The next morning, we walked around Innsbruck some more, climed the 200-odd steps into the local tower to catch the panoramic view of the city, saw the Swarovski Crystal Gallery, and hopped on a train to Zurich. Our cabin companion was a peculiar Austrian woman with orangeish hair, hot pink lipstick, huge sunglasses, and a papoose-type contraption containing a very small dog (which she talked to at several points throughout the journey). She also had three umbrellas in her carry-on bag, which I thought strange...but hey, what the heck do I know? The train ride to Zurich was absolutely beautiful, though. The Alps, the crystal-clear mountain lakes...Switzerland is just breathtaking. As my breath was being taken away, I realized that I had left Maggie's (a Goethe student from America who teaches in Zurich) email address back in Munich, so I wouldn't be able to meet with her as planned. Bummer. However, as it turns out...
Again, finding the hotel was no problem. Since it was Sunday, though, everything was closed, so we just walked the grid and went into a couple of churches that weren't holding mass. We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant and then went to Rote Fabrik, which is apparently where all the young people hang out in Zurich. I'm just sitting there, minding my business, when all of a sudden someone comes up behind me and says "Well HEY! What are you guys doing here?!?!" Yep. It's Maggie. By sheer coincidence, we were in the same place at the same time. So we all hung out for awhile and then trekked back into town later that night. Fun times.
The next day, Davide and I parted ways. He went to meet his father and brother who had driven to Zurich from Chiasso (his hometown) and I went on a city tour. August 1st is Swiss Independence Day, so again, most everything was closed, but the city tours were still running. So I rode around on an old-fashioned trolley for a couple of hours and listened to some historical info about Zurich. The city is just beautiful. There is a river running through the Old Town, which opens up on an enormous lake, and the water is the loveliest shade of blue. It is also so clean that people say you can drink out of it. I didn't try, but I did sample some of the fountain water (there are about 2000 public drinking fountains in Zurich...not like our drinking fountains but statues with spouts of water surrounding them) and it was great. As it turns out, the girl sitting in front of me on the tour was also American (Laurel) and also travelling alone, so we paired up and spent the rest of the day hanging out. We checked out the local events celebrating Swiss Independence (there were little bands playing everywhere and a city fest by the lake where we ate fried apples) and then took a train up the Uteliberg, or the "Top of Zurich." We hiked up to the top for great panoramic views, and we even climbed the tower for a better look at the city. We could see the Schwartzwald (The Black Forest, in Germany) from where we were!
Once we came down from the mountain, we found a place to eat some fondue (because when you are in Switzerland, you should eat fondue and chocolate). It was delicious, of course...not to mention extremely healthy (ha). Then we went down to the lake to wait on the fireworks. We had a great vantage point, but were then accosted by some sleazy men who kept asking us to come to a party with them. We told them to get lost, and when they didn't get the point, we gave up our great seats and ditched them. There are only so many ways I know how to say "Not in a million years." So we stood on the bridge, which proved to be a better view anyway. Davide wandered by a little later and we hung out and all watched the fireworks together. It was really incredible -- all around the lake people were shooting fireworks, so little explosions were going off in a 180-degree panorama. When the fireworks died down a little, we took a ride on the Zurich Ferris Wheel, which you can check out here:
After that, we headed back toward the hotel, thinking that we had had quite enough fun for one day (plus, it was getting late). We were walking along, chatting and laughing, when all of a sudden, two guys get up from their table at a nearby cafe and step out in front of us. Wouldn't you know it, one of the guys was wearing a navy blue t-shirt emblazoned with a large interlocking "AU" on the back! I couldn't believe my eyes but I said "War Eagle!" anyway, and he turned around with the most incredulous look on his face. "No way!" was his first comment, but we immediately hugged and said "War Eagle" again. He is a sophomore English major (can you believe this crap?!?!) and in Farmhouse, and he was just travelling around Europe after having been in Scotland for some time. He said he was going to wear his Auburn t-shirt for the remainder of his trip, though I gently urged against it. I got a picture with him (to commemorate one of my best European moments) and we went our separate ways, exchanging a couple more hearty 'War Eagles' across the bridge. Was there ever any doubt that Auburn is just an incredible place? The Auburn Family isn't just in the Loveliest Village - this is a global phenomenon, man. Like seeing a family member in some random, unexpected place, you have an instant bond, an instant connection, with only two little words: War Eagle!
So I basically floated back to my hotel, grinning like an idiot the entire way. I said goodbye to Davide, who was leaving for Munich in the morning, and went to bed. The next morning around 8 AM, I hopped on my train to Lucerne! I cut Interlaken out of my intinerary because of a slight time crunch, and I spent one full day in Lucerne before heading back to Munich. More on both of these things in Part Three (oder "Teil Drei," if you prefer it auf Deutsch).
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