Zurich Day One (Tuesday)

The Zurich that I’ve seen this week is a most unexpected one!

What can I say other than the University Hospital here offers an excellent if very pricey medical service to those in need.

And I (Peter) have been in need. I arrived here with bad stomach pains on Tuesday morning, and they became worse into the afternoon when a doctor had to be called to the hotel. He diagnosed a kidney stone, left a prescription for medicine  - also a $400 bill for his attendance.

Things somewhat improved so that I was able to walk around the streets, take photos and meet up with friends also doing this cruise.

By 2am this morning (Thursday) Colin and I made our own way to the hospital where we stayed for nine hours leaving with medical payments to the value of approximately 1600 Swiss Francs (about $A2,000) and even more medicine.

So, in summary I’m drinking a minimum of 2 litres of water a day in the high expectation that the stone will pass sometime in the next few days.

I’ve now discovered the entire 130 cruisers know of my plight and will no doubt be keen to discuss such matters with me.  I can hardly wait.

If you hear a wild, wild “woop” from over the horizon you’ll know that the stone has passed – at last and that the scheduled holiday will commence!

As this blog is fast turning into on-the-spot travel advice I’ll just remind all my readers to:

-       - ALWAYS have travel insurance from the day you make your booking

-       - Pick your travel companions well. Colin has been nothing less than a tower of strength through all this. Even more so considering he had taken a full sleeping tablet and he needed then to stay awake in the Emergency Department for all those long hours. And also our American travel friends one whom is a retired doctor, have been pillars of support

So let’s now jump off the non-scheduled itinerary and take a quick look at a few images from around Zurich from day one….

Our first day was wet, so only the hardy tourists 

were out and about..

Along the Limmat River you'll find Guild Halls that are now restaurants and up-market shopping...

Carved wooden choir stalls in one of the churches...

(Below) And every city needs a Rathaus (Town Hall). This is the building on the left with the swiftly running water passing beneath it.

Doesn't every church need such wonderfully carved doors?

Not sure yet who this man is?

Coffee and lemon cake and coffee with strudel! Yum!
And the lovely olde world coffee shop in the old city

And a blue cow that didn't quite make it when it tried jumping over the moon.