Road trip to Scandinavia: Geneva-Zürich

Honestly, after my Southern Seas rather unexpected miraculous conclusion and a couple of wonderful moments in Normandy I was a little bit hesitating to start another road trip.

Yet I decided to keep my promise to visit my childhood friend who has been living in Stavanger and is about to leave it within the next two weeks. So I combined this with my attending John Cleese’s “Last tour before I die” in Zürich on Sunday 10th of June.

I had planned the Zurich WE long ago since I bought the Cleese ticket on December 4, 2017! pour le spectacle de John Cleese.

On Décembre 6, I wrote to Paola, a friend I met two years ago in the Galapagos :

« Hi Hi again, I was just re-reading your precious Hanauma Bay instructions as I’m heading there tomorrow morning….!!! Can never thank you enough for the clear and useful tips! And I’ve just booked JOHN CLEESE “Last Time to see me before I die

Datum / Zeit: So, 10.06.18 19:30 Uhr

Ort: Theater 11 / ZÜRICH… so I hope we can meet again! A Hui Ho (till we meet again). »

She kindly invited me and after packing about everything which is typical when you are alone in your car and have enough room for your whole wardrobe, I made sure not to forget my walking sticks but managed to forget my bathing suit which I had hesitated to buy the previous day at Manor Geneva and purchased at Manor Zurich!

Indeed I absolutely intend to swim in a fjord!

Thanks to Paola who is the absolute best guide you could ever find in Zurich I learnt that the name of this city was actually Turicum and that it’s roman origins are more than attested by numerous archaeological sites.

Paola and Martine were kind enough to share their tips about the great foody highlights of Zürich and I have put a check next to the ones we managed to visit!

• Ferlin
• Maison Manesse
• Gandria
• Café Odéon✅
• Hiltl✅
• Rheinfelder ✅

So now the Niederdorf, Oberdorf and Lindenhof don’t hold any secrets from me anymore, including Charles the Great’s magnificent statue!

Neither do Rapperswil nor Einsiedeln since The following day was splendidly spent with my amazing hosts. We chatted, ate Paola’s delicious Italian goodies and visited a magnificent rose garden during the SWISS Iron Man competition* as well as either Benedictine seat of the black Madona on the Compostello pilgrimage!

As for my long awaited John Cleese, he was indeed hilarious. Not very original and his choice of abstract from his various shows or of the jokes he made but it was a rare pleasure and privilege to simply listen to his life and adventure with his friends. Obviously the man simply enjoyed life and still does!

Thanks to Paola I also discovered that the Zurich population is the Topol of Geneva and it’s medieval old town is largely bigger too. It’s amazing the number of things you learn when you’re with a native!

The next stretch is way longer as I drove 900 km to reach it… but it’s work in progress!

*marathon de fous alors qu’il faisait 30 degrés : 100 km de vélo, 1,8 km de natation et 21 km de course à pied!!!