Colie Lynn: Zurich

Although the majority of the trip was a total bust, I did have a couple days to myself where I was able to do some wandering and exploring. My first free day I went into Zurich. The city is really nice but there is not much to see or do there. I had pretty much covered all the bases by noon and I didn't need to be back until evening. Up until noon I had wandered through Bahnhofstrasse which is Zurich's most famous shopping street, and I had seen the two most famous attractions, the Frau-Munster and Gross-Munster churches. After looking through my maps and travel books (yes I know...super nerdy tourist) I discovered that I had pretty much done everything worth doing. So I decided to go back to the train station and buy a ticket to Lucerne. I had heard that it was very beautiful and it was only an hour away so I thought it would be perfect. However, while waiting in line to get the ticket I was approached by an older man who kept trying to talk to me. Now I, having taken after my dad in many ways, was being polite and talking back. After all there is no harm in friendly conversation. However the conversation started getting a little too friendly when he kept telling me that he liked the way I looked and that he would like to buy me a drink. For anyone who is thinking..."ooo go Nicole" Keep in mind that this man was easily in his 40s and I was wearing dirty sweats and a grungy t-shirt and was lucky to have found time to even run a comb through my hair that morning. ( I didn't feel it necessary to dress up to wander around town by myself ) So there was no possible way that this man could have been interested in my 'good' looks. Needless to say I was casually but frantically searching for an excuse to get the heck out of there knowing that if something were to happen, Liam Neeson probably wouldn't be willing to come to my rescue. So being the smart and cunning person that I am I came up with a very crafty excuse. To quote myself exactly, "Umm...yeah ok well I...have to go to the bathroom really bad...so it was nice meeting you...BYE!" He responded, "well wait don't you want to get a ticket first?" I thought about it for a mili-second, after-all I was next in line, but then I figured that if I were to buy my ticket before making my crafty escape to the ladies room, he would just overhear and 'conveniently' end up on the same train. So I quickly responded with a "NOPE, I really have to go, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do you know?!!" But before I could take off using my practiced power-walk, he speedily took a piece of paper and pen and gave me his number insisting that I call him. Thinking it would make a great memory to laugh at in a year or two I took the paper and proceeded to the bathroom at the other end of the train station, all the while taking care that he wasn't following me. On an unrelated note, when I finally reached the bathroom, I had to pay!! (Switzerland takes any opportunity to rip you off!) Which was rather frustrating considering I didn't actually have to go. Fearing that he might still be there creepin on everything that walked by, I opted out of going to Lucerne that day and instead walked to the edge of the city and rested in a park along the beautiful Zurich Lake and read a book. :)

And now for a brief History Lesson of Zurich-

During medieval times, while the guilds ruled the city, the people of Zurich obtained a talent for hard work and accumulating wealth. Zurich is now home to the worlds 4th largest stock exchange which opened in 1877 and today Swiss bankers have control over purse strings of many major international companies and organizations. As I mentioned before, two of the main attractions are the Grossmunster and Fraumunster churches. The Grossmunster rests on the east bank of the Limmat River, which flows right through the city. It dominates the city with its profound structure. In this church a man by the name of Ulrich Zwingli launched the reformation on the receptive burghers of Zurich in 1520. There's not much to know about Fraumunster, which lies on the other side of the river, except that it looks kinda cool and is a really old church. :)