Lyon, part 1

We made it!  Finally!

After our admitedly lovely day in Mulhouse, we had a really horrible train ride to Lyon.  Because of the strike there were twice as many people crammed on to the train.  We obviously did not get to sit down.  We posted up in the bar car (like the nice information man at the train station suggested) and I proceded to get motion sickness.  Youpi!  I felt very unwell the whole train ride, which felt like it took forever.  But we did, finally, arrive in Lyon to friends waiting for us at the station.  Merci, mes amis.

And, thankfully, the first thing those lovely people did was feed us.  We had delicious bouchon lyonnais and went to bed full of food, wine, and beer.

The next morning (ok, technically we slept until 1:30. I don't think I've done that since college?) we set out to visit the city.

Lyon is one of the biggest cities in France.  It's as beautiful as Paris, yet with a more laid back atmosphere (which to Carl, was preferable).

We took the finicular (this trolly that brings you up the hill) to the top of the city.  There is a huge basilica up there, which is beautiful enough, but you also get an amazing view of the city.

Totally worth it.  The finicular costs the same as the metro, and I think you get something like an hour to travel from when you use your ticket the first time, so you could make it up there without paying twice.  

There is a lovely path that goes back down the city from the basilica- But don't go down it yet!  

There is a Roman amphitheater that is totally worth your time.  We walked over and had a moment of introspection, realizing that we were sitting on the same carved stone seats as others did a thousand years ago.  Heavy stuff, man.  They also use the ampitheater in Lyon, unlike some other places.  They have outdoor concerts in the summer.  Can you imagine?

We watched a band set up on stage for a little, took in the surrounding artifacts an scenery, then turned around to head back over to the walking path through the park.

I went to Lyon six years ago (?!) and that was the part I remembered from our couple of days there.  Walking down through the bare branches and cold air...  It was so much nicer in June!  Green grass, green leaves, flowers, birds.  No one huddled up for warmth, collars turned up, faced burried in scarves.

I realized this was my first time traveling in Europe in summer.

What a mistake.

Mulhouse, or an unexpected day in Alsace.

We said goodbye to Zurich on a Saturday morning, eager to arrive in Lyon, France and see our friends that afternoon.

Little did we know that there was a strike.  Of course.  France, why you gotta be so stereotypical?

The nice man at the information booth told me that the next train for Lyon wasn't until 5:00 that night (instead of the noon train we were supposed to take).  I laughed, and asked him for details, all the while Carl was standing next to me looking supremely confused.  He doesn't speak French.  Anyway...

So began our day in Mulhouse.

It is a very pretty city in the Alsace region of France.  The old city center looked like it came out of a story book.

When Carl and I decided we drank too many coffees, we sat on the steps of this awesome old church, ate sandwiches, and goofed around.

The church had writing on it in German.  This region of France went back and forth between France and Germany for a long time.  There's your history lesson for today.

The SNCF (French railway) was on strike the whole time we were in France, actually.  Luckily this was the only train it ever disturbed.  

I wasn't too upset about it- free day trip!

 

Vive la France!

Zurich, part 3

Zurich was such a pretty city.

I would definitely go back... Especially if I had more money.  The Swiss Franc is pretty close to the dollar, closer than the Euro even.  However, that makes it even more heartbreaking to order, shall we say, a 38 Franc pizza.  We didn't order it- our Air BnB hosts did.  They were sad.  We were told the pizza was delicious, though perhaps not $40 pizza delicious.

Yes, I will go back to Switzerland when I have more money.  I'd like to go to Geneva next time too.

Zurich, part 2

Carl and I often go to the Minnesota Zoo at home (we have a membership) and the last couple places we have gone we've made it a point to check other zoos out.

Zurich was no exception.

The zoo was huge, and the outdoor habitats for the animals were impressive.

The red panda was the cutest, as it slept up in a tree with its little arms hanging down over the branch. D'aww.

They also had an indoor area that is a replication of a Madagascan rain forest.  Amazing.  The temperature and humidity inside were very intense.

There was a 10 degree Celsius difference between on the forest floor and up in the tree-top observatory.  I think it was something like 26 on the ground and 36 at the top?  Plus 80% humidity.

The animals in the forest are free to roam as they like.  That means that you can walk right up to them and see them up close.  That also means you have to be looking very hard to see them.  I was starting to get very discouraged when we were about to leave...

But then suddenly and finally we saw 2 lemurs!  It made all the sweat worth it (gross. But true).

I was so happy.

You should definitely go to the zoo if you're in Zurich.

Zurich, part 1

In spite of the many (MANY) delays, Carl and I were finally en route to Zurich.

After bad coffee and actually surprisingly good Indian food (for an airplane) we arrived, 5 hours late (groan), in Switzerland.  Our airB&B, we discovered, is really nice and right in the city.  We dumped our stuff off, changed, and headed out into the city.

I had no idea what to expect of Zurich.  I literally did no research (except that there is a zoo- more on that later)...  So I have been so pleasantly surprised!

The city is very green- lots of trees and grass.  This is something I am not used to, since I have spent the majority of my European travels in France (aka The Land of No Grass, or, The Land of Grass But Keep Off It Because We're Trying to Keep It Nice).

We strolled through a park and down to the river.  The weather is hot right now, and summer has definitely arrived here.  People were out at the river swimmig and sun bathing.  We saw a guy give his dog a piggyback ride in the water. (Amazing, by the way)

We eventually settled in at a Bierhalle in the old part of town.  It was a nice way to end our first afternoon in Switzerland.  Plus, I got to hear Carl try out his rusty German (I LOVED IT).

More later!

One month abroad

Very soon, Carl and I will leave Minneapolis behind and head for Europe.  We'll be in Switzerland and France for ten days, then he'll head home and I'll head to Sweden.

I'll be learning Swedish in Stockholm for a couple weeks before traveling down to Copenhagen and then going back home.

It sounds really silly to be inspired by a little card that came with your nail polish, but when I saw this a couple of months ago it really inspired me to go for it and go to Sweden (by myself- ahhh!) this summer.

I'm just about ready to leave for my adventure this week.

I've got an awesome set up for blogging abroad all ready, and am ready to take a lot of pictures.  After an especially stressful school year I'm ready to relax and just "get away from it all."  The students have all gone home, on Monday I pack up my classroom, and then I'm free until the end of August.

It's (FINALLY) summer!