After a very busy first day, everyone was relieved to not set any early-morning alarms. We ended up waking up earlier than expected which felt like a bonus… but emotions ended up running high.
I try to keep things fairly balanced on the blog: I don’t want to share anything too personal while also trying to be authentic. Let’s just say, this was not my finest hour of parenting, nor were the kids in optimal moods.
In fact, both kids were in tears before breakfast.
One was bereft over our outfit choice for the day. This was the first time the whole trip we’d picked out a specific outfit for said child; it was a sweatshirt they had worn a dozen times and uber-comfortable elasticized blue jeans, it’s not like we were requesting a four-piece suit. The other child was incredibly sassy and grumpy (my favourite combination) and was keen to make as many unhelpful comments as humanly possible—none of which were requested, needed, or well received.
It was NOT the way any of us wanted to start the day and it was, quite frankly, exhausting. Thankfully, I knew Catrina had a plan and we didn’t need to do anything but show up. She had ordered tickets for the factory tour, she had figured out exactly what public transit lines we needed to take (and sent me a document with the departure/arrival times AND the colours of the trams we needed), and had things organized for the whole day down to the minute. At one point I showed John the schedule and he responded: She is your kind of gal!
Indeed.
At the best of times I appreciate a good plan, but after organizing itineraries for over a month, handing the reins over to someone else for a day was positively delightful.
We had bought some fruit and protein drinks at a grocery store the night before, but it wasn’t enough food for breakfast so we stopped at a bakery en route to meet up with Catrina. It happened to be a vegan bakery, but the kids loved their sweet treat and drinks (I didn’t get anything, but I thought fondly of all my vegan friends). This helped bolster moods, and thankfully we moved beyond the literal wailing and gnashing of teeth fairly quickly.
Ha!
Despite some drizzle and fog, Zurich was gorgeous.
Catrina told us she’d meet us at the flower clock by the boat terminal and it was definitely a distinctive landmark 🙂
Once we’d rendezvoused, she continued to take the lead which was AMAZING. She sorted out tickets and did all the necessary communications in German. I could essentially turn off my brain and simply enjoy the experience.
She suggested we take a boat to the Lindt Chocolate Factory and it was the perfect choice! We had stunning views and it was a relaxing commute. Her husband, Kai, opted to bike to meet us.
Now, I have to admit to a HUGE blogger demerit. This is the only picture I got with Catrina from the entire day we spent together. At one point when we were on the ferry coming back from the Lindt factory, she was sitting next to Belle and they were talking and I wanted to take a picture because it was such a sweet moment. But… I didn’t want to ruin the moment. I figured I would take lots more pictures of her, but then I didn’t. Please know that ONE PICTURE is not representative of how much I enjoyed Catrina’s company. I 1000/10 recommend her as a tour guide of Zurich.
Despite living in Zurich for much of her life, Catrina hadn’t visited the Lindt Home of Chocolate in decades. We were happy to give her an excuse to explore a chocolate wonderland with us.
While we waited for our guided tour to start, we wandered around the largest Lindt store in the world. There was… a lot of chocolate!
The most eye-catching part of the factory is definitely the enormous chocolate fountain. It’s the tallest freestanding chocolate fountain in the world (9 meters). Seeing this in person was definitely a wow moment. The chocolate is constantly circulated and kept warm (so it doesn’t crystallize); once a year they switch out the chocolate.
Then we met up with our tour guide. She was perky and enthusiastic; originally from Mexico, she married a Canadian and they live in Germany.
It was a fascinating tour that delved into the history of chocolate making, pioneers of the craft, and then details about Lindt specifically. As an added bonus, we got to try all sorts of unique samples. Like pulp from the cacao flesh (I thought it tasted like apple juice), cocoa nibs, and a piece of chocolate prepared using recipes from before the tempering process was perfected (the same ingredients, but a very different texture and taste).
We got to see the original—iconic—Toblerone mold.
I think the top chocolate bar (maroon-coloured) was the first ever produced?
The most mouth-watering part of the tour was the chocolate fountains. In a potentially controversial opinion, the white chocolate ended up being my favourite. It was very sweet, but SO good. The tour guide also encouraged us to take a bit from all three fountains (dark, milk, and white) and that was a delicious combination.
I was so full of chocolate at this point and THEN, as you leave the tour, you get to take along 8 different kinds of chocolate. This was dessert for the next few weeks.
A worker at the main Lindt shop had mentioned a discount location, so once the tour was finished we went there to look for deals. Belle had wanted to bring back some chocolate for a friend who favours pistachio. All the Easter chocolates were 75% so she grabbed a bag of pistachio chocolates at a 75% discount. (I saw a man checking out with a cart FULL of Lindt gold bunnies. Gotta love a deal.)
Indy was content to sit down and let all that chocolate settle.
Belle posed outside the store with her pistachio chocolate eggs for a friend. They’ll come back to Canada straight from the Lindt store.
Catrina gave us the option of getting back into Zurich via boat or bus and it was a unanimous family decision to go back by boat. While the girls sat inside (it was chilly and I am a wimp in cold temperatures), Indy and John appreciated stunning views from the deck.
We spent the next few hours exploring all sorts of nooks and crannies of downtown Zurich. I will admit since I didn’t do any research about the city before visiting, I don’t feel like I have a good grasp on exactly what we saw, but the streets were all so charming. We were arriving ahead of a traditional snowman burning (from what Catrina explained, it sounds like a twist on North American Groundhog Day celebrations), so the city was preparing for that event.
A few times on the blog I’ve lamented the challenge of finding good free drinking water in Europe and Catrina referenced the drinking fountains in Zurich. I am here to confirm they are everywhere (I think I read there’s over 1,200) and the water is phenomenal!!!
Indy was a big fan.
There were so many charming houses and streets to explore. And we never had to worry about getting lost because we just followed Catrina. I know I’ve said it multiple times already in this post, but I cannot overstate how wonderful it was to not have to navigate ANYWHERE.
Can you spot the workers doing maintenance on St. Peter’s clock? It’s the largest church clock face in Europe, and you can see just how big it is with humans for a reference scale.
A pit stop beside a park meant Indy had time to find something to climb.
Catrina captured the last picture of the day—here I am in front of a Flying Tiger. We try to visit these stores in every country we travel to. Alas, our streak ended in Monaco. We didn’t buy anything, but did ceremonially set one foot inside the door.
We stopped by the grocery chain Migros to get some souvenirs. These were PRICEY in Zurich; the cheapest keychains we could find were over €11!!! Eek. But they were admittedly very cool. Belle got a working clock keychain and Indy got a flashlight.
We walked back to Catrina’s place and got our car. We ended up being able to get inexpensive overnight parking beside our apartment and since we wanted to leave fairly early the next morning, decided to relocate it ahead of time.
It was sad to say goodbye to Catrina so soon. One day was definitely not enough time together. Now I need to convince her to come visit Canada. Maybe she could come run the marathon (or ultra) in October in my little hometown? Hint, hint, hint. It’s the nicest time of year to visit Nova Scotia, in my opinion. (Kae and SHU, help me convince her!!!)
Once again, driving through Zurich was a gong show. There was construction everywhere, so many one-way streets, and we were completely unfamiliar with everything. What should have taken 10 minutes took almost an hour and we were frazzled by the time we got back to the apartment. Thankfully, there was a grocery store close by so we bought some food for breakfast/lunch on the road, and stopped at an Asian restaurant beside our place to get some takeout (sushi, spring rolls, rice).
And then, once again, we COLLAPSED into bed.
Your turn.
- What would you like better? White, milk, or dark chocolate on tap?
- Any city driving horror stories to share??
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It sounds like a “sweet” day. Love the chocolate fountain!
Yes, I consumed a lot more sugar than is my norm, but it was 100% worth it!
I love the claims in French on the red Lindt bar. “Very nutritious, very digestible, little sugar, doesn’t cause thirst, the healthiest of all chocolate.” Hah!
It’s hilarious! Also, chocolate does make one thirsty, so I’m calling their bluff 😉
Sometimes I enjoy a little chocolate with my morning tea and today was one of those days when I just needed a sweet treat to bolster my spirits. I happened to enjoy a piece of Lindt while reading this post! I love living through your family’s adventures – you have such a lovely way of writing that, like chocolate, makes me feel braver to face the day.
Awww. This makes me so happy. Both the Lindt/tea combo and your incredibly kind comment <3
White chocolate all the way!
It is so nice to get a break from the planning and have someone else take the reins. Especially if that someone else is Catrina!
What do we have to do to get Catrina to book her plane ticket to NS????????????????????????????????????
I don’t usually gravitate toward white chocolate but YUM. If you make it to Zurich, make sure you go to Lindt, Birchie.
Catrina is a phenomenal planner.
CATRINA TO THE RESCUE!!! It sounds like this was the perfect day to hand the reigns over to someone else. And you guys picked the perfect thing to do in Zurich- it sounds like this tour will be a memorable highlight of the trip.
I like dark chocolate, but- sob- I’m pretty sure even the Lindt dark chocolate has milk in it. But- a vegan bakery in Zurich!!! Pretty sure that wasn’t there when I was in Zurich. Places are much more vegan-friendly these days.
I do remember Zurich being very expensive. But it’s a beautiful city!
Yes, the Lindt was amazing.
And Jenny, I thought of you! Lindt has a series of vegan chocolate bars now!!!!!!
I feel like I’ve spotted a lot of vegan places in Europe! I bet it’s much easier to find vegan-friendly food now.
Oh wow, I’m impressed how vividly you captured all of this. I had a front-row seat to that day and still wouldn’t have remembered half those details. Your memory is something else, Elisabeth!
And for the record, I didn’t see any lingering signs of a morning meltdown. By the time we met, you already had a fully functioning, chocolate-ready crew 😄 Maybe chocolate really is a very effective mood stabiliser. Visiting Lindt was an excellent call. I’ve been telling friends and family all about the tour ever since, so at this rate Lindt might need to hire me as a field marketer.
It really was such a fun day, and I’m so glad I got to experience it with your family.
And for the record, I’m not ruling out that Canadian marathon… I might actually show up one day 😉
It was such a great tour (the kids bring up the tour guide regularly). And the fountains were my favourite part of the tour. SO good.
Thanks again for so kindly spending time and energy to make things go so smoothly for us. It was truly appreciated.
I think you’d love the marathon. And there’s lovely places to explore in the area, PLUS, your CHF will go soooo far in Canada.
Are you ALLOWED to dip a spoon (or a finger) into the fountain?? I didn’t see any warning signs in your photo.
White chocolate ISN’T chocolate—it contains nothing of the cacao been. It has no flavor other than sugar. Please clarify/defend your inexplicable preference and why this is even allowed at a chocolate factory!
I discovered those little Lindt truffle balls this past year, oh my, oh so good (the dark ones, of course).
Does Lindt charge for the tour?
It is incomprehensible that they could keep the stock in their store fresh when there is so much.
Catrina was a Godsend for sure.
The boat rides sound like the highlight of the day to me.
I’m surprised you had trouble returning the car to your apartment—doesn’t GPS provide all one needs to navigate? (she says sarcastically)
In thinking about your Great Adventure, it seems that the cramming-it-all-in is what causes the exhausted grumpy meltdowns. There is always a trade-off in life, everything is a mixed bag. Sigh. You all (probably most folks) do best when settled somewhere with day trips, so there is continuity somewhere in your life—at your (temporary) home.
They provide spoons. Oops. I should have thought to mention that detail.
Ha. I know it might be controversial. White chocolate DOES have cocoa butter (just not cocoa solids), so technically it IS chocolate. But I know what you mean. I’m not usually a big consumer of white chocolate, but in liquid form it is was sooooo delicious.
Yes, there is a fee for the tour. You can enter the main store/see the chocolate fountain for free, but it costs to take a tour (we did a guided tour which is more expensive than a self-guided tour).
I think they get almost a million visitors a year, so I suspect there is a lot of turnover in stock!! And I couldn’t believe how much chocolate people were buying. People had baskets full of it.
The boat was beautiful.
The GPS helps, but you’re sharing so many lanes with things like trams and busses. Also, there were oodles of construction and it was just SO HECTIC and confusing.
Yes, the busy days add to grumpiness, but so does doing nothing. It’s hard to have a perfect balance. Sometimes we have a few busy days and then, like last Sunday, literally do nothing but hang out in a hotel room for the WHOLE day (the kids didn’t leave the room a single time).
i would love that tour! We have joe and the juice in miami – did not realize they had achieved world domination! But the main reason for this comment is – YES CATRINA YOU SHOULD GO TO NOVA SCOTIA, it really is that awesome!! (as is Elisabeth!)
I knew I could count on you to help me peer pressure Catrina into coming to Canada. Wouldn’t she love the race??? She could stay at the Tattingstone. Gah. It would be amazing.
Touring the chocolate factory sounds amazing! I would have a hard time choosing a favorite chocolate, and would have to do the “all three in one spoon” trick!
I highly recommend the combo of chocolate flavours. It looked pretty on the spoon, too 😉
CATRINAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
I KNEW she would be as amazing in person as she is online.
I felt kind of faint looking at the photos of the Lindts, I am SO envious and I want to go there! I guess I will have to organise myself to get there (note to self: tell Rob I want to go there, it will happen).
Sorry about all the other stuff, ugh. Well, life. As the sign on my former hair therapist’s mirror used to say, “Life has its ups, life has its dips. At least we have potato chips!”
She was amazing, Nicole. Absolutely lovely in every way, and a delightful guide.
Lindt was amazing. So much chocolate Nicole. I know you eat “normal” chocolate, but they have vegan bars now, too!!
We’re doing life and it’s normal and expected and necessary. In the moment it feels hard, but I can feel a new level of growth and “closeness” in our family.
I am the navigator when it comes to traveling with my mom, so I LOVE when I get to travel with other people and let them handle all the logistics. It’s so nice! Anyway, I get how you felt about being able to travel around Zurich with a pro!
Lindt sounds like MY KIND OF TOUR. Sign me up!
It really does change the dynamic for me when I can just relax and follow!
The Lindt tour was amazing. And delicious 😉
What an amazing day! I bet it was so nice to just follow someone else and not be in charge of researching routes and such. I can see how you forgot to take more pictures with Catrina, though. You were definitely ‘living in the moment’ which is great! I barely saw any of Zurich when I was there in 2004. It was the tail end of a big trip to Germany and Czechia, so by the time I got to Zurich, I was exhausted. Plus my travel partner had gone on to London so I was alone and it was rainy, so I went to a movie on my last night since that was all I had the energy for!
I have never driven in Europe or a big city, really. I do not like driving in unfamiliar places at all!
I would never in a million years drive in a European city (to be fair, I don’t even like driving in North American cities).
Zurich was a whirlwind and I definitely have it on my list of “want to go back with more time” list, but going to Lindt was the perfect activity for our one day in the city. Can you get more classic (or delicious) that amazing chocolate?