Pure Imagination (Zurich)

Guess where we went today, dear reader? The clue is in the title song, Pure Imagination, it's from the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. As much as I love Timothée Chalamet's work, I have chosen to stay true to Gene Wilder from the original 1971 movie. The clip is worth watching if you remember the movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myqzUur4K98. Have you managed to work it out? We're in Zurich ... that's right, we were off to the home of chocolate, the Lindt factory.

We walked a familiar route down to Central, confident that we could operate the ticket machine. All went well until the payment page. It appeared to not want to accept my payment. I kept hitting the relevant sections of the touchscreen and nothing happened. Not totally true, my attempted purchase was timed out. On the third try, Jayne noticed a tiny payscreen to the right of the large touch screen. There was no information to suggest that payment would be received on another screen. 

An installation at Central. A gift from France.

Anyway, the Swiss authorities trust everyone, according to our guide from yesterday. No one checks tickets. There are no barriers to pass through. Tickets in hand, down to the platform we went and the train arrived on time at the other end of the platform which caused a number of people to scramble. Into the carriage and quickly seated, we looked around as the train moved toward the next station. It was all a bit fancy. Then it dawned - we were in first class. Our tickets were second class. We only had a couple of stops to travel and since we weren't Swiss, we stayed.

It was about a 10 minute walk from the station. Directions were not required. There were two foolproof methods of navigation: follow the crowd, or follow your nose. The smell of chocolate was quite strong. It became pervasive as we neared the factory.

Welcome to the home of chocolate.

The journey through the "chocolate museum" is actually a metaphor for life, dear reader. The process of birth is painful and its length varies, much like the ability to master the lockers where bags must be placed. Or getting the audio guide to work. I saw many people, frustrated people (me included) before they were at peace and finally entered the world proper: the Chocolate Museum.

The audio guide stations provided an explanation of the process of making chocolate from growing the cacao bean (so labour intensive) through to making the chocolate. There was also information about the back story, the pioneering people who made chocolate what it is today.

Like life, this section of the journey had its ups and downs. Sometimes things went well and the crowd diminished, other times you couldn't get to the audio guide symbol or the exhibit. However, the trials and tribulations must be endured before you get to Nirvana. The place where you get to sample the chocolate, warm, on a spoon, straight from a machine. Not quite paradise but close.

Pump the tap for a taste.

And then, more chocolate after it had been tempered and other technical stuff. These pieces of chocolate were like manna from heaven. You simply held your hand under the tower and a piece dropped into your hand. There were multiple towers, dispensing different flavours of chocolate, if you could get close enough and avoid those who felt the need to video the experience.

Then there were some other meaningless pieces of information before the final chocolate room - a counter lined with giant bubble containers. Each was filled with a different flavoured Lindor ball and we were allowed to take one from each container. Indeed, two master chocolatiers (at least that's how they were dressed) were policing this divine precinct and they caught one sinning woman trying to take multiple delights from one container. She was told in no uncertain terms to put all bar one back and to move on. She should have been dispatched to the beginning and made to endure the museum again. Apart from the rude ignorant people who pushed and shoved and the untended miscreant children, you could think you'd died and gone to heaven - except they wouldn't be there.

By this stage I had had enough. Of crowds. Of information about chocolate. Of chocolate. I collected my balls and headed for the exit. Really? Don't be so juvenile. My Lindor chocolate balls. Out through the chocolate shop we went into the sunshine.

The ticket machine was no challenge on the return train journey. Straight back to the hotel we scurried to put our booty in the air conditioned comfort of our room. 

The afternoon was spent successfully searching for the Stadthaus to enquire about obtaining the keys to secret archaeological exhibitions scattered around the Old Town. En route to there we dropped into the Grossmünster, the salt and pepper shaker church. 

They love a flag.

Not quite Chagall.

After securing the keys at the Stadthaus we went next door to Fraumünster church with its Chagall and Giacometti windows. Absolutely stunning.

Three of the six Chagall windows.

The 9m Giacometti window.

Finally we sat down to enjoy a beer in the sunshine and then do some shopping. Yes, the Pandora charm representing Switzerland was purchased.

We had dinner at one of the local restaurants in the Altstadt that we'd noticed was particularly popular with the locals. The food and wine were good, but the cigarette smoke was really starting to aggravate.

There was rain early in the morning. Lying in bed listening to the sounds of rain on metal roof brought back childhood memories. It also made sure we were up early. Today was the 'secret key' day that we had been invited to do by Stephanie at the tourist centre on our first day in Zurich. 

Zoom in - it's impressive.

Despite being ready to go, we had to wait for the bakery to commence serving at 9am. The picture on their sign is of a croissant. There were none on display. I opted for a blackberry tart and Jayne had some apple concoction which turned out to be very similar to a small apple pie. We sat and ate near the fountain - the one supervised by the medieval soldier with the massive codpiece.

The breakfast bar. Great name.

Appetite sated, we crossed the river to the Stadthaus and collected the keys to set off in search of site number 1. Fraumünster was stop number 1 but we decided against it because we had visited yesterday and it would cost another 10 francs to go inside. The second destination was St Peter's, the church with the big clock face. It was closed for renovation until the end of October. A bit long to wait.

St Peter's.

The next location was in a laneway leading down to the river. Part of the footpath had been replaced with a metal grate that allowed the amateur archeologist to view the remnant Roman baths beneath. There was a pictorial explanation on the wall. As digs go it was rather small. In this case perhaps size does matter.

Our attention was then focused on site number four, Lindenhof-Keller. It came with detailed instructions on how to access the underground chamber. Google maps suggested we had overshot the mark when we arrived at the park above the Roman wall. Not far from where we were, a small group of students was milling around as their teacher was trying to lift a floor plate. "We're here," I said to Jayne and pointed to the group. One problem solved, we wouldn't need to unlock access.

Impressive?

There were a few words exchanged with the group leader as we showed we also had keys and down we went into the very confined space underneath the building. What was visible were the remains of a Roman built wall. Hardly a spectacular find.

Next we tried to locate Parkhaus Urania with its golden jewellery artefacts. This proved a difficulty until a pleasant young tradie pointed us in the right direction, literally down into the underground car park where a simulated representation of the archaeological dig site was portrayed behind a perspex screen, along with a picture of some gold trinkets that had apparently been unearthed when they were excavating the site for the car park. Ho hum. Not worthy of a photo.

The five sites on the north-eastern side of the Limmat had proven underwhelming. Back on our side of the river, we went in search of Stadtmauerkeller in the university sector. Again, the entrance was not well signposted. It was in fact little more than an unassuming door to the street. However, the key fit and in we went, onto a metal landing overlooking a room with an exposed section of the ground. This turned out to be part of the original Roman wall of the old town. There was an example of the style of piping used by those ancient world builders and one exposed pipe entrance. Again there was further information on the wall.

The wall.

The pipe.

The excitement was almost unbearable as we set course for site number 6, Brunnegasse, which required the use of a fob to open the door. Well, it would have, if there weren't renovations happening in the building. Again there was no signage and we set out down the passageway to be turned back by a local and directed up the stairs. 

Party time.

On the wall, protected by perspex was a mural dating back to the 1330s depicting the life of a well-to-do Jewish family, their banquet scenes and the coats of arms of the guests.

Next stop was a restored 1800s villa. We had actually stopped here on the walking tour. The façade is little different to any of the other buildings and there was no option to view inside. Downstairs was an art supply store.

The villa. Are you still awake?

The church that was number 9 on our list was not open yet so we continued past our hotel further into the Aldstadt to a sewer passage. Not something I thought I'd ever write in my blog. Again, another unassuming doorway but the key fit and the handle turned and we found ourselves in a very confined space. We turned the lights on and made our to the other end. It was akin to a scene from Willy Wonka where the walls and ceiling seemed to converge on you. The exit door was a squeeze.

A bit shit really.

I've seen bigger skateboards.

Thankfully back into the sunshine we meandered to the Stadthaus to return the key and collect Jayne's passport which was left as a security. It was time for a beer and a discussion of where this walking archeological excursion sits on our list of underwhelming adventures. Personally, it's toward the top for me. A city that has such significant and obvious Roman heritage and the best they can muster is a few dingy rooms with the bits of heritage that haven't been destroyed. Mind you, they obviously regressed after the Romans left, if their sewer options were to defecate out of an annex over the laneway.

Then it was time to return to our hotel to start the process of packing up in preparation for an early departure the next morning. Once this was achieved, we ventured out once more to determine a final dinner venue and then wandered down to the riverside for an afternoon Swiss refresher of wine, sausage, onion, cornichons and bread, accompanied by some people watching. This pursuit revealed an individual who blatantly engaged in un-Swiss civil disobedience by swimming in the part of the river where it is not allowed - fines apply if you are caught. We also watched multiple river cruise boats slide by, under the low bridges and numerous young women, stopping to pull duck face for influencer selfies. 

Illegal activity.

Our last day in Zurich concluded with an Italian dinner, next door to our hotel, which was fortunate as the weather had finally turned and the rain the locals were missing, commenced. The dinner menu was heavily focussed around the giant wood-fired oven (as large as yours, Luke) and it was mesmerising to watch the two chefs churn out all manner of pizzas, focaccias and other fare in next to no time - the waiters had trouble keeping up with their production to the point where, if a meal was plated and not distributed fast enough, the chefs took it to the table themselves.

Tomorrow we have an early plane to Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, leaving Switzerland in the rear view mirror.

Until then.