Baker European Tour: Switzerland, Part One

Our month of August was packed full of visitors!  With so much that happened, I won't be able to cover every day in detail, so several days will be grouped together in one post.  This means I can't show all the amazing pictures that I want to, but it will have to do.  These posts will already be long enough as it is.

In the beginning of August, we had two of our good friends stop in Zurich to see us while they were on their own European tour!  I gave them my tour of Zurich and, after Darren got off work, we all went to Zeughauskeller for an excellent dinner.  The last three times we have seen them have been in foreign countries, so now we have a running joke that we can only meet on non-US soil.  Where are we going to next guys? :)

Our good friends from the US in front of Grossmunster

Then two days later, the first of Darren's family arrived.  Three of Darren's siblings and his parents came to visit us.  With everyone having different summer commitments, members of his family arrived at different times.  Darren's sister, Brittany, arrived first and we had a great first day hiking from Uetliberg to Felsenegg.  She was a trooper walking so much on her first day of jetlag.

The next day, another sister, Rachelle arrived.  Again, we still had a full day of activities to keep everyone awake, so off we went to the Zurich Zoo!  Our main reason for going to the Zurich Zoo was to see baby tigers!  Thanks to my most favorite blog ever, ZooBorns, I had found out that three Siberian Tiger cubs had been born in May at the Zurich Zoo!  Luckily, Darren's sisters were interested in seeing them, too. :)  When we first went to the tiger enclosure, the baby tigers weren't there and we were really sad we didn't see them.  However, we returned just a bit later and they were out playing!  I tried to get some good pictures and video, but they were running all over the place so these are the best shots I got.  I've also included some other highlights from our trip to the zoo.

Baby tigers!!

Baby tigers playing together

Brittany and Rachelle with a sleepy snow leopard in the background

No giant pandas at this zoo, but at least there was a playful red panda!

Baby monkey

Drama queen orangutan

On Saturday, no new visitors arrived so we did a day trip out to a place called Braunwald, which is a resort town above the Linthal Valley, in the area of Lake Luzern.  To get up to the resort town, you have to take one of the steepest railways in the world, which is a 64% incline!  It was amazing!

The view from the train to get to Braunwald

In Braunwald, which looks over the Linthal Valley

We didn't stay in Braunwald, but instead took a ski lift up to the top and hiked back down to Braunwald.  The landscape at the top was more rocky and dry, with large clouds hanging over the mountain peaks.  As we hiked back down, more green and more sun appeared.  The scenery the whole time was beautiful.

Taking the chair lift up to Gumen

Our picnic lunch at the top before starting our hike down

Brittany conquers the large rock while Rachelle and I stay on safer ground

Making contact with the locals

Our "Sound of Music" photo shoot, which is a must with every trip

After we finished with our hike, we took the long way home through the Klausen Pass and marveled at all the beauty along the way.  As we got closer to the top and the day was getting later, we ran into some interesting "traffic" on the road!

The Klausen Pass had some gorgeous views, we all loved it

Cow traffic!  What a fun and unexpected treat to see my favorite cows up close!

This little mini cooper was smaller than the cow, I'm sure the driver was a bit nervous

After our fun adventure on the road, we were close to Luzern, so we made a short stop there so Brittany and Rachelle could see it.  I never get tired of going to Luzern because it is so beautiful.

Me, Brittany, and Rachelle on the bridge

A fantastic shot by Darren of the bridge and Mt. Pilatus in the background

The four partners in crime

On Sunday, Darren's brother and his parents arrived and we gave the whole family a tour of his office and of downtown Zurich.

The siblings in a Swiss gondola, which is now used as a phone room

The family in downtown Zurich

Having others around means we can get some decent pictures of us

It was a great start to the trip and every one did a great job handling the jet lag.  The next day, we headed out to see more Switzerland sites, which I will cover in the next post.

Italy: Monday in Rome

We are back from all of our many travels with the Baker family and wow, did we do a lot!  But before I get to those adventures, I have to finish writing about our Italian adventure!  Our last day in Rome was Monday, August 1st.  Our first stop that day was to the Pantheon.  The Pantheon was built in the 2nd century AD by Emperor Hadrian as a temple to the gods, and is Rome's best preserved ancient building.  The reason is because it was converted into a Christian church in the 7th century, so it has always been taken care of.  At first, the Pantheon didn't seem all that interesting, but there are so many great details about it that we learned from our audio guide that made it a must-see for me.

The Roman Pantheon, which is now a Catholic church that still holds mass

First of all, this building is another excellent example of what fantastic engineers the Romans were.  The Pantheon is the largest unreinforced solid concrete dome in the world.  The dome also has amazing symmetry with it being as high as it is wide (43.3 m).  This architecture has been admired for centuries and was the inspiration for the designs of the Florence Cathedral (Duomo), and St. Peter's Basilica.  The opening in the roof is the only light source for the interior.  There is no glass covereing the opening, so water can get in on rainy days.  But those smart Romans made holes in the ground and tilted the floor toward the edges to allow the water to drain.

The opening in the roof is known as the oculus

The main altar in the Pantheon

The Pantheon is now also a famous burial ground.  One of the great Renaissance artists, Raphael, is entombed here.  Even though he died at the young age of 37, Raphael had already established himself as one of the most important artists of his time.  In his will, he asked to be buried in the Pantheon and the Catholic church gladly allowed it.  Also buried here are the first two kings of modern Italy, including the great King Victor Emmanuel II.  Now you can see why this building is so important: its history spans 2,000 years!

The tomb of Raphael

After touring the Pantheon, we walked over to see Vatican City, the world's smallest state.  We had bought tickets online to enter the Vatican Museum at a certain time, but we were early, so we stopped by St. Peter's Basilica first.

Crossing the bridge into Vatican City

In Piazza San Pietro, where St. Peter's Basilica is

The obelisk is a reminder of the Christians martyred near the obelisk in the Circus of Nero

After taking some pictures, we walked over to the Vatican Museum to see their collection.  The Vatican Museum is a weird amalgamation of old Pope's apartments and buildings with random collections of art and sculpture that the Popes each gathered over the years.  The real reason everyone goes to the Vatican Museum is to see the Sistine Chapel, though.  I don't know why the Sistine Chapel is in the museum, but that's where it is.  We weren't allowed to take pictures in the Sistine Chapel (yes, we followed the rules unlike everyone else), so we only have highlights from other parts of the museum.

An open courtyard inside the Vatican Museum

A beautiful room in the Vatican Museum with statues and frescoes

My favorite room, which has maps of all different parts of Italy

Old map of all of Italy with some southern Switzerland

The famous School of Athens by Raphael

The staircase leading in and out of the museum is a cool double helix

Me in front of the Vatican Museum

The Sistine Chapel was amazing and lived up to all of its hype.  We spent about 20 minutes in the chapel craning our necks to view the ceiling as we listened to our audio guide.  I don't really have time to give a proper analysis of Michelangelo's work in this blog, so all I will say is that I have a new love for Michelangelo and I am glad I finally appreciate what a genius he was.  After leaving the museum, we went back to St. Peter's Basilica to go inside.

A Swiss guard at St. Peter's Basilica, they really still are Swiss

St. Peter's Basilica sits on the site of the supposed burial location of the Apostle Peter, after he had been crucified by the Romans.  The great church that we see today was built during the Renaissance and replaced the original church that had been built by Emperor Constantine, which was falling apart.  There is so much history and detail I could talk about concerning the basilica, but I'll just have to share the highlights.

Michelangelo was the original architect, but he died before it was finished, so Bernini took over

This massive canopy stands over St. Peter's supposed tomb

The feet of this statue of St. Peter are worn down by the touch of many visitors

Michelangelo's Pieta was completed in 1499, when he was 25

More cool Swiss guards

The statue of Peter in front of the basilica with keys in his hand

The windows near the top corner of that building are where the Pope's apartment is

After seeing the Vatican, it was time for us to pick up our luggage and head to the airport.  We made sure to stop and get some gelato before we left town, though.  It was a great way to end our trip to Italy.  We had a fantastic and spontaneous trip to Rome and I'm glad we went!

Italy: Sunday in Rome

This post is a bit late.  We had some friends staying with us for a few days and now Darren's family is starting to arrive for their 2.5-week tour of Switzerland, Germany, and Denmark.  I'm finishing this post while the new arrivals are taking a nap to recover from their jet lag.  :) 

We began our first full day in Rome on Sunday by visiting the Coliseum.  We had bought a Roma Pass that let us get in a special line, but the regular line at 9:30 am really wasn't that long.  Ready with our great (and FREE!) Rick Steves' audio guides on our music players, we walked around the Coliseum as we listened to his commentary.  The guide explained how the games at the Coliseum came about, how they operated, and what happened to the Coliseum over time.  We learned how the Coliseum was built on the old site of the hated Emperor Nero's manmade lake in 72 AD.

The ruins of the Coliseum

A shot of me next to a cross erected in memory of Christian martyrs who may have been persecuted or killed during the games (they're not really sure if that happened here or not)

The small holes in the walls are where people stole iron from the structure after it fell into disrepair

The marble blocks you see here would have been the prime seats for watching events in the arena

The Arch of Constantine, celebrating Constantine's rise to power, as seen from the Coliseum

Darren and the Arch of Constantine

The original arena floor is gone, but you can see the passageways below where slaves and staff prepared gladiators, wild animals, and scenery for shows.  There were trap doors in the floor to send things up to the main stage. 

A great picture of the Coliseum by Darren

After visiting the Coliseum, we walked across the street to see the Roman Forum.  In ancient times, this small valley was the main "downtown" area of Rome, where many temples and government buildings were located.  Again, we walked around as we listened to our audio guides and learned about the structures that once existed around the forum.  I'm sure back in the day the forum was an amazing sight to see, with tall, grand buildings all covered with beautiful white marble.  However, the remaining ruins show only a few columns or stones of most buildings, so it was hard to visualize how breathtaking it used to be.

Another arch, this one celebrating the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD

While on our trips, I've recently thought about how all this history we are learned is coming together and intertwining.  For example, we went to Jerusalem and learned about how the Romans completely devastated the temple and other precious sites, while also capturing and killing many rebellious Jews.  Then in Rome, we saw this arch (pictured above) commemorating that occasion and learned how it was built by those Jews that were taken as slaves.  What an amazing way to learn history!  I think we'll see more examples of this when we visit Berlin in 2 weeks.  This is a thrilling way to gain an education.

Basilica of Constantine, an enormous building used like a courthouse and city hall.  These vaults were actually just one side of the building.

Remnants of the Temple of Vesta, where a sacred flame always burned and was tended by virgins

Inside the well-preserved building where the Roman Senate met

Yet another arch that Darren and I admired for the intricate relief sculptures

Remnants of the Temple of Saturn, an important place of worship in Roman times

A stadium that was formerly part of the imperial palace (home of the emperors) on Palatine Hill, next to the Roman Forum

We took a break from ancient Roman history after Palatine Hill to see more modern Italian history. We visited the beautiful Victor Emmanuel Monument.  Victor Emmanuel helped to unify Italy in the 19th century and became king of the new nation.  This grand building reminded us that this probably was how all the buildings in the Roman Forum might have looked back in the day.  We walked up some stairs to take in the view from the observation deck.  Afterward, we headed next door to tour the Capitoline Museum, which first began in 1471.  The two buildings that make up the Capitoline Museum house a variety of art pieces (primarily sculptures) across a wide range of historical periods,  from ancient Roman times through recent Italian history. 

The grand Victor Emmanuel Monument

Pieces of the gigantic statue of Constantine that used to be in the Roman Forum

This is like those big foam fingers they hold up at basketball games, except harder to wave around when your team scores.  :) 

The beautiful galleries inside the Capitoline Museum

Not only were the statues great, but the rooms were beautifully done

The famous statue of Medusa done by Bernini

A sculpture of the birth of Rome: Romulus and Remus being raised by a she-wolf

The museum also had great views across the parts of the forum that we'd seen earlier in the day

The cafeteria on the top floor had an amazing view of Rome, with St. Peter's (the most distant church, between the other two domes) in the background

After finishing at the museum, we headed over to the Spanish Steps.  Man, were they disappointing!  They weren't architecturally interesting, and were just jam-packed with tourists and annoying merchants.  So we walked on to visit a large park (called the Villa Borghese) near the Spanish Steps to rest.  The park wasn't very nice -- it was in need of some maintenance -- but we rested for a while on a bench and and then headed toward the Piazza del Popolo to have dinner at a place recommended by one of our guide books.  We chose to eat inside since I don't like smelling smoke while I'm eating (and people in Europe tend to smoke when they sit on the patio at restaurants), but there was no one else inside the restaurant.  That was totally fine with us, but it was just funny that we were the only ones there.   The restaurant wasn't busy in general, but we thought the food was good.  Haven't had a bad meal in Italy yet!

The disappointing Spanish Steps

A more distant view of the Victor Emmanuel Monument from the Villa Borghese

Our empty restaurant where we had dinner

One more Rome post left to do!  Hopefully I'll get a chance to write it soon, but I make no promises while the Bakers are in town.  :)