In Switzerland (4) Up and Down the Etzel

Over the last year Emma and Alessio have been trying to complete the series of walks which talkes you all the way round the Zürichsee.  We have accompanied them on a few of the sections.  Though the walk does go round the lake, many of the sections  take you quite a bit away from the lake itself and some involve quite a bit of climbing.  This is the case with the section which goes from Richterswil to Pfäffikon.  Emma and Alessio had already the first part of the walk which goes pretty steeply up to Schindellegi, and was as much as Alessio could manage in one go.

So last Saturday I accompanied them on the rest of the way.  Schindellegi is 685m above sea level which meant we had over 400m climbing ahead.  The town is nothing special, though it does have this spectacular church.

 The walk starts off by following the southern bank of the river Sihl.  Most of this part is through a forest and is pretty level.  For some reason there were scores of walkers coming the other way.  Walkers of all ages and shapes.  Some even had beer bottles with them.  Below are some photos of this part of the walk.

After we cross the Sihl again the real climbing begins.  At first through lovely farmland and then back into more forests.  To get into the woods you have to climb this sheer vertical ascent which goes through a very narrow opening between two fields protected by electric wiring.  A bit scary!

Once past this little hurdle the walk continues ever upward.  En route we passed two strange bunker like buildings, which apparently are stores for the Swiss army in times of emergency.  You can see one below.

The final section is very steep though we were rewarded with some fine vistas, such as this one.  Below that Emma and Alessio on the final few metres before the summit.

Once up, we were rewarded with a fine mountain restaurant where we partook of refreshments and enjoyed a little bit of relaxation.  Luckily there was an adventure playground which was much to Alessio's delight.  You also get great views from the restaurant grounds, particularly of the Sihlsee and Einsedeln.  Here is yours trully high above the lake.

You most definitely need some recuperation, because the onward descent is even more steep than the ascent.  It starts with a shortish and brutal descent to St Meinrad, where there is a chapel in honour of the saint, who was the founder of the famous monastery in nearby Einsedeln.  Here is a view of the chapel.

The remainder of the descent is just as steep and brutish and is almost all through dark forest.  Not really my scene.  I prefer open country for walking.  Though Alessio just loved the forest sections.  Anyway after much puffing and sweating we all emerged safe and (almost) sound at Luegeten.  This is a charming little restaurant above the Zürichsee.  We have been there a few times by car, but this was the first, and probably the last time on foot.  So it was an even more welcome sight than normal.

The restaurant is a very popular place and as on a previous occasion there was a fancy wedding reception enjoying the outdoor views.  Alessio somehow managed to join in and play with some of the children, while Emma and I just sat back and tried to recover.  From Luegeten we got the local bus down to Pfäffikon and then the train back home.  All in all a great day out.

In Switzerland (3) - Just Windows

Yesterday I made a short trip into Zürich to get some fresh vegetables at the weekly market.  With some time to spare I wandered around the old town for a bit.  I ended up at the Lindenhof which is usually a fairly quiet spot with great views up and down the river Limmat.  There are also some lovely views of windows on the flats surrounding the square.  So what follows is simply a selection of these windows – nothing fancy, just pleasant and satisfying windows.  

 For something completely different to end with I have added a couple of shots from the market.  The first two are some of the stunning flower displays and the last two show some speciality pasta and cheeses.

In Switzerland (2) - Arancini, Cafés and Culture

After the excitement of Alessio`s birthday things calmed down a bit.  Partly due to Kathleen not feeling too well.  So I decided to use my time to make some Arancini.  These are delicious Sicilian delicacies which look a bit like oranges, hence the name.  I have tried them once before in an Italian restaurant in St Andrews, but, in honour of Alessio`s Italian heritage, I wanted to try and make the real thing myself.


Preparing the arancini is a bit like slow cooking and comes in stages.  First you make the outside - a mixture of rice, saffron, eggs and cheese.  Then the filling, which traditionally is a meat sauce (ragu) with peas.  Once this has been done you flatten the rice paste and leave everything to cool.  When ready to restart you put the whole show together.  A bit of rice paste, enough to fill the palm of your hand, fill it with the ragu and a bit of cheese, then cover with more rice paste.  Gently massage the mixture into the shape of an orange and leave to set for a bit.  This is what they looked like at this stage.

The final preparation is to dip the arancini, one by one, into beaten egg and then cover with breadcrumbs.  The arancini are now ready for the final cooking - deep frying in hot oil.  Making arancini is not an easy undertaking, in fact it is a rather complicated and time consuming venture.  However it is worth the effort.  Everyone enjoyed them and even Alessio managed to eat his.  Here are a couple of the cooked arancini, ready to eat.

If you fancy trying them out yourself, then here is a very good recipe with accompanying video.  It`s in Italian, but if you scroll down you get photos and instructions for each stage.  Bon Appetit!


By Thursday Kathleen was much better so we spent the day in Zürich.  For breakfast we went to Café Sprüngli on Bahnhofstrasse.  This is a charming café with a 19th century Viennese feel about it.  Everything is high class including the prices - but, hey, we`re worth it.  This is me below, about to indulge in my café crème and croissant.

The highlight of the day was a visit to the Design Museum or Museum für Gestaltung as it is known locally.  This is a pretty non-descript building, but does house some great exhibitions and there are three on display at present.  The main exhibition is High Rise - Idea and Reality.  This is a collection of photos with some mock-ups of some of the most influential and famous high rise buildings in the world.  The main focus is on New York, London, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Zürich.  Some of the photos are incredible and some of the most fascinating are those that show what it is like to live in one of these buildings.  Very impressive.  For a slide show of some of the photos visit the museum`s website here.


The other main exhibition features the work of Swiss artist François Berthoud, who is apparently one of the outstanding fashion illustrators of the present day.  The examples of his work on display are wonderful and the overall tone is light, playful and sexy.  Below is the poster for the exhibition and some of the works on show.

After this brief interlude of culture we popped into another of our favourite cafés, this time the Caffeteria am Limmatplatz.  Here is Kathleen relaxing after a hectic day.

In Switzerland (1)

We've only been in Switzerland a few days and already we've managed to pack in quite a lot.  The weather was lovely and warm when we arrived and this continued into the Saturday.  So much so that Cosimo, Alessio and I trekked across the road to the local Badi for a bit of swimming and sunbathing.  The 3rd is of course Alessio's birthday, his 5th this time and Emma had organized a great little party for him.  Which he thoroughly enjoyed.  It all started with opening the presents, which he does with gusto as you can see below.

Though there was no doubt as to which was his favourite present - this giant aeroplane.

After some games in the garden with his guests, came the food and in particular the blowing out the candles on his specially made Dinosaur cake.  Now, ready, steady, blow!

The cake was delicious and everybody had a great time - not just the children.  There was even a bit of a reunion with some of Emma`s friends who can be seen posing here.

It was a fun day for all and Kathleen joined in with this impromptu modelling.

The next day unfortunately, the weather began to change.  However that did not prevent us from getting out and about. In the morning, Cosimo, Kathleen, Alessio and I visited a kind of Ideal Home exhibition.  There was some fascinating things to see, from wine coolers, built-in steamers, jacuzzis and goodness knows what else.  All, alas, at an equally fascinating price.  This exhibition was only for the rich and the very rich.  Good to see though.


In the afternoon we drove to Schloss Hallwyll in Kanton Aarau.  It is a fully preserved medieval castle surrounded by a moat.  Below is the view from the front and then from the side.

The rooms displayed all kinds of information about the Hallwyl family over the centuries.  Some rooms had period furniture, while others showed off some of the scientific and cultural interests of the family.  A few come up next.

Outside the castle and the moat there is the remains of the old mill house.  The mill lade and the water wheel are still there and some of the old wooden machinery is still there.  Perhaps it still works, though there was no-one around when I visisted.

Across the yard from the mill is a new building which stores some examples of transport from earlier ages, including this wonderful large wooden barge.

We finished our outing by stopping off at a nearby farm which sold fresh fruit and vegetables.  On the drive way there were some stunning clumps of dahlias, including this one.  A lovely way to end a lovely day.