn't totally break the bank, and ended up wandering well off the beaten path following colorful lights that dangled over the streets into darker residential areas. Eventually finding our way back to the river, we finally found the french inspired Restaurant Mere Catherine, a nautically-themed spot where a literal fog horn bellowed throughout dinner and the wait staff was dressed like sailors. Little New Years celebratory photo booth items dotted the tables and streamers hung from the wall sconces as we enjoyed our food - the french onion soup was marvelous, and Derek very much enjoyed their beet and goat cheese risotto.
Now down to the water we wandered, among 100,000 other visitors, to await the final countdown into the New Year and to watch a spectacular fireworks show (18 minutes long) over the lake. We positioned ourselves on a doc over the water where we could avoid most of the crowds, and readied our phones and cameras as they counted down the minutes backwards in German. The church bells rang continuously (and there are many church towers on the waterfront) for a solid 15 minutes leading up to the show, as private citizens set off their own fireworks and sparklers.
Welcome, 2019! What a wonderful place to celebrate your arrival!
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