MY EUROPEAN HOLIDAY 2016 - WE ARE IN MEDIEVAL ZURICH

Hi everyone,

Finally, I have come to the conclusion of my 2016 European holiday narrative with a short and sweet post about Zurich. 

After spending the last four hectic weeks of travelling through Greece and Portugal, we decided to come to Zurich for a bit of respite, to have a couple of quiet days to decompress before flying back to Sydney.

We flew to Zurich after spending a couple of days in a beautiful sunny Madeira and I was not very happy to return to the cold weather, more so since the weather in Zurich was even colder than everywhere we were before.

We stayed in Steigenberger Hotel located on the Lake Zurich.  They upgraded us to an enormous 2 level suite with private access to our own roof terrace, sauna and jacuzzi with a panoramic view over the lake and the city beyond.

We only had one and a half days to spare and didn’t have any particular plan of what we wanted to see or do except two things:  to find the Fraumünster Church where Marc Chagall painted five windows and see the Macbeth opera at Zurich Opera house, tickets for which we had purchased on-line well before we left on our holiday.

So the next morning, we bundled ourselves into the scarves and gloves and set off to explore the Old Town (Altstadt).  This historic heart of Zurich is the most atmospheric part of the city with its medieval looking buildings, old churches and cathedrals with the narrow copper covered spiels punctuating the sky above, narrow cobblestone streets, lovely squares with ornate fountains in the middle and wrought iron benches beside them.  This area is full of all sorts of eateries, bars, cafes, art galleries and artisan shops. 

It is here in Alststadt that you find Bahnofstrasse, the most expensive and exclusive shopping mile in Europe and even if you are not in the mood for shopping, just taking a stroll along it should not be a missed.  The one thing that came to me as a shock is the cost of food, which became even more apparent in comparison to what we paid for similar food in Greece and Portugal.

The Old Town is very charming, even if sometimes it could be difficult to navigate due to its twisty narrow streets and passages, however the people of Zurich were most helpful and glad to point us in the right direction to the Fraumunster Church were we admired the colourful work of Mark Chagall.

Then we hopped on a tram and made our way to the Western, more industrial part of Zurich, to check out how the space under the "old Viadukt" was transformed into a Markthalle (Market Place) housing an array of delicatessens, cult labels stores, studio galleries and fashion boutique all open to the public.  

We stopped at one of the stalls for a piece of deliciously looking apple pie and a stall holder suggested that we should have lunch at Bistro Clouds, only few tram stops from the viaduct.  Sitting on top of the one of the tallest city towers, this place is known not only for its food and bar but for the breathtaking 360 degrees view over Zurich.   

And although the restaurant requires reservations made far in advance, the bistro works on a walk-in basis and we were seated immediately.  The food was very good and the prices, to our utter surprise, were quite reasonable so we left the Clouds with a feeling of satisfaction and contentment.

We returned to our hotel in time to rest and get changed for the much anticipated evening at the Opera.  

Luckily, our hotel was only few minutes away from the Opera House. As we found our seats we looked around to admire the rich décor and architecture of the building that is so customary of the theaters all around Europe.  We were fascinated by the innovative production of the play, the singing was superb and to our utmost delight we were able to follow the plot, courtesy of the English surtitles.  That list night in Zurich was one of the highlights of our trip and I couldn’t wish for a better way to bring our 2016 European holiday to a close.

MADEIRA PORTUGAL

Hello my dear readers,

If you haven't read my previous posts where I was recounting our European holidays 2016, then here is what you have missed so far: Athens, Santorini, Lisbon, Sintra and Cascais.  And my regular readers might recall that our last stop was Lisbon where we spent four exciting, jam-packed with discoveries days and after that we flew to Madeira, an island in the Portuguese archipelago about two hours flight from Lisbon but when we stepped outside the terminal I thought we landed on a different continent altogether.

The first thing we noticed was the warm balmy weather that felt so nice after being subjected to the cold for the last three weeks.  We also noticed how bright, rich and luscious the flora around us was, with the bright sun shining on us and the blue sea sparkling under its rays, it felt like a slice of paradise.

Again, we rented a car but the driving and navigation was so much easier than in Santorini that I was no longer scared to be smashed into a cliff or thrown over the railing into an abyss and for a change I was actually enjoying the ride to the hotel.

All the rooms in our suite of the Cliff Bay Hotel were overlooking the sea and the blue pools and rows of white deck chairs below.  And everywhere I looked, I saw tall and slender palm trees, thick bushes of flowering bougonvelia, emerald green lawns all sparkling and shining under the bright spring sun.  It reminded me a lot of Sydney in summer.  Our hotel was packed with Brits enjoying the warm weather and natural beauty of Madeira.

On our first night we had a scrumptious dinner (that my foodie husband reserved months ago) at Il Gallo D'Oro, a Michelin starred restaurant that happened to be situated on the ground floor of our hotel.

We only had a one full day and a bit, so after a short discussion with the concierge of what the “must see sites” in Madeira are, we got into our rented car and headed in the direction of the town centre.  There we boarded the funicular (Cable Car) that took us up 560 meters to a full view of the breathtaking landscapes of the city.

After the ride, we did some sightseeing around the charming streets of the old part of town, visited the local produce market, walked along narrow alleys with walls adorned by the funky murals and after a short stop at a local coffee house for a cup of delicious cappuccino (it was before 11 am so cappuccino is allowed) we returned to the car and set off to Porto Moniz, situated in northwest corner of Madeira, which has long been famous for its natural swimming pools and its pure, beautiful scenery.

It took us just over an hour to get there.  It was fascinating to watch the change in the landscape, the flat green fields gradually morphing into black rocks soaring high into the sky, away went the thick blooming bushes, replaced by dense jungles of tall trees and thick vines.  The temperature was dropping so fast that by the time we reached Porto Moniz and got out of the car, we needed to put on our jumpers and scarves.  But the place was magnificent and looked rather dramatic and primeval.

The natural lava swimming pools are the highlight of the village of Porto Moniz.  They are made up of volcanic rock, into which the sea flows naturally.  The water is crystal clear and these natural wonders are a delight to swim in during the summer or just watch the sea surge forward to fill them with water and then draw back leaving them quite shallow.

First driving, then walking made us quite hungry and we stopped at the local seafood restaurant for a plate of grilled sardines, a Portuguese delicacy.

We returned to our hotel late in the afternoon.  We were glad to feel the hot sun on our skin and spent the rest of the afternoon sunbathing near the pool overlooking the shimmering sea.

We retreated to our room quite early as the next morning we were flying to Zurich, our last stop before coming home.  But I will tell you about that in my next post.

Until then

Anna
xoxo

MY EUROPEAN HOLIDAY - PORTUGAL PART 2|SINTRA & CASCAIS

Hi again, my dear readers

You might recall that my last post was about our time in Lisbon.  Today I would like to tell you about two beautiful places that were part of our Lisbon experience - a day trip to see Sintra and Cascais.

Recommended among the top 10 day trips destinations, Sintra is only 40 minutes train ride from the centre of Lisbon.  It is regarded as one of the most picturesque, enchanting and romantic European cities. Its collection of fairytale-looking palaces, beautifully designed sprawling gardens and extravagant villas make it a destination not to be missed.

As soon as we alighted from the train and walked toward the main square of Sintra, we noticed two gigantic conical chimneys (the town's most recognisable landmarks) that belong to National Palace.

But the most famous and <in my opinion, the most beautiful among them all is Pena Palace. The palace stands on the top of a hill high above Sintra and on a clear day can be seen from Lisbon.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal.

Although getting to Sintra was a very easy affair, getting to Pena Palace was a totally different matter.  As I said before, it stands high on a hill that we definitely were not prepared to climb.  The other option was taking a cab or a local bus that would take you to the foot of the hill and then you either walk the rest of they way up or catch a shuttle bus for an additional fee (of course) to get you to the front gates of the Palace.  We opted for latter, the bus seems like a lot of fun, besides I was fascinated to see how the driver was navigating the narrow winding path, overcoming 90 degree bends without a scratch to the vehicle.

After a slow 15 minutes ride, we finally reached the gates of Pena Palace.  It looked like absolute magic.  Build in the early 19th century, the exterior is a fantastic conglomeration of turrets, domes and ramparts all washed in an array of pastel shades.  I have never ever seen anything like it before.  Despite the fact that it was midweek in early April, the grounds were full of visitors.  In fact, it was quite difficult to take a photo without another ten people around you doing exactly the same and another ten posing in front of the lenses.

Not every tower looked the same.  Pena Palace represents an array of styles reflecting the much loved exotic taste of Romanticism.  The interiors are as lavishly decorated as the interiors.  Sadly, a few rooms were not available for viewing at the time of our visit but what we saw was sublime:  in every room the walls were covered by richly patterned wall paper, thick carpets covered parquetry floors and everywhere the objects of art and decor were the examples of superb craftsmanship.

After we completed the tour of the castle and gardens nearby, we boarded the same bus to come back to the city centre.  There we caught a train to visit the nearby town of Cascais, recommended by the concierge of our hotel.

It is a coastal town about 30 kilometers from Lisbon and regarded as one of the richest municipalities of Portugal.

Formerly a sleepy fishermen town, it is now a most popular vacation spot for both Portuguese and European tourists.  We spent the whole afternoon strolling along the waterfront admiring the intricate architecture of the houses that line the boardwalk and colourful boats bobbing on the water, then stopped for an early dinner at one of the multitude of restaurants and enjoyed the sumptuous dinner of expertly cooked local seafood. 

Exhausted but energized by what we had seen, we boarded the late train to return to Lisbon.