A long Easter weekend in Europe is a perfect opportunity for a mini-vacation, but this year we decided to indulge in a staycation. Although it can mean different things for different people, for us, a staycation meant being lazy at home, cycling around town, and mixing things up with a couple of day trips.
First up was Friedrichshafen (Germany), better known for its airport and Zeppelin museum, neither of which we visited. The drive was long (because Isaiah decided against getting a Vignette for Austria and we didn't want to get another ticket for driving on the Austrian autobahn unlawfully) and uneventful, so we were relieved to finally arrive in town and grab something to eat. After walking around the city center, which took us all of a half hour, we stopped for ice cream, because that's apparently what you do in Friedrichshafen if you're not inside the Zeppelin museum. My favorite thing about the town was looking across the vast lake that is the Bodensee and seeing the Swiss Alps! From the Swiss side looking toward the German side you just see flat, so it was nice to see some terrain.
Sunday we made ourselves a little feast. I was in charge of the green bean casserole and candied yams and Isaiah made the best chicken and dumplings ever. We finished things off with chocolate eggs. Yum.
On Easter Monday, we drove in to Zurich to meet up with Carla and Yves! We had a yummy lunch at Vapiano (Sihl City) and then headed to the Rietberg Museum to catch their Teotihuacan and "Pleasure and intoxication in Indian painting" exhibitions. The museum collections (as well as the gift shop and cafe) are housed in a few separate buildings scattered about a beautiful park setting.
A little on the overwhelming side, viewing the special exhibitions took up such a good chunk of time that we didn't even have a chance to see the permanent collection. There probably won't be a next time for us (yeah, I'm gonna be lame and let this be my way of telling you we're moving back to California in July), but I'm sure C and Y will get back there one of these days. Thanks for a great day, friends! It was a fun, full day and made me sad to be leaving so soon. I'm definitely going to miss long Easter weekends!
Last year we spent Easter weekend and my birthday (which fell on Easter Monday) in Strasbourg!
I caught that -- leaving in July?!?!
ReplyDeleteThat was such a fun Monday! Apart from the news that you are leaving, of course :-(
ReplyDeleteYesterday we went to a sculpture park in Dietikon and it was very interesting, reminded me of Gaudi's work. If you have the chance to come to Zurich before you move, maybe it's worth a visit:
http://bruno-weber.com/
Hi Juanita - 'tis true. Technically we leave Switzerland June 30, and leave Europe mid July.
ReplyDeleteHi Carla - that park does sound interesting. I'll have to let you know if/when we make it back to Zurich...