A Sunny Sonntag

 Hello from sunny Zurich (you'll be relieved to hear), where I'm staying in a quiet, little idyll outside of the city.

After a mammoth day of travelling, yesterday, I felt surprisingly alert upon arriving in Zurich, and was composed enough to be out of the accommodation by 10am for a day of sightseeing. 

I hadn't really made any major plans for the day, but going to the Lindt Museum/Factory was on my wishlist. Sadly, you needed to pre-book tickets in advance, and they'd all sold out, so I had to think of a Plan B. 

I was in Zurich for a few hours this time last year, before flying home, and saw some of the imposing churches (or Munsters), but never got the opportunity to go inside them, so decided to set out to do so, this morning. However, it was a Sunday morning- and of course, that equals church services. Both the Fraumunster, and the currently-renovated Grossmunster weren't open to tourists at this time, but the St. Peter Church, with its  clock face, was. 

St. Peter Church

The church was quite petite inside, but intricate, nonetheless. Pictures and videos aren't allowed, so being the law-abiding citizen that I am (obviously forgetting the time I accidentally evaded a fare on the Zurich funicular), I didn't take any pictures. Still, the exterior is striking enough (see what I did there ;)) to make it worth a visit- especially given that all of the aforementioned churches are within walking distance of each other.

Last night, I'd purchased a 24-hour "Zurich Card", which is absolutely worth purchasing- free transport around the city, and when I say free transport, I mean it! Trains, trams, buses- even cruises were all part of the package. One of the perks of this card, is that it grants you free access to certain museums, such as the FIFA Museum. Having not ever recalled visiting a footie museum, I decided to give it a go, if not for the fact that admission was 3 francs less than what I'd paid for the Zurich Card. 

Put simply, the museum is a football nut's paradise. I always keenly follow the World Cup, and finding out about the World Cup, and the game's formation was very interesting. It's packed with interactive experiences, including an area where you can channel your inner commentator, however, doing such, was not a goal of mine (lame pun count: 2). If you have a kid (or big kid) who's football-mad, then it's worth visiting Zurich, on account of this museum alone.

A display about the 1966 edition...

Messi and Mbappe's shirts from the 2022 final.

Winning goalie gloves from a Women's World Cup final...

After getting a supermarket burek for lunch (very cosmopolitan), I wanted to try my hand at going to the Lindt Museum, just to see the massive chocolate Lindor fountain structure, and, as mentioned, a ferry that stops 5 minutes away from the Museum was part of the Zurich Card, so it seemed well-worth the trip, even if it was to only be for a ferry on Lake Zurich.

After berating myself for not bringing a cossie with me on this trip, I disembarked at Kilchberg, and made way to the factory. And lo and behold, they had a spare ticket available, so it was "alles gut", and I expectantly hoped to sample some chocolate from a fountain. After finding out more about the origins of chocolate, and its place in Swiss society, contrary to Bono, I had found what I was looking for. Three fountains for you to sample chocolate from. It was lush, obviously, but if that wasn't enough, there was a dispensing station of hard chocolate- except this time, you didn't know which flavour you were getting. Concluding that I had a sea salt, and an orange one, I made way to the penultimate stage, or what I like to call, the "Lindor section".

You'd expect them to allow you take one and run, but no, we were actively encouraged to take one each from the eight bowls available, which resulted in me becoming acquainted with a lemon cheesecake Lindor for the first time. As the saying goes, you never forget your first, and that was true in this sense. And for Lindt, the copious amount of chocolate-handing out was not enough, as you could receive a complimentary chocolate at the end of the experience. You may want to query my sanity, but I skipped this part, and went into the shop, where a lady at the door was giving out a complimentary matcha-flavoured Lindor. I actively tried to stay out of her sight upon entry, not least because I'm on the spectrum and often do not crave social interaction, but because I'd had too much chocolate! Wish to section me for all you like, but enough was enough!

I then boarded the hour-long ferry back to Zurich, which was very pleasant, and increased my jealousy of those swimming. Still, I received some satisfaction, as the Grossmunster was open to the public by this stage, so I had a quick perusal, and then made way back to my accommodation.

It's been a highly eventful day, but gladly, not eventful in a negative connotation.

Little ole Liechtenstein awaits tomorrow, for country number 26.

'Til then,

Tom :)