Another beautiful morning in fairlyland. After breakfast and our by-now-old-hat tram ride down the mountain, we took a ferry boat down the length of Lake Zurich. We were never quite sure if we were doing things right, e.g., buying the right ticket, getting on the right ferry, sitting in the right 2nd class spot on the boat; always a bit nervous about the strict Swiss rules. (sort your garbage and recycling incorrectly? FINE!)
On that note….. Switzerland is a very interesting place, and full of rules. It’s an incredibly efficient and well-run country. The standard of living is very high, almost no poverty, yet taxes are not crazy-high like in Scandanavia, very little crime….. But it’s almost like a police state. There are rules against EVERYTHING, and no grace. As mentioned earlier, forgot to get your bus ticket validated before you boarded? 100-franc fine. Making too much noise between 11 and 3, the designated “quiet time”? Get scolded by your neighbors. The Swiss are playing in the World Cup, and there is a rule in place that crowds are allowed to gather and celebrate after a Swiss victory for EXACTLY TWENTY MINUTES, then they must disband. (!!!!) Dave and Cari told of a cocktail party they went to, where the hosts kept the (somewhat) loud music playing after the 10:00pm time when loud music is supposed to be OFF. The cops came to their house and made them turn down the music. How did the cops know? ONE OF THEIR GUESTS CALLED THE COPS ON THE WAY HOME FROM THE PARTY. Not out of spite, just out of a commonly held commitment that, if someone is breaking the rules, you tell on them. It’s just HOW IT IS IN SWITZERLAND. Fascinating. And we’ve pretty much figured our German by this point – basically, you can just add -en, -fahrt, or -strasse to any word and it makes it German. e.g., “I’m taking off-en my shirt-en; it’s too hot-fahrt.”
The ferry ride to the other end of the lake was beautiful! Clear, sunny sky, 70 degrees. The ferry zigzagged across the lake and stopped at many little perfect Swiss villages along the way with names like Ruschlikon, Thalwil, and Stafa. We even passed Tina Turner’s estate. Tina, we found out, has given up her US citizenship and now lives in Zurich.
After more than an hour we got off in Rapperswil, a picturesque town on the opposite end of the lake. We walked around a bit and found…guess again… ANOTHER sidewalk café, resonably priced (as Zurich goes), and accommodating. We ate lunch, then climbed up to roam around the appropriately-named Schloss Rapperswil (Rapperswil Castle), the identifying landmark of the town. It was built around 1220 and sits high on a hill overlooking the lake. The kids found a large sidewalk chess setup, and Jack & Ellis quickly launched a heated game. Their equally-matched “Rapperswil” strategies led to a gut-wrenching draw. (Actually Dad just DECLARED a draw at an appropriate time-limit) Georgia could only take so much, and after a while, insisted that she and Cullen get to play a game of checkers before we left. We are all missing Carson! He comes home tomorrow.
We decided to save time on the return and take the train back to the house. It was Stumbo Dinner Night and I made my famous risotto for everyone, Swiss-style. I think it was well received. Want the recipe? http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Risotto-with-Leeks-Shiitake-Mushrooms-and-Truffles-239801
Another perfect evening on the Walls patio. More jumping on the trampoline. More visiting outside until dark, sipping Fattoria Maioinchi wine. More World Cup.
Hopefully getting on the right ferry boat
Hopefully sitting where 2nd Class is supposed to sit.
Heading south, down Lake Zurich
Thalwil, one of the many ferry stops we zig-zagged to along the lake.
Approaching Rapperswill…. the castle!
The famous Big Flat Shoe of Rapperswill
ooh. Stylistic lunch shot. More prosecco!
Georgia had HAM for lunch. Can you tell?
This is probably the only photographic capture we have of a move I’ve repeated hundreds of times on this trip. It’s the, “there’s-someone-coming-down-the-other-side-of-the-sidewalk-so-I’m-going-to-yank-you-back-over-to-this-side-so-you-don’t-force-that-poor-(Italian, Swiss, German, Austrian)-into-the-(street, ditch, canal, stone wall).”
Just a quaint, hillside, Rappwerswillian vineyard…
It was at about this point that I declared a DRAW.
Surprisingly, we had a hard time remembering how to PLAY checkers.
Ben & Jerry’s in Switzerland!
The train back to Zurich.
Put your feet up on a train seat in Switzerland? FINE!
The kids pretending to like my risotto!
Jack giving Cari her first Facebook lesson.
Stumbo Adventure 
Stumbos — just returning from Europe ourselves and enjoy catching up on your adventures! This Zurich blurb made me nostalgic for the time we were in Zurich and heard Tina Turner singing (before 10pm of course), her updated version of “What-ens Love-en Got-fahrt to do with-en It-fahrt?”