Switzerland sub-trip!

On Saturday, Ed, Joe and I headed out to the Airport to visit Brady in Zurich. While this ends up being slightly ironic given the airplane difficulties at the end of the trip (and if it isn't strictly "ironic," I don't care), it was an awesome sibling trip to several amazing cities in Switzerland.

We went out in Zurich, except for Joe who was still recovering from his arrival the day prior. We went to the pedestrian streets of Hauptbahnhof and Bahnhofstrasse. We saw the neatest toy stores with very well-made toys, mostly craftsy, stuffed or wood-based. Ed and I also explored a mid-century modern furniture store much like Design Within Reach which means budget-wise, it's anything but. But the store was cool with multiple levels of wood and grating. Then we went back to Brady's house, had a fondue party and then headed to a bar to finish the night.

The next day, we headed to the Ticano canon to visit Lucarno the first day followed by Bellinzona the next. Locarno had two neat sights: Franciscan Santuario della Madonna del Sasso church up the funicular and the Castello Visconteo. We went to a restaurant of the Gran Piazza for dinner which was good and more importantly, cheap-ish.

Bellinzona was a little bit higher on my favorite list because it had a UNESCO World Heritage site! It comprises multiple sites: Castelgrande, Montebello Castle, Sasso Corbaro Castle, the city walls and the Murata. It was quite a walk in this natural confluence of Alpine passes but it was so beautiful. I had the most delicious lunch- a lasagnetta, a seafood sauce with three thin slabs of fresh pasta arranged in lasagna style. It was delicious although initially, I had my doubts. Then we headed back to Zurich.

The next day, Joe and I headed to Lucerne and saw the transport museum with the neatest mousetrap ever, the Martyred Lion, the mirror maze, Glacier Garden, the covered bridges and the beer garden! Or rather, a beer garden with delicious beer!

The last day, I spent mostly on my own touring Zurich proper to include the Grossmunster with beautiful stained glass windows by Giacometti and Munch, the Fraumunster with Chagall windows, the Lindenhof, the Frietag store and my favorite, the Kunsthaus with the best collection from Emile Bruhle, a Swiss collector who may/may not have been the most ethical collector in the 40s although he did return paintings that were properly claimed (and then bought them again!). That evening, we returned to Copenhagen and pigged out on Indian food made by Mom. Certainly not needed by that point but delicious.