On Tuesday I decided to go check out the Appenzeller cheese factory in Stein. I managed to find the correct bus in St. Gallen and got off at the stop right across the street from where I wanted to be, so that was easy enough. In all honesty the factory itself is not that much to see. They did have some windows where you could look in and see all the stacks of wheels of cheese, and then one where you could see some of the production with the big vat and the cheese molds, etc. So I bought myself a postcard and also a gift tin of Appenzeller fondue that luckily will last until like April, so I can bring it home with me. Then I went into the restaurant and had an Appenzeller fondue for one. I'm not sure exactly which one I got, but it was a nice one with lots of herbs. I ate every little bit of it too. Afterwards I made it back to St. Gallen and went into Claires to buy some new earrings, and then went into the supermarket to buy some food for myself. Andrea left me some money for me to feed myself, so I just picked mostly frozen stuff that was easy to make and would allow me to be lazy.
Vat of cheese
Fondue in an Appenzeller pot
Mmmm, bubbly cheese
A heck of a lot of cheese wheels
So after a nice Wednesday of doing a whole lot of nothing, I decided to go to Zurich on Thursday. I made it there by about 11 and promptly went to the tourist office to grab my free city guide. I started off walking down the river and just taking some nice pictures. I was lucky that it was nice and sunny, even if it was still cold. I walked down a little ways and then went into Grossmuenster. It's a very large church that was built by Charlemagne (I think). In any case it's really old. I decided to walk the stairs up to the tower where I had a very lovely view over the city. Then I wandered around a little bit and went into the park and just looked at all the buildings. Around 12:30 I decided to head back up the large shopping street that would lead me back to the train station. I came upon the chocolate shop I was told I should go into and went and bought myself some Luxemburgerli which is a specialty a bit like a macaroon (and not so cheap either). So I came out of the store and intended to find myself someplace to eat and then just browse the shops until my train back. So the intersection there was somewhat strange and I walked along the street I thought was the one I was currently on. Well it didn't take long for me to realize I wasn't where I wanted to be, but I was certain I was headed in the right direction and would come where I needed to be, so I kept walking. Well after a while I wasn't sure where I was anymore so I took out my map (and usually I'm pretty good with directions and maps and not getting lost), but I couldn't find the street I was on on the map (come to find out later because I was in a completely different spot than I thought I was on the map). Anyway I kept walking and eventually decided that I had no idea where I was and needed to get directions. Well apparantly I had veered off onto a street that led me in the complete opposite direction. I was told to take the number 13 tram, which I would have done, but I couldn't figure out how to pay the machine to get a ticket, so I just followed it instead and it led me back to the original street where I figured out where I had gone wrong and got myself back on track. So after about an hour of being lost I was really hungry and found a Mexican restaurant to eat at (again, not so cheap). But it was nice to have some Mexican food. Thursday also happened to be the day that was the start of Carnival so there was confetti everywhere and the weird bands playing and lots of people partying. After I ate, I browsed the rest of the shopping street and went into another chocolate shop and bought some truffles to send home since my parents complained that I didn't give them any of the amazing truffles I had bought in Luzern. I'm sure these are just as good, and will last long enough to make it home as well. I caught my train back and made it home about 6 and was pretty tired from being lost.
Train station
Along the river
Grossmuenster
View from the top
Opera House
Nice architecture
Pretty building I saw while I was lost
Quesadillas
Luxemburgerli (after I already ate more than half)
So Friday was another lazy day and the weather was not quite as nice. I went ahead and mailed a box home of things including lots of chocolate and some regional sweets. Good thing too because I'm certain it all wouldn't have fit in my suitcases, so now maybe I've made some room. It didn't cost me too terribly much, about 77 franks, which is loads cheaper than Fedex or UPS which would have been 300-400. I just waited around the rest of the day for the family to return, and of course a certain somebody was more than cranky. This also spilled over into today. But I'm happier now that I've moved back into my room and have all my things in one place again.
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