Posted On Mumbai Mirror on Thursday, June 03, 2010 at 05:05:39 PM
"It always rains in some parts of Europe," this line from the Lonely Planet Europe on a Shoestring comes back to me as the plane touches down at Zurich. airport The pilot announces that we should expect rain as we alight. It's May and it's pouring. The sky's gray and the grass a brilliant green. The fog thickly hangs over the mountains. "Welcome to Switzerland", the crew tell us.
A true holiday
We take in the lush countryside as our friend drives us from Zurich to Lucerne (Luzern in German). "People in Switzerland live in the villages and go to cities such as Zurich for work. Today's a public holiday and all shops, establishments and offices are closed. It's a day you spend with your family, enjoying yourself - hiking, picnicking or merry-making," our friend tells us. We make a note. In India, a holiday would mean better business for kirana shops and malls. But not in Europe.
Of Lake Lucerne and the hidden Alps
The German word for Lake Lucerne is Vierwaldstättersee that literally means Lake of the Four Forested Cantons. (Canton is the 14th-century term for the wooded territories of Alpine settlements in Central Switzerland. The lake has a total area of 114 square km and is the fourth largest in the country. Much of the shoreline rises steeply into mountains up to 1,500 m above the lake, resulting in many picturesque views including the famed Mount Rigi and Mount Pilatus. In better weather, Mount Pilatus would be overrun by tourists who'd take a boat from Lucerne across Lake Lucerne to Alpnachstad, go up on the cogwheel railway, come down on the aerial cableways and panorama gondolas, and take a bus back to Lucerne.
We see little of the sun during our four-day stay at Lucerne though sunset time is 8.45 pm. But the unexpected rains has brought a different colour to the country, seldom captured in Bollywood flicks.
The downtown tour
"Lucerne is bright, beautiful and has been little Miss Popular since the 19th century," reads the Lonely Planet. We step out in our boots, jackets and stockings and walk through the old town with medieval ramparts and towers, 15th-century buildings with painted facades and its famous 204 metre-Kapellbrücke or Chapel Bridge crossing the Reuss River. Kapellbrücke is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe. Constructed in 1333, it was designed to help protect the city of Lucerne from attacks. Inside the bridge are a series of paintings from the 17th century, depicting events from Lucerne's history. Much of the bridge, and the majority of these paintings, were destroyed in a 1993 fire. Though the bridge quickly rebuilt, some of the charred paintings have been left there for tourists.
Lucerne's blockbuster cultural attraction is the Sammlung Rosengart studded with masterpieces by Cezanne, Klee, Kandinsky, Miro, Matisse and Monet.
There is also the Lion Monument i.e. a giant dying lion carved out of a wall of sandstone rock above a pond at the east end of the medieval town. It was designed as a memorial for the mercenary soldiers from central Switzerland who lost their lives while serving the French king Louis XVI during the French Revolution. When the revolutionary masses attacked the royal Tuileries castle in Paris on August 10, 1792 the Swiss mercenary troops tried to defend the royal family and make sure the royals could escape.
For engineering enthusiasts like us, the Swiss Museum of Transport provides us with an opportunity to learn about the old Swiss wagons, the Swiss railway clock, navigation tools and also allows us to walk all over a giant map of Switzerland to locate Beckenried, the village where we're staying!
A big fat Swiss wedding
It's both our honour and pleasure to have been invited to a Swiss wedding. The bride's German, the groom's Swiss-German (there are Swiss-French and Swiss-Italians too!) The bachelorette party is a cosy dinner at a downtown pizzeria (the Swiss love Italian food) where the bride-to-be is crowned the queen and has to answer questions about Switzerland and her groom-to-be. The party is informal and followed by a round of cocktails at a bar later. "We're not into discos and dancing," says one of the bride's friends.
The wedding's a much formal affair and starts with the church ceremony where the groom and bride exchange their vows in German. It's followed by refreshments (comprising cheese, breads, cold cuts and wine) at a nearby restaurant followed by a seven-hour-long dinner that starts at 5.30pm. By six, we're seated at a table with guests from places as diverse as Slovakia and Mexico, Latvia and Morocco. The dinner menu includes tomato soup, gnocchi (a potato pasta), meat, salmon and four different types of wine. It's also the time for the couple's friends and relatives to recount their stories and play a few games. Surprisingly, no dancing. "The Germans don't dance much," a Slovakian guest tells us.
On the plate
Cheese, chocolates, coffee and more cheese. The Swiss relish cheesecakes that are not exactly desserts, but are more like quiches. Of course, the national dish is the veal sausage, which doesn't taste very different from any other sausage. Chicken is a little tough to get by but it's available and so are salmon and tuna. If you're vegetarian, you can opt for breads, sandwiches and cheese. And if you crave desi food, pop into an Indian restaurant (there's at least one in every major Swiss city). The best thing about Switzerland is that you'll find the menus in English too. For drinks, you can choose from an array of wines and/or kirsch made from cherries.
Know your chocolates
"Many kids in Zurich believed cows were purple because of the logo used on Lindt chocolates," a friend remarks when we ask him about Swiss chocolates. We're at a supermarket and we've got our quota of Swiss chocolates. We ask the salesgirl whether they have German chocolates. She frowns, "You will not get German chocolates anywhere in Switzerland. We have great pride in our chocolates." Well, chocolates can have nationalities too!
Travel tips
1. Though Switzerland is a Schengen country the Swiss Franc still rules. Carry some on you or else, you'll have to contend with poor exchange rates for the Euro.
2. Switzerland has one of the best railways in the world. Train travel isn't exactly cheap, but it's very efficient. For really cheap travel, hire a bicycle at one of the railway stations.
"It always rains in some parts of Europe," this line from the Lonely Planet Europe on a Shoestring comes back to me as the plane touches down at Zurich. airport The pilot announces that we should expect rain as we alight. It's May and it's pouring. The sky's gray and the grass a brilliant green. The fog thickly hangs over the mountains. "Welcome to Switzerland", the crew tell us.
A true holiday
We take in the lush countryside as our friend drives us from Zurich to Lucerne (Luzern in German). "People in Switzerland live in the villages and go to cities such as Zurich for work. Today's a public holiday and all shops, establishments and offices are closed. It's a day you spend with your family, enjoying yourself - hiking, picnicking or merry-making," our friend tells us. We make a note. In India, a holiday would mean better business for kirana shops and malls. But not in Europe.
Of Lake Lucerne and the hidden Alps
The German word for Lake Lucerne is Vierwaldstättersee that literally means Lake of the Four Forested Cantons. (Canton is the 14th-century term for the wooded territories of Alpine settlements in Central Switzerland. The lake has a total area of 114 square km and is the fourth largest in the country. Much of the shoreline rises steeply into mountains up to 1,500 m above the lake, resulting in many picturesque views including the famed Mount Rigi and Mount Pilatus. In better weather, Mount Pilatus would be overrun by tourists who'd take a boat from Lucerne across Lake Lucerne to Alpnachstad, go up on the cogwheel railway, come down on the aerial cableways and panorama gondolas, and take a bus back to Lucerne.
We see little of the sun during our four-day stay at Lucerne though sunset time is 8.45 pm. But the unexpected rains has brought a different colour to the country, seldom captured in Bollywood flicks.
The downtown tour
"Lucerne is bright, beautiful and has been little Miss Popular since the 19th century," reads the Lonely Planet. We step out in our boots, jackets and stockings and walk through the old town with medieval ramparts and towers, 15th-century buildings with painted facades and its famous 204 metre-Kapellbrücke or Chapel Bridge crossing the Reuss River. Kapellbrücke is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe. Constructed in 1333, it was designed to help protect the city of Lucerne from attacks. Inside the bridge are a series of paintings from the 17th century, depicting events from Lucerne's history. Much of the bridge, and the majority of these paintings, were destroyed in a 1993 fire. Though the bridge quickly rebuilt, some of the charred paintings have been left there for tourists.
Lucerne's blockbuster cultural attraction is the Sammlung Rosengart studded with masterpieces by Cezanne, Klee, Kandinsky, Miro, Matisse and Monet.
There is also the Lion Monument i.e. a giant dying lion carved out of a wall of sandstone rock above a pond at the east end of the medieval town. It was designed as a memorial for the mercenary soldiers from central Switzerland who lost their lives while serving the French king Louis XVI during the French Revolution. When the revolutionary masses attacked the royal Tuileries castle in Paris on August 10, 1792 the Swiss mercenary troops tried to defend the royal family and make sure the royals could escape.
For engineering enthusiasts like us, the Swiss Museum of Transport provides us with an opportunity to learn about the old Swiss wagons, the Swiss railway clock, navigation tools and also allows us to walk all over a giant map of Switzerland to locate Beckenried, the village where we're staying!
A big fat Swiss wedding
It's both our honour and pleasure to have been invited to a Swiss wedding. The bride's German, the groom's Swiss-German (there are Swiss-French and Swiss-Italians too!) The bachelorette party is a cosy dinner at a downtown pizzeria (the Swiss love Italian food) where the bride-to-be is crowned the queen and has to answer questions about Switzerland and her groom-to-be. The party is informal and followed by a round of cocktails at a bar later. "We're not into discos and dancing," says one of the bride's friends.
The wedding's a much formal affair and starts with the church ceremony where the groom and bride exchange their vows in German. It's followed by refreshments (comprising cheese, breads, cold cuts and wine) at a nearby restaurant followed by a seven-hour-long dinner that starts at 5.30pm. By six, we're seated at a table with guests from places as diverse as Slovakia and Mexico, Latvia and Morocco. The dinner menu includes tomato soup, gnocchi (a potato pasta), meat, salmon and four different types of wine. It's also the time for the couple's friends and relatives to recount their stories and play a few games. Surprisingly, no dancing. "The Germans don't dance much," a Slovakian guest tells us.
On the plate
Cheese, chocolates, coffee and more cheese. The Swiss relish cheesecakes that are not exactly desserts, but are more like quiches. Of course, the national dish is the veal sausage, which doesn't taste very different from any other sausage. Chicken is a little tough to get by but it's available and so are salmon and tuna. If you're vegetarian, you can opt for breads, sandwiches and cheese. And if you crave desi food, pop into an Indian restaurant (there's at least one in every major Swiss city). The best thing about Switzerland is that you'll find the menus in English too. For drinks, you can choose from an array of wines and/or kirsch made from cherries.
Know your chocolates
"Many kids in Zurich believed cows were purple because of the logo used on Lindt chocolates," a friend remarks when we ask him about Swiss chocolates. We're at a supermarket and we've got our quota of Swiss chocolates. We ask the salesgirl whether they have German chocolates. She frowns, "You will not get German chocolates anywhere in Switzerland. We have great pride in our chocolates." Well, chocolates can have nationalities too!
Travel tips
1. Though Switzerland is a Schengen country the Swiss Franc still rules. Carry some on you or else, you'll have to contend with poor exchange rates for the Euro.
2. Switzerland has one of the best railways in the world. Train travel isn't exactly cheap, but it's very efficient. For really cheap travel, hire a bicycle at one of the railway stations.
1 comment:
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