I'm proud to be part of the Switzerland jet set

There are a couple of things I really like about my apartment in Kloten (right outside Zurich).  Some might think these two things are deficits.  I really get a kick out of them.  One, is the church bells.  They ring all the time.  I love them.  Some would call that a nuisance.  Me?  Loving it.  :)

This is the church that has the lovely ringing bells.  It is also where one of my buses stop to drop me off.

And the other thing that would annoy probably everybody else, but not me...

Besides the bells, the other "unique" thing about my apartment is that it is only ten minutes from the airport.  That means the apartment is sometimes in the flight path.  LOVE it.  I never tire of going out and watching the airplanes go overhead.  I don't know why. The picture I took is from our kitchen window.  The planes go over the next building, not ours.  

I captured a few times for you as I was out walking.  The planes come through our area only in the evening.  They noise stops at 11 p.m.  None are allowed to disturb the neighborhoods after 11 p.m. 

This national drink makes me thirsty

One of the things I have discovered is this Swiss drink called Rivella.  It is sold everywhere.  I wondered about it for a couple of weeks and then I asked a Swiss young woman about it.  She said it's a national beverage and everybody drinks it.  I asked her what it tasted like and she said that it was like an energy drink taste, without the energy so that little kids could drink it too. 

Rivella, Howler, Mate, & Heinzee

I tasted it.  It's a bit citrus-y and I could develop a taste for it, but it made me really thirsty.  I wanted a big drink of water after I drank some Rivella.  I don't think that's supposed to happen.  

While Mate and his friends drink Rivella, I'll probably stay with water.  Btw, Mate and Howler met up with a Swiss friend and invited her to join them on the adventure.  Heinzee is her name.  She LOVES Rivella because she is Swiss.

A leisurely day spent in Zurich

So there are two different types of boats to go cruising around the lake in Zurich.  One is a regular type cruiser which stops at various docks along the route (like a bus stops) and there are two routes.  One is a 4-hour route and one is a 1.5-hour route.  I took the latter.

Mate, Howler, and Heinzee enjoyed a Fanta Orange while they watched the view.

Along the route I saw loads of swans.  That's because I brought some rolls I bought just to feed them.  As soon as I started throwing out the bread to the beautiful swans, here came the ducks AND seagulls.  They swooped in and took a lot.  Check out the seagulls swimming in the water like ducks or swans.  They're trying to fake me out.  Get out!  This is for the swans!

Then, there was another type of boat that you could cruise from stop to stop on.  It was low and was able to go right under the very low bridges.  It was cool!

After riding on the low, flat boat, I took a walk down the small, cobblestone street.  It was tiny and curved.  Charming.  So European.  I found a lovely Italian restaurant and enjoyed lunch sitting outside in a beautiful location.  The weather was balmy and cool.  The food was delicious!

I had the pasta and the carpaccio.  That's steak tartar.  For the uninformed, that's raw beef sliced really thin with olive oil and spices.  Yum!  My friend had the pizza and the beer.  :)

While I was at this restaurant, I had to use the ladies' room.  Guess which door was the right one for ladies and which was the one for the men?  LOL

In Europe, they are more relaxed with nudity.  I forgot to mention that the boats passed this dock for ladies who were sunbathing.  It was for ladies only.  And many were sunbathing topless.  

The VIEW was for anyone interested, I suppose.  lol

It was all downhill from here

Goofy smile alert!  This next activity I was so excited to do ever since I left America.  I had been searching for fun things to do in Switzerland and when I found this activity, I was hooked.  I found a webpage for a Segeway tour in Zurich.  Check it out!

There was a group of about a dozen of us riders.  The tour began with a 30-minute training session.  I was really tentative at first, but then I got comfortable and confident.

This is Rolfe.  He owned the segeways and was the tour guide.  When we started out, he told me to ride right behind him.  I thought he was wanting to get to know me better.  Others might say that I was the remedial rider of the group.  I'm not owning that title.  :)

However, thank goodness Rolfe put me in that position because when we went down a hill, my segeway took on a mind of its own and speeded up.  I was able to do a soft crash at the bottom of the hill (didn't even fall down, just off of the segeway) and Rolfe was right there to stop me.  It took a moment for me to get my confidence back again and the rest of the group enjoyed an extra 10-minute rest until I was comfortable again.  

The tour was a complete blast.  I would do one again in a second.  One of the tour members from the UK was really impressed with the segeways.  Unfortunately, they are not street legal in the UK just yet so his plans for getting one may be delayed. We looked like an impressive sight as we rolled along in a line touring.  Many tourists grabbed their cameras and were snapping pictures of us.  

Since the segeway is controlled by your balance and you use your legs and feet, by the end of the tour, my feet were toast.  I had to sit for a bit and let them recuperate. 





But we saw some great sights.  

Opera House

We saw the opera house, the Swiss National Bank (their Fort Knox or Gringots), and the church where there is a special placque commemorating Winston Churchill.



There was one more adventure for me today









While I was walking on the sweet cobblestone street, my eye caught a sign which advertised some wonderful item I dearly love.  I made a goal to go back another day and get one.



There were many flavors of boba to pick from.  There were fruit flavored like mango boba or strawberry boba.  The little pearls.  I ordered a kaffee bubble tea with the regular boba.  It wasn't exactly like what I was used to, but it was a nice taste to remind me of good times with nieces and loved ones.


 
 

NOTE:  If you are the one coming to pick me up from the airport when I get home, please bring a boba.   lol