Zurich - Poking Around Europe 9.0 - Switzerland and France - CycleBlaze

September 5, 2024

Zurich

Exploring the City

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First this morning was breakfast, and it was delicious. I am not sure if I am allowed to mention the quantity of mini croissants consumed by the Chief Navigator, but suffice it to say when he thought he had enough, they brought out fresh warm ones, and what is a man to do?

Next up was the bike shop. It wasn’t an epic ride, but it was a very successful one. The CN had scoped out the closest shop and we asked to borrow a proper pump to top up the tires. He took the bikes in hand and popped each on the stand in turn, filled the tires and fixed an annoying post flight clickety  clack I had and a small brake issue of Keith’s. He also refused to take a penny for his trouble. 

Back to the lovely Hotel Allegra to drop off the bikes and into Zurich we zipped on the S Bahn. The hotel could sell us the ticket, the train is immediately behind the hotel and we were in the heart of Old Zurich in fifteen minutes. We wandered the Old Town, poked our noses into some shops, ate gelato and had some lunch. 

The S Bahn with our hotel in the background.
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A high end bike shop in Zurich.
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Patrick O'HaraLooks like you're about to sneak off with one of them!
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1 month ago
Keith ClassenWe were thinking two!
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1 month ago
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We met this lovely couple from the Netherlands and had a long chat. They are on their way to Rome following a route in a book that was published centuries ago, and originally in Latin, Emo’s Reis.
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Karen PoretHallo from Amsterdam to you all!
We are sharing the darkened skies as well! Is it really September?
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1 month ago
We did a little research and here is the route. Emo’s Reis.
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Then while walking the waterfront of Zürichsee we made the spontaneous decision to go on a boat cruise. It was just lovely although we did order a Coke to keep us from nodding off. 

We love being on the water and it was such a different and lovely perspective on the city.
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The server was a hoot.
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After the cruise we went to the Apple Store. We don’t have one in Victoria, so that was fun for sure, and we picked up a new external battery for Keith’s phone and another charging cord. His old external battery is ready for recycling and it was an errand we didn’t get around to before we left home. 

Back to the hotel on the S-Bahn, which was much more crowded because it was rush hour. Then we saw a basically empty coach. Perfect!   As soon as we sat down we realized why - we were in First Class. We decided to live on the wild side and stay put, hoping we could plead ignorance if challenged. We were back at the hotel with no questions asked, so emerged unscathed from a successful attempt at being scofflaws. 

The hotel was hopping when we got back. This VW was a Photo Booth. Lots of orange balloons and when we came back from dinner some great music too.
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We took a short walk to dinner and then some real organization for tomorrow when the biking begins. Our past experiences have told us it takes a few days to get the rust out…perhaps we can avoid that this year!

Today's ride: 4 km (2 miles)
Total: 4 km (2 miles)

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Karen PoretSo far your journey will be hard ( for me) to top, Kathleen 😬
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1 month ago
Bob Koreis"poked our noses into some shops, ate gelato and had some lunch"

You definitely have the right priorities; gelato then lunch.
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3 weeks ago