Nick & Elli: Zurich

After we arrived back at the hotel from the airport, Nick and Elli showed the jet-lag who was boss and decided to hit the streets for some sight-seeing. Naturally, our first stop was at Sprungli for some delectable Swiss chocolates...

...as you can see, they were a hit!
From there we wandered around the sun-drenched streets for a few hours taking in some of the gorgeous local scenery:

Eventually we made our way back to the hotel for a little quiet time before going to dinner. Reservations were for 2000, so after a little rest we got all dolled up...

...and then hit the streets again for some fantastic food and good times. We went to the same restaurant Brian and I dined at the last time we were in Zurich, Zeughauskeller, and again it did not disappoint. Both couples opted for the traditional Swiss entree of Kalbsgeschnetzeltes nach Zürcher Art which is basically a veal stroganoff served with thickly sliced hash browns. Swooooon. On pure chance, we were seated next to a very sweet and interesting trio of people: a husband, his wife, and her long-time friend, all probably in their early 70's. The women were American and the man Swiss; after chatting for almost the entire meal we asked for our check to find out that our new friends had picked up our tab. It was such a generous and thoughtful gesture, one that we hope to reciprocate someday. With round, full bellies we wobbled back to the hotel for a good night's rest before another fun day in Zurich.

The next morning, after some much needed zzzzz's for our visitors, we hit the pavement with energetic and excited feet. Our first stop was at Grossmünster which is a beautiful cathedral in the heart of Zurich. Unfortunately there was no photography allowed inside Grossmünster so we were unable to capture the magnificent stained glass that decorated the windows. This stained glass was unlike anything we had ever seen. Follow this link to get a glimpse of it. Luckily, there was photography allowed in the tower. Here's a shot of Nick and Elli on their way up to the top of the tower:



Climbing to the top consisted of tons of wooden stairs, curving staircases, and steep steps.
The view from the top was well worth it:



After we drank in the intoxicating views of Zurich we slowly made our way back down the tower and off on another sight-seeing adventure. Our next stop, Kunsthaus Zurich. The ladies outside of the Kunsthaus (Art Musuem):

The Kunsthaus was marvelous. We were all extremely impressed with not only the size of the collection, but the scope of the collection as well. We saw works by Picasso, Magritte, Monet, Van Gogh, Rothko, Warhol, Pollock, Miró, Dalí, Giacometti, Manet, Gauguin to name a few.

With the Kunsthaus under our belt, we walked over to the dock to hop on a boat for a tour of the lake. Here's a snippet from our boat ride:

Once we arrived back on dry land, we meandered back to the hotel and relaxed before heading down to the Executive Lounge for a fun night of drinking, snacking, and laughing. A wonderful ending to a wonderful time in Zurich.