September Holiday: Zurich, Day 2

As good as our first proper day in Zurich had ended - with a beautiful sunset to watch from our chairs on the big square in front of the opera -, the next morning brought grey skies and a drizzle that developed into more constant and substantial rain as we arrived on the slope of the Züriberg. Zurich is surrounded by mountains, and after yesterday's walk along one side of it (from Uetliberg to Felsenegg), today we wanted to walk on the other side and climb the Züriberg.
(We are talking about Thursday, the 14th of September.)

See what I mean?

We abandoned our original plan and walked along the edge of the woods until we arrived near the zoo where there is a tramway stop. The next tram pulled up soon and took us back into town. Some of the rest of the rainy morning we spent in one of the big shopping malls - not exactly what we had come to Zurich for, but a good way to keep out of the rain and marvel at the things people think they need :-) We had a rather good lunch there, too; the restaurant was on the top floor of the building and offered good views across the city.

Later, we walked around some more:

We climbed the Urania tower, which has an observatory on top. The observatory was closed, so my pictures of the telescope and the small room were taken through the window: 

Views from the tower:

Look what happened then - the sun came out, the sky looked as if nothing had happened, and we walked across the city to this place we had seen from afar. What is it? An enchanted castle?

No, it is Zurich's National Museum. They were still open when we arrived, but now that the weather was fine, we did not want to go inside; we'll save that for a future visit. But we were really impressed with the building. It was purpose-built as a museum and never served as a castle or palace. The architect intended to show various building styles through history, making the building itself an exhibit.

Long after it was finished (in 1898), an extension was added in 2016. On the museum's website it says that it "complements Gustav Gull’s original wing perfectly. It contains large, flexible exhibition spaces, a modern library and an auditorium for public events." Well, see for yourself and decide whether you think the extension complements the old building "perfectly"! It certainly offered some interesting glimpses, though.

On the way back to our rooms, we stopped on the large sunlit terrace in front of one of the university buildings:

This little house was just up the road from where we were staying. It looks just the right size, doesn't it!

O.K. has friends living in Zurich, and they had invited us to spend the evening at their place. We enjoyed a delicious raclette, the view from their dining table across the lake and the nightly city, and of course their company.

On the next day, Friday, we left Zurich after breakfast and arrived home (at O.K.'s village) about 3 hours later, due to heavy traffic.

This was only the first part of our two weeks off - there's more to come!