Zürich Miscellaneous (2/26/2013)

Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Another day of meetings for Kent. I headed into the city of Zürich for some more exploring. From the Haupbahnhof, crossed the Limmat River to Zentralplatz to the lower station of the Polybahn:

A funicular/cable railway this time:

Which takes you up the hill to ETH Zürich:

Upper station:

ETH Zürich is the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich/Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, formerly called Eidgenössisches Polytechnikum or Polytech:

Albert Einstein studied here.
A view from the ETH terrace:

Back down in Zentralplatz, old and new trams:

Followed Niederdorfstrasse to Mühlegasse to Zahringerplatz; the Zentralbibliotek/Central Library:

Housed in the former Black Friars' Abbey.
The former Black Friars' Church:

Church doorway:

Alley off Predigerplatz:

Brunngasse; Ads not wanted!

Fruit stand:

Another shoemaker sign:

Heidi, the Swiss cow?

Continued along Niederdorfstrasse until reaching the Grossmünster/Great Church. I was able to enter the church today. First the crypt:

where the original Charlemagne sits:

The stained glass windows (1932-1933) by Augusto Giacometti:

Slices of agate window by Sigmar Polke:

Other windows by Polke; "King David:"

"The Goat Messenger:"

"The Son of Man:"

Organ and pulpit:

Being the seat of the Swiss-German Reformation, the organ and statuary were removed in 1524. Apparently since then an organ has been re-installed!
Beyond Grossmünster is Oberdorfstrasse with the Zunfthaus zum Weggen/Guild for bakers and millers:

A small bakery:

Ended up on Rämistrasse to see Restaurant Kronenhalle in the daylight:

Up Rämistrasse to Zeltweg where Johanna Spyri lived from 1886-1901:

Johanna Spyri is the author of "Heidi."
Still had plenty of time, so I caught the commuter train at the Stadelhofen station to go to the suburb of Küsnacht on the shore of Lake Zürich.
A short walk to the former Petermann's Kunststuben, now Rico's Kunststuben:

As Petermann's Kunststuben, this restaurant was listed in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.

Rico's is considered one of Switzerland's finest restaurants, so perhaps it still should be listed. It was closed at lunch time.
Returned to the Stadelhofen station by commuter train.
Bicycle parking:

Many more bicycles than any other means of motorized transport in Zürich.
Followed my nose to the Sterngrill in Bellevueplatz:

Known for its sausages.
Then there are the marroni/roasted chestnuts stands:

There is an Aldi supermarket near the Park Inn:

Who knew that Aldi is short for Albrecht Discount, a discount supermarket chain based in Germany?!
Tomorrow we take the train to Mannheim, Germany.