This day had quite a lazy start to it. We weren’t in any hurry and E and B liked to sleep in, which is a luxury I wish that N,E and I had at home. However, things didn’t work out as they normally are, because G was there to wake B up and we let E sleep whilst we took care of the kids. I say we when I mean I took care of them that morning or at least kept them occupied by playing the Wii and some board games, Dora being a particular standout favourite.
We were all up and around, showered and on our way to Zurich where we planned to visit an indoor market at the train station. On the way in the station names are announced and I annoy everyone around me by repeating those names in my bestest German accent. Don’t misunderstand, I’m not trying to get on anyone’s nerves I just want to practice the accent. Despite my intentions, I do eventually wear N,E down to the point that she has to mention it.
Between irritating my wife and more than likely hurting the ears of all German speakers around me, I introduced my son to Rock, Paper, Scissors, which he immediately loved. However, I soon learned that he would pick whatever I picked so I had to make my choice and hide it under my coat until he’d made his. This worked like a charm. Soon, though I grew a bit bored so I introduced dog, light, dynamite, and other choices to the game. G picked out his favourites and the game eventually evolved into rock, paper, scissors, dog, and light. Where the light burns the dog’s eyes, at least according to my son.
We all make it into Zurich safe and sound. To navigate the roads, we have G and B hold hands in order to keep track of them all. Soon after we discover that B has become a big fan of holding G’s hand and won’t go without. G is non-plussed at first, then resigned to his fate. 😉
We don’t have far to go as we’re in the railway station already and it’s just a journey up stairs, escalators, and lifts to the top level where a market has been set up, selling tons of wonderful Swiss products from local farms and businesses. There’s salami/cured meats, cheeses, mustards, lovely-looking desserts, and much more that I don’t remember. We have a look around for a while and then buy lunch, settling down on nearby tables. N,E had the salami sandwich and G had the ham, I think I had some kind of salami with peppercorns in it. It was lovely. The bread was nice, chewy/crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside and the meat was so many times better than some store-bought stuff.
E knows of a delicious treat for dessert that is only a short walk away and takes us near some beautiful buildings to take pics of. By this time my hands are two solid blocks of ice… I didn’t bring any gloves with me. Nor do I even own any gloves. I brought my nice, warm hat and a good warm jacket, but it hadn’t occurred to me that I might need gloves. It was all the pictures that I was taking. I couldn’t keep my hands in my pockets for long. Little did I know that the treat we were on our way to, would rescue my fingers from frostbite. Roasted chestnuts to the rescue! I’d never had proper roasted chestnuts before and they were delicious. I had another few lots of them before I left Switzerland.
And that was most of the day. We all piled into a shiny train and headed back home. In the Hauptbahnhof, we bought some spicy chili tea, which sounded great to me and to N,E, but which I turned out to loathe.
Later that evening, our hosts served us proper fondue, made of three different cheeses with a dash of kirsch in it for flavour. It was sooooo different from anything I’ve ever had and it was excellent, the bread we dipped in it was also very good. Perfect bread for dipping. After the food, it was fairly late so E’s husband (EH) and I played one of his games, called Yinsh, by this game designer that he’d met at a games fair. EH had bought like five of the man’s games and this so reminded me of myself the last time I’d been at a games fair and bought loads of games as well. Ah, nostalgia. The game was very fun and very simple to learn and best of all I won. 😉
I haven’t mentioned the dogs they have… Until now. They are a pair of very friendly and very white dogs, but other than that they aren’t similar. One is a poodle and the other is some sort of terrier. As soon as I’d petted them a bit, my eyes teared up a bit and my nose began running. I hadn’t known I was so allergic to dogs. I’ve owned dogs in the past and never had such a reaction. The absence made me sensitive, I suppose. Anyway, luckily enough, I’d brought some allergy meds in case I had hayfever from strange plants in Switzerland. My skewed forethought saved me a trip to a pharmacy.