Yesterday I took an excursion out of town to (a) Rapperwil, otherwise known as the city of Roses, (b) Liechtenstein and (c) Heidiland
I went on this tour so I could (a) Say I have been to Liechtenstein, and (b) All I remember about Heidi was yodelling down a mountain in her ponytails, but it seemed cool.
(a) Rapperswil was a beautiful down, across Lake Zurich from Zurich. We saw a castle, and gardens of roses, and lots of medievil archetechure. I also had a good lunch at a resturant which the tour guide recommended, (He also mentioned he eats there for free if he brings groups there-didn't see the coming!). At lunch, I met two guys who we're travelling, one of the guys is actually on this excursion a second time-it appears he went a few days ago, went back to the meeting point at the specified time to go to Liechtenstein-and the bus was gone (I guess the tour guide miscounted)-so he was allowed to come back to finish the excursion.
The bus then drove past beautiful moutains and valleys, past ski resorts, cog-railways, and swiss chalets to the next stop-Lichtenstein
(b) Liechtenstein is an independent country bordered by Switzerland and Austria. It has a population of 37,000 people and is one of the wealthest countries in the world. While beautiful-it doesn't look much different then Switzerland (just even more expensive). From a promenade, I saw the royal castle at the top of the mountain in Valduz. I also saw shops selling coocoo clocks and souvenirs, and a new art Museum with Picassos inside. We we're in Liechtenstein for about 1/2 an hour I believe. The main reason to go to Liechtenstein is to say you have been to Liectenstein, it seems
(c) The last stop was Heidiland, where the Heidi books supposidly took place and we're written nearby. I don't remember much about Heidi, except that she was a thin girl with blond ponytails. The tour guide read us the story about Heidi, who had a great life in the mountains with her grandpa, tending farm animals and enjoying the land. From what I remember, her mom, who originally left Heidi with grandpa so she could find work in the city, came back for Heidi, but she enjoyed life in the mountains so much she didn't want to go with mom. And there we're other tidbits such as a boy at a neighboring farm feel in love with her-the boy became jealous of Heidi's friend, who not only was spending too much time with her, but was also confined to a wheelchair, that he threw the wheelchair down the mountain (and the friend miraculously started walking) and other little parts.
Anyway, there was a Heidi museum, which was closing by the time we got there, and was 7 Francs if I still wanted to go in, but I decided to stay outside and pet Heidi's goats, (or descendents of the original Heidi's goats).
Anyway, after I believe a two hour ride back to Zurich that included a traffic jam, I walked to the old town with the two guys from the tour, and we enjoyed dinner at an Italian Restuarant. (which was on the expensive side-but I decided that I was sick of eating supermarket food on a park bench).
Afterward, I walked back to Lake Zurich and hung out by the lakefront, watching performers, and the beautiful water at the end of a warm, sunny, day.
