Zurich

A couple weeks ago, again, we planned on going to Mürren in the Swiss Alps for the weekend, but again, the weather looked bad.  We cancelled our hotel for the second time and stayed home.  We were looking up all these weekend trip locations we want to see and checking the weather, but it looked so cruddy almost everywhere.  Funny thing is, Zurich was nice weather.  From talking with people, I get the idea that Zurich is often cloudy.  With that, we spent half the day in Zurich (finally!) since it's just a 20 minute drive in to the city center.  The only thing I had seen up until then was the Zurich airport which isn't even really in the city.

The weather all of a sudden went from pretty cloudy to sunny and warm right after lunch.

It's interesting how things change (like everything) once you have kids.  Before, we would try to see as much as possible, walk until our feet hurt, eat at whatever place we wanted to or heard was worth it, stay out after dark, carry as little as possible.  Well, that's all over and each of those things don't really happen anymore.  I had this conversation with a sweet girl from Idaho who I met through meetup.com.  (sidenote: We each have 2 kids of the same genders and within months of the same age...aaaaand she moved to Tokyo this week.  Boo!  At least we got to get together a couple times and she gave me some good stories and advice after having lived here for 3-4 years.)  Anyways, with the sweet little ones, we definitely go about travel differently.  Depending on where and what the plan is, we bring one or all or any combination of the following: BOB duallie stroller, lightweight umbrella stroller, Ergo baby carrier, Osprey Poco Plus hiking kid backpack carrier, good walking shoes, and of course, diapers, wipes, and lots of snacks.  We are flexible with reason because Carter can fall asleep in the stroller or Ergo very easily.  Maddie can take cat naps in the stroller or the hiking backpack.  But who are we kidding, she's not a long napper kind of girl even in the perfect circumstances, which we are learning is okay.  We try to eat dinner not much later than 6 or 7 and get back to our place early for bedtimes.  On a regular day, Maddie is in bed by 7:30pm and Carter by 7pm.  Little cute cafes aren't so convenient anymore.  The louder and bigger a restaurant is, the better, a playground or outdoor seating or "take away" (carry out) is ideal.  After talking it over with my new friend now located in Tokyo, we agreed that even though having kids has changed the way we travel in what seems to be not-so-convenient ways, we don't mind it.  It's actually helped us (me especially) slow down and enjoy the every day aspects of a new place, like finding the best park to picnic at, or just strolling instead of rushing from one monument to the next or trying to cross off all the tourist attractions in the city.  It's actually kind of nice.

Back to our day in Zurich.  Zurich is a fun city right on a beautiful huge lake with a picturesque old town, big old church, great restaurants and cafes.  I think that I just described almost every big city in Switzerland.

We parked right in old town by the Fraumünster.  Instead of eating in a cute little cafe for lunch, we saved the money and meltdowns, brought a picnic lunch, and ate on a blanket in a park right on the lake.  We brought the double BOB stroller which is awesome because we don't have to carry the kids, but it also limits what we can do since it won't fit through all doorways.

The Grossmunster

There was a big flea market right near the lake but parking didn't take long to find.  After our picnic, we walked along the lake, watched a few people paddle boarding and swimming, then walked around old town.  We went to the Grossmünster and actually paid the 4 CHF to climb the stairs up to the top of one of the towers to overlook the city.  We got some good looks and giggles as we climbed these narrow stairs each with a baby in our arms.  But totally worth it!  It was gorgeous to see the city from a bird's eye view.

So...I wasn't supposed to take any photos in the church...I hope that I am not offending you by showing you these.

Some of the stairs were narrow and claustrophobic, others were more wide open.

Awesome views!

With the babes at the top of the tower...those gaps in the side had us holding on to Maddie the entire time.  It's always an adventure.

Need to remember to have lollipops on hand for "I'm tired and ready to get home" moments

Fraumunster courtyard

Then we walked a little more, stopped for some stracciatella ice cream, which is my favorite flavor here that you don't really see in the States, and headed back to the car.

There are a few other things on my list to see/do in Zurich, but we'll be back.  In fact, we're headed back into the city tomorrow with a friend if the weather cooperates.

Half day and day trips are really enjoyable with the kids in tow and make it a little easier on everyone if it's doable.