Our first Swiss Saturday tended more toward damp than dry, but no matter the weather, our plan was to bid Zürich "auf Wiedersehen." By this point, it was a breeze navigating the Number 14 tram line that carried us and our luggage to the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station). So within an hour the hyper-efficient Swiss rail system was whisking us along to Bern, the Swiss capital city. (Switzerland's capital is also spelled "Berne," which is preferred by French ...

Perhaps I was a bit ******* Zürich. After all, a city that has accumulated so much wealth and guarded it so effectively must have something going for it. We began our day wandering toward Lake Zürich. Near the shoreline but in close proximity to the business district stood a bustling open-air market where bakers, farmers, flower vendors, and others hawked their wares to the locals. Even the farmers and vendors employed Swiss efficiency in the ways the...

Sometimes vanilla tastes fine ... so long as it is what you expected. Zürich seems to deserve its reputation as a highly livable city. It has an easily navigated tram system (reportedly among the world's most largest), a vibrant medieval center with multiple clanging clock towers, and a world-class shopping district. The lake is full of sailing boats, and on clear days, alpine peaks line the distant horizon. And the city's architecture is exactly as you wou...

I have been back in the USA for a few weeks, but this blog has left too much about Italy ignored and unmentioned. So here are a few details to sew up the saga of my spring sojourn. My last full day in Italy (in other words, Saturday, 10 March) was devoted to filling in some of the gaps of my Florentine foray. I had mentioned earlier that one of the oldest buildings in the city is the St. John's Baptistry, which stands directly in front of the Duomo. To modern e...