Zürich, Day 2, June 3
Dear Ones,
How do I even begin this day? I am writing you now at 6:30 p.m., after a full day of walking and sightseeing. First, breakfast at the hotel, which I would not often write about except for the delectable new things I had the privilege of trying. First the rolls, which were still warm and fresh from the baker’s and reminded me of running across to Bäckerei Vogel from my Oma’s house to bring home oven-fresh rolls. My favorites were rolls with poppy seeds liberally sprinkled on top of them. With the roll I had this morning came a homemade strawberry-rhubarb marmalade that was just tart enough to make you pucker. Then another item I had was in a juice-sized glass with a glass lid. I thought at first it was yogurt, but it turned out to be Bircher muesli. Contents included oats, sweetened condensed milk, milk, lemon juice, apples, and red currants. Added to it were ground hazelnuts, 2 tablespoons of honey, and whipped cream folded in. It was to die for, and I asked for the recipe. Except for the red currants (hard to find in the US) it’s a cinch to make, and perhaps I can even find dried currants. What a dish! Also, Tchibo coffee, robust and firm, was persuasive enough to wake me up. I had slept rather well last night, in spite of the windows being open and the streetcars running until 1:00 a.m.
The first thing we did this morning was to take two different streetcar lines to a Salvation Army (Heilsarmee in German) gathering room, where Fabienne Klaas gave a lecture called “Switzerland: Geography and Cultural Regions.” She was excellent, and questions and answers were fast and furious as we discussed the economic, political, cultural, and geographical state of the nation. She wisely cut the lecture in half, allowing everyone to stretch their legs before continuing on her topic. During the break, and as the church bells had been ringing for about 15 minutes when we stopped at the halfway point, I ran down the street to discover that the church was St. Anton, a church heavily shrouded with scaffolding in anticipation of ongoing repairs. It was so wonderful to hear the sounds of those bells and drink in the majesty and sonority of them—one aspect of Sunday morning I miss in America.
At about 11:00 a.m. we were finished with the lecture and took the streetcar to Old Town to explore it with our guide. The Romans were the first to fortify the area, creating a customs post in the 1st c. BC and naming it Turicum. The legend of the city’s foundation dates back from the martyrdom of Felix and Regula. During the 11th and 12th c., Zürich’s traders built up fabulous wealth, mainly from textiles such as wool and silk. The restored guild houses grace the main square as well as the shores of the River Limmat, running through the city. It was the prestigious guild houses which we focused on before leaving for an 11:40 a.m. cruise on Lake Zürich. It was on that one-and-a-half-hour cruise that we had a beautiful salad with tomatoes, two types of lettuce, and chicken, with great bread and water and wine to drink. When we returned, we had a tour of the Fraumünster to see the Chagall windows. It is not known when the church was founded, but in 853, King Ludwig the German signed over to his daughter Hildegard a convent that already stood on the site. In 874, Hildegard’s sister Bertha consecrated the basilica and built a crypt beneath to house the relics of martyrs Felix and Regula, Christians and patron saints of Zürich.
However, during Zwingli’s Reformation, the convent was suppressed and in 1524 all the icons, ornaments and the organ were destroyed. During the following centuries, the cathedral became a place of worship for Huguenots (my ancestors, on my mother’s side, are of Huguenot extraction).
There was much renovation of the church in the 20th c., and in 1967, Marc Chagall (80 at the time), accepted the commission to make new stained glass for the five 10 m high windows of the Romanesque choir. The Romanesque choir, where the windows are located, dates from 1230-60 and is extremely high. Chagall’s red “Prophets” window, on the left, features Elisha at the bottom, watching Elijah mount to heaven in a chariot of fire. Above, drenched in blue, is Jeremiah. The “Law” window on the opposite wall has Moses looking down upon the disobedience and suffering of his people, who are following a horseman to war. Below it is Isaiah in the arms of a seraph, preparing to proclaim his message to the world.
Of the three main windows, the left, known as the “Jacob” window, shows the patriarch’s struggle with an angel and his dream of a ladder to heaven. The yellow “Zion” window on the right shows an angel trumpeting the beginning of eternity and the descent of the New Jerusalem from heaven. King David and Bathsheba also appear in the window. Finally, the central “Christ” window shows Jacob standing at the bottom by a huge tree of life, and the family tree of Christ. Floating in its upper branches is a vision of Mary holding the baby Jesus, with the Lamb of God at her feet. There are scenes of Jesus’s life and parables as well.
Another window we examined was Giacometti’s 1940 stained glass window depicting a vision of God and Christ, with 8 prophets below, and Matthew, Mark, Luke and John framed by ten angels.
After the viewing of the Fraumünster, our guides left us to our own devices. My roommate Cathy and I decided to visit 3 venues: the Grossmünster, the Wasserkirche, and the Kunsthaus. The Grossmünster church has distinctive twin sugar-loafed towers and a venerable history at the heart of the Swiss Reformation. Its interior has been denuded of virtually all its decorative grandeur. In 12 years preaching from the church’s pulpit in the 16th c., Huldrych Zwingli, a contemporary of Luther and the initiator of the Reformation in Switzerland, transformed Zürich from a sparsely populated hinterland town into a religious center attracting students and theologians from around Europe.
Our next stop was the Wasserkirche (Water Church), a late Gothic site of the martyrdom of Zürich’s patron saints, Felix and Regula. The stained glass above the choir is by Giacometti and juxtaposes the life of Christ with that of modern man. Behind the church stands the statue of a sword-wielding Huldrych Zwingli. The interior of the Wasserkirche has been modernized, but in a simple way, which shows off the bare bones Gothic idea of this place well. Below was a large crypt showing some of the excavations under the Wasserkirche and presenting a video re-enactment of the martyrdom of Felix and Regula.
Our last venue of the day was the Kunsthaus or Art House on Helmplatz. We saw 2 temporary exhibits on fashion throughout the ages and on the works of Swiss painters such as Füseli, Böcklin, Segantini, and Hodler. Fascinating work, and I got real excited to find a whole room of Böcklins. Missing, however, was my favorite work by him, the “Isle of the Dead,” which had been the impetus for Rachmaninov’s composition of the same name. I asked one of the curators about it, and found out that that painting resides in Basel’s art museum. You know I will definitely not miss that, if at all possible.
After our 2-hour visit, Cathy and I walked back, and along the way had Thai food at an outdoor restaurant. I had samosas, and Cathy had sauteed curry with a peanut sauce. And now, here we are—feet are a bit on the sore side, but we are happy with today’s peregrinations! More tomorrow! As ever, Sylvia
How do I even begin this day? I am writing you now at 6:30 p.m., after a full day of walking and sightseeing. First, breakfast at the hotel, which I would not often write about except for the delectable new things I had the privilege of trying. First the rolls, which were still warm and fresh from the baker’s and reminded me of running across to Bäckerei Vogel from my Oma’s house to bring home oven-fresh rolls. My favorites were rolls with poppy seeds liberally sprinkled on top of them. With the roll I had this morning came a homemade strawberry-rhubarb marmalade that was just tart enough to make you pucker. Then another item I had was in a juice-sized glass with a glass lid. I thought at first it was yogurt, but it turned out to be Bircher muesli. Contents included oats, sweetened condensed milk, milk, lemon juice, apples, and red currants. Added to it were ground hazelnuts, 2 tablespoons of honey, and whipped cream folded in. It was to die for, and I asked for the recipe. Except for the red currants (hard to find in the US) it’s a cinch to make, and perhaps I can even find dried currants. What a dish! Also, Tchibo coffee, robust and firm, was persuasive enough to wake me up. I had slept rather well last night, in spite of the windows being open and the streetcars running until 1:00 a.m.
The first thing we did this morning was to take two different streetcar lines to a Salvation Army (Heilsarmee in German) gathering room, where Fabienne Klaas gave a lecture called “Switzerland: Geography and Cultural Regions.” She was excellent, and questions and answers were fast and furious as we discussed the economic, political, cultural, and geographical state of the nation. She wisely cut the lecture in half, allowing everyone to stretch their legs before continuing on her topic. During the break, and as the church bells had been ringing for about 15 minutes when we stopped at the halfway point, I ran down the street to discover that the church was St. Anton, a church heavily shrouded with scaffolding in anticipation of ongoing repairs. It was so wonderful to hear the sounds of those bells and drink in the majesty and sonority of them—one aspect of Sunday morning I miss in America.
At about 11:00 a.m. we were finished with the lecture and took the streetcar to Old Town to explore it with our guide. The Romans were the first to fortify the area, creating a customs post in the 1st c. BC and naming it Turicum. The legend of the city’s foundation dates back from the martyrdom of Felix and Regula. During the 11th and 12th c., Zürich’s traders built up fabulous wealth, mainly from textiles such as wool and silk. The restored guild houses grace the main square as well as the shores of the River Limmat, running through the city. It was the prestigious guild houses which we focused on before leaving for an 11:40 a.m. cruise on Lake Zürich. It was on that one-and-a-half-hour cruise that we had a beautiful salad with tomatoes, two types of lettuce, and chicken, with great bread and water and wine to drink. When we returned, we had a tour of the Fraumünster to see the Chagall windows. It is not known when the church was founded, but in 853, King Ludwig the German signed over to his daughter Hildegard a convent that already stood on the site. In 874, Hildegard’s sister Bertha consecrated the basilica and built a crypt beneath to house the relics of martyrs Felix and Regula, Christians and patron saints of Zürich.
However, during Zwingli’s Reformation, the convent was suppressed and in 1524 all the icons, ornaments and the organ were destroyed. During the following centuries, the cathedral became a place of worship for Huguenots (my ancestors, on my mother’s side, are of Huguenot extraction).
There was much renovation of the church in the 20th c., and in 1967, Marc Chagall (80 at the time), accepted the commission to make new stained glass for the five 10 m high windows of the Romanesque choir. The Romanesque choir, where the windows are located, dates from 1230-60 and is extremely high. Chagall’s red “Prophets” window, on the left, features Elisha at the bottom, watching Elijah mount to heaven in a chariot of fire. Above, drenched in blue, is Jeremiah. The “Law” window on the opposite wall has Moses looking down upon the disobedience and suffering of his people, who are following a horseman to war. Below it is Isaiah in the arms of a seraph, preparing to proclaim his message to the world.
Of the three main windows, the left, known as the “Jacob” window, shows the patriarch’s struggle with an angel and his dream of a ladder to heaven. The yellow “Zion” window on the right shows an angel trumpeting the beginning of eternity and the descent of the New Jerusalem from heaven. King David and Bathsheba also appear in the window. Finally, the central “Christ” window shows Jacob standing at the bottom by a huge tree of life, and the family tree of Christ. Floating in its upper branches is a vision of Mary holding the baby Jesus, with the Lamb of God at her feet. There are scenes of Jesus’s life and parables as well.
Another window we examined was Giacometti’s 1940 stained glass window depicting a vision of God and Christ, with 8 prophets below, and Matthew, Mark, Luke and John framed by ten angels.
After the viewing of the Fraumünster, our guides left us to our own devices. My roommate Cathy and I decided to visit 3 venues: the Grossmünster, the Wasserkirche, and the Kunsthaus. The Grossmünster church has distinctive twin sugar-loafed towers and a venerable history at the heart of the Swiss Reformation. Its interior has been denuded of virtually all its decorative grandeur. In 12 years preaching from the church’s pulpit in the 16th c., Huldrych Zwingli, a contemporary of Luther and the initiator of the Reformation in Switzerland, transformed Zürich from a sparsely populated hinterland town into a religious center attracting students and theologians from around Europe.
Our next stop was the Wasserkirche (Water Church), a late Gothic site of the martyrdom of Zürich’s patron saints, Felix and Regula. The stained glass above the choir is by Giacometti and juxtaposes the life of Christ with that of modern man. Behind the church stands the statue of a sword-wielding Huldrych Zwingli. The interior of the Wasserkirche has been modernized, but in a simple way, which shows off the bare bones Gothic idea of this place well. Below was a large crypt showing some of the excavations under the Wasserkirche and presenting a video re-enactment of the martyrdom of Felix and Regula.
Our last venue of the day was the Kunsthaus or Art House on Helmplatz. We saw 2 temporary exhibits on fashion throughout the ages and on the works of Swiss painters such as Füseli, Böcklin, Segantini, and Hodler. Fascinating work, and I got real excited to find a whole room of Böcklins. Missing, however, was my favorite work by him, the “Isle of the Dead,” which had been the impetus for Rachmaninov’s composition of the same name. I asked one of the curators about it, and found out that that painting resides in Basel’s art museum. You know I will definitely not miss that, if at all possible.
After our 2-hour visit, Cathy and I walked back, and along the way had Thai food at an outdoor restaurant. I had samosas, and Cathy had sauteed curry with a peanut sauce. And now, here we are—feet are a bit on the sore side, but we are happy with today’s peregrinations! More tomorrow! As ever, Sylvia
That breakfast sounds divine...glad you went into detail about it. Excited to see the pictures to get a full sense of the religious centers and art ❤️
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