Chapter 15: Reunited with the birds in Zurich

25 December 2013

Good morning Zurich. Yup, our hotel is just right next to this river so we had the chance to walk by this river for our morning walk.

We are back here at Honold because we did not get enough of it the last time!

Again, I took so long to decide what to eat because there were so much to choose from. The place was also constantly crowded, with people streaming in every few minutes.

I find these open sandwiches so pretty and appetizing. We don’t usually have open sandwiches back home so I made a mental note to myself to attempt to create something like this once I am home.

So today was dedicated to shopping. We have waited till the very last minute to shop. So we went over to the supermarket and grabbed as many chocolates as we can as souvenirs. The supermarkets here are part of a conspiracy I think. They are trying to seduce you to buy as many chocolates as you can. That was why they made the chocolate section is too huge, we were spoilt for choice. Again, we spent a long time in the supermarket JUST to choose chocolates. I have never spend so long deciding on what kind of chocolates I want to buy.

Yup, we bought too much for our own good, we had to return to the hotel to put the bags of chocolates down. Thankfully our hotel was within walking distance.

Once we kept our chocolate treasures in a safe place, we were back out.

 There was no sun, so it was pretty cool and cloudy the entire day.

Still beautiful. I love how we feel just at home in Switzerland. Its orderly structure was too similar to home.

Look what got me excited! Our bird friends!

Here at the lake and the view is breathtakingly beautiful.

You can see the mountains from this angle. How do people get things done here? Don’t they get distracted by the beautiful view of the lake and mountains?

Look!! Our bird friends again!!

This time we brought bread with us so that we can feed them. Its so cute how they got all excited and started swimming towards us to ‘fight’ for the bread crumbs thrown.

Don’t make them angry or they will poop on you. Haha.

I think they were excited to see us! Lol.

Love the view! So calming to the mind and the air was fresh, it feels like I am cleansing my soul. Lol.

Group picture by the beautiful Lake Zurich.

Self taken shot!

The sun was starting to set….

The birds wanted to fly home too………….

Wow, its too enchanting. Wish we can witness sunset everyday.

We were hungry so we tried to look for suitable restaurant to have dinner. Most of them were closed (most shops close early in Switzerland) but it was Christmas so almost all the restaurants were closed.

Finally, a restaurant that was opened for people to have their Christmas dinner there.

So here we are having our ‘christmas’ dinner and also to celebrate Bon’s birthday!

Zurich at night was showered with night lights everywhere.

Thank God we discovered how to change the mode to Nurul’s camera, if not we would not be able to capture the pretty lights!

Thankful to Bon for booking Marriot. Love the hotel. The lobby was such a pretty and cosy place. Our room was actually in the extended building so we had to alight on the fourth floor and walked through this long walkway, again decorated with pretty lights. I think the pretty lights are meant to distract you so you won’t feel like you have to walk far.

Its time to pack for the last time on this trip and head home tomorrow.

I feel sad to leave such a beautiful place but at the same time I am also relieved to go home, where I can find hot and spicy food easily. Lol. This trip, has been a journey of self discovery for me. I discovered that I am slightly better at recognising buildings and places. I still suck at reading maps, that is just not my strength. I am better at pictures, I take photos from angles that my eyes choose to see, and from my where my heart felt a twitch. I take photos of people’s expressions, their candid moments and photos of the memories that I want to remember. I do not simply take photos of everything that is nice and pretty.

Therefore, after each photo I take, I would have a caption imprinted in my mind. It allows me to blog easier too, and help me remember the sequence of events better.

Since I was unable to do that on this trip, I felt handicap. Suddenly, I was like a white elephant.

I was also experiencing a roller coaster of emotions throughout this trip. From being upset at losing the camera in Rome, to being depress Venice (due to the fog), to being confused by the passion of soccer fans in Milan, to being surprised by the hospitality of the Swiss people, to being ecstatic playing with snow in Zermatt, to being paranoid missing our train in Broc Fabrique, to being captivated by the beauty of Montreux, to being annoyed with the cold wind in Paris and to being delighted with feeding the birds in Zurich.

It was not all negative. This was a valuable experience since it was my first time stepping into Europe.

There was also a lot of walking, which I enjoy, but I also found it hard to keep up with the younger ones, as they continued walking ahead. I had my in soles in my shoes but I guess the shoes were not able to support my flat feet fully. It was annoying.

It was painful.

But, I am one who have high level of tolerance, and so I was able to endure and continue to walk on. I remember feeling 2 different kids of pain from my feet, one was blister from the new shoes (perhaps I could have been better prepared with the footwear) and the other was aching pain from having flat feet.

It was horrible, but my heart just wanted to continue walking and so I walked on with that determination that kept me through. I had my knees wrapped in knee guard the whole time. I could not leave the hotel without it, not knowing when I may have to walk up steep slopes or climb up giant steps.

I am actually not sure if I can ever do this again, since I can never predict the condition of my joints and feet.

I shall live on hope and prayer that I will continue to be healthy so I can do this and share a whole set of different experiences with you. Like I shared before, any day that I am not limping, I am happy.

And this trip has been the most delightful and enriching experience I have ever had.

Thank you for making this possible.